[14094] in cryptography@c2.net mail archive
Re: Code breakers crack GSM cellphone encryption
daemon@ATHENA.MIT.EDU (Steve Schear)
Mon Sep 8 15:59:35 2003
X-Original-To: cryptography@metzdowd.com
X-Original-To: cryptography@metzdowd.com
Date: Mon, 08 Sep 2003 12:49:43 -0700
To: Greg Rose <ggr@qualcomm.com>, David Honig <dahonig@cox.net>
From: Steve Schear <s.schear@comcast.net>
Cc: "R. A. Hettinga" <rah@shipwright.com>,
Clippable <rahettinga@earthlink.net>, cryptography@metzdowd.com
In-Reply-To: <5.1.0.14.2.20030909023342.052fd978@203.30.171.17>
At 02:37 AM 9/9/2003 +1000, Greg Rose wrote:
>At 05:18 PM 9/7/2003 -0700, David Honig wrote:
>> >A copy of the research was sent to GSM authorities in order to correct the
>> >problem, and the method is being patented so that in future it can be used
>> >by the law enforcement agencies.
>>
>>"Laughing my ass off." Since when do governments care about patents?
>>How would this help/harm them from exploiting it? Not that
>>high-end LEOs haven't already had this capacity ---Biham et al
>>are only the first *open* researchers to reveal this.
>
>Actually, patenting the method isn't nearly as silly as it sounds.
>Produced in quantity, a device to break GSM using this attack is not going
>to cost much more than a cellphone (without subsidies). Patenting the
>attack prevents the production of the "radio shack (tm) gsm scanner", so
>that it at least requires serious attackers, not idle retirees or jealous
>teenagers.
Not if they can type GNURadio into Google.
steve
A foolish Constitutional inconsistency is the hobgoblin of freedom, adored
by judges and demagogue statesmen.
- Steve Schear
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