Company Makes Inconspicuous Secure Cellphone

dponce80 writes "With concerns over privacy at an all-time high, it's refreshing to hear that Swiss company VectroTel is making a secure mobile phone. The X8 encrypts secure calls (the unit is also able to make regular calls) with a virtually unbreakable 128-bit key, itself generated through a Diffie-Hellman exchange. While transmission does get somewhat delayed, communication is secure."

What does this mean for eavesdropping?

[kneeslasher]

Does this mean that Government agencies cannot listen to our oh-so-important phone calls? Typical. Millions if not billions of our tax money wasted if this technology becomes widely adopted.

Useless

[cerberusss]

While transmission does get somewhat delayed, communication is secure.

This is of course useless for phone sex.

Me: "So, what are you wearing?"
Gf: "..."
Me: "What are you wea*"
Gf: "A hot small negli*"
Me: "Sorry, please continue"
(...)
Gf: "A hot small neglige and nothing else"
Me: "*grunt* and then?"
(...)
Gf: "I didn't hear you. What did you say after then?"
Me: "Uh nothing, I was just asking, what do*"
Gf: "Is this thing on? Oh wait now I hear you. Can you repeat?"
Et cetera.

Re:What does this mean for eavesdropping?

[Bromskloss]

Millions if not billions of our tax money wasted if this technology becomes widely adopted.

Which is of course better than both having spent all the money _and_ then getting harmed (spied on) by it.

Re:Useless

[Anonymous Coward]

Anyone who uses communications interception and decryption for the sole purpose of listening to geeks having phone sex is punishing himself enough already :-(

"Oh baby, compile me hard!"
"Mount my hardware, yeah!"
"I put on my wizard robe and hat..."

Etc.

Big question is

[danceswithtrees]

Does it work with a foil hat?

Can you hear me now??

[ghoul]

Verizon Guy: Can you hear me now?
NSA analyst: No

Re:Cryptography?

[mrogers]

Like he said, a terrorist.

President Logan must have one of these

[payndz]

How else could he make all those long cellphone calls to his fellow conspirators in which he openly admits to involvement in terrorist activities without somebody at NSA going, "Jeez, is that who I think it is?"

Too bad it didn't protect him against his wife's secretary using a $30 digital recorder from Radio Shack to tape a conversation incriminating him in the assassination of a former president, but then, *everybody* was having a bad day.

Re:Useless

[Anonymous Coward]

Or:

GF calls.

GF: Hi, could you..
BF: Wait! Read the hash to me on the screen.
GF: but..
BF: someone might be doing a man-in-the-middle attack. just read the hash.
GF: *sigh* [reads long string of numbers]
BF: 8? did you say 8? not A?
GF: No. AAY! Like APPLE.
BF: Oh, phew.
GF: *sigh*
GF: now, could you pick up some milk?
BF: okay.
GF: *sigh* bye.

Concerns over privacy at all time high?

[ambrosen]

Really? I'm not aware of any particular events that are going on at the moment that would make people especially worrried about privacy.

Re:Why not get one from cryptophone.de?

[Anonymous Coward]

Who or what is "em"?