Path: utzoo!telecom-request Date: Wed, 19 Jun 1991 10:08:47 EDT From: bill@fisher.eedsp.gatech.edu Newsgroups: comp.dcom.telecom Subject: Re: Wireless Phone Security Message-ID: Organization: Georgia Tech, School of EE, DSP Lab Sender: Telecom@eecs.nwu.edu Approved: Telecom@eecs.nwu.edu X-Submissions-To: telecom@eecs.nwu.edu X-Administrivia-To: telecom-request@eecs.nwu.edu X-Telecom-Digest: Volume 11, Issue 470, Message 7 of 8 Lines: 35 In article "It Was Written...": > On ABC-TV's "This Week With David Brinkley" White House staffer John > Sununu claimed he was `on the phone practically the whole time' as he > was being chauffeur driven from Washington to New York to attend a > rare stamp auction, among other things. One wonders how secure his > phone was ... (those had better be all business calls, John :-)). Although I don't know it for certain, I would assume that Sununu had a limo which is equipped with a cellular STU-III. STU is an acronym for Secure Telephone Unit (III indicating the third generation of such). STU-IIIs come in landline and cellular models, the last I heard. It is also possible that he used another form of communications available to the White House. They've gotta stay in touch, you know! Most U.S. federal agencies have STU-IIIs in order to conduct classified or otherwise confidential conversations. RCA and Motorola are two of the contractors who make/made STU-IIIs. Motorola still makes them and even sells a STU-III clone for public purchase - no doubt for businesses which don't want their conversations monitored; if any of you attended the Spring COMDEX this year, Motorola had a STU-III on display there at their booth. All of the STU-IIIs that I have ever encountered will also pass a clear or secure 2400 bps data signal from a built-in RS-232 port on the phone itself. That is, of course, in addition to passing clear or secure voice. I wonder what Sununu's roaming charges are like? Bill Berbenich, School of EE, DSP Lab Georgia Tech, Atlanta, GA 30332-0250