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Satellite Phone Encryption Cracked
February 11, 2012 by admin
Filed under Smartphones
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German researchers claim to have cracked the algorithm that secures satellite phone transmissions.
Benedikt Driessen and Ralf Hund from Ruhr University have reverse engineered the GMR-1 and GMR-2 voice ciphers used in a lot of satellite systems. These are used by, among others, government agencies and the military.
Bjoern Rupp, CEO at GSMK Cryptophone said, “This breakthrough has major implications for the military, civilians engaged on overseas operations, or indeed anyone using satellite phones to make sensitive calls in turbulent areas.”
Their report is titled “Don’t Trust Satellite Phones” and shows how someone with a “suitably programmed computer” and software radio capable of receiving satellite frequencies can hack calls. These include ones made by disaster relief agencies and the military.
China Denies Hack Attack
China has denied involvement in hacking US environment monitoring satellites.
Last week the US-China Economic and Security Review Commission released a draft report about several incidents where US satellites were interfered with in 2007 and 2008.
The Commission did not say that the attacks were traced back to China, but it did cite China’s military as a prime suspect, due to the similarity of the techniques used with “authoritative Chinese military writings” on disabling satellite control.
The hackers gained access to the satellites on at least four occasions through a ground station in Norway. The unauthorised access lasted for between two and 12 minutes. While the attacks did no real damage, they did demonstrate that it is possible to hijack satellites, which is a worrying realisation when military satellites are taken into consideration.
China has a bad reputation throughout the world for alleged cyber attacks, often being the first to blame when a major attack has been discovered. The US has not been the only target either, with alleged attacks against Canada and France having been reported earlier this year.
“[The US] has always been viewing China with colored lenses. This report is untrue and has ulterior motives. It’s not worth a comment,” said Hong Lei, a spokesperson for the Chinese Foreign Ministry, according to Reuters.