Encryption Made for Police and Military Radios May Be Easily Cracked
1 min read
Summary
Researchers have discovered a backdoor in an end-to-end encryption algorithm that is reportedly used in devices used by police, military forces and intelligence agencies.
The European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI) advised users of the flawed algorithm to implement the new end-to-end encryption to bolster their communication security.
However, the new algorithm also has a backdoor, which compresses a 128-bit key to just 56 bits for encryption, making it far easier to decrypt.
It is not clear who uses the algorithm, or whether users are aware they are at risk.
The end-to-end encryption is expensive to implement and is commonly used in devices for law enforcement, special forces and other agencies that require a high level of security for their communications.
However, the algorithm was endorsed by ETSI to fix flaws in a previous, less secure algorithm, meaning its use may now be more widespread.
