[liberationtech] more on sat phone (in)security

[Jacob Appelbaum]

On 02/23/2012 10:04 PM, Martyn Williams wrote:
> Jacob,
> 
> I don't see how using amateur radio wouldn't be an improvement over
> satellite phones. The antennas and power levels involved would almost
> certainly be larger.
> 

It depends on how the location technology works, right?

> Plus, where would you receive the signals? If you want to use mobile
> transceivers then your range is limited so receiving stations would have
> to be set up over the border.

Broadcast to a pre-arranged frequency? It's not unlike making a phone call.

> 
> If you want to transmit something back to, say, London then you're
> talking about a fixed station that requires an outdoor, fixed antenna
> and a battery backup system for uninterrupted use.
> 

Lebanon seems like an easier target but I'm not an expert here.

> Jamming would be easy - anyone with an off-the-shelf transceiver could
> find your signal and key-up on top of you.
> 

Of course. The same is true of GMR-1 and GMR-2 with the added problems
of GPS leakage which is very precise.

> I would bet that amateur stations are easier to direction-find than
> satellite phones. In fact, direction finding is a popular hobby for some
> hams and methods, technologies and equipment is widely understood.
> 

I'm not sure if anyone has measured this assertion. I'd bet that with a
skilled intelligence service that it's a matter of resources. With one
of the sat phone intercept systems, it requires a mouse clicking
computer user - such systems probably also exist for general RF systems.

> Licenses don't allow commercial use or encryption, although this might
> not be a problem. Presumably they wouldn't be licensed to operate in the
> countries anyway. Amateurs probably wouldn't appreciate unlicensed and
> unapproved use of their frequency bands by journalists.
> 

I think that if I was in Syria and the result of being caught is
death... I'd be fine with flaunting crypto restrictions. You might stand
out more, obviously. Depends on your threat model, etc.

My point is simply that there is more to communicating than the internet.

All the best,
Jacob