• knee pads
• Bring Your own lube
• ???
• YOU ARE HIRED!!!

Does anyone have a link to the Chaos Computer Club presentation?

A5/1 and A5/3 are Authentication Algorithms and not ENCRYPTION/Decryption. The Ciphering Encryption Algorithm for GSM/GPRS is either gea1, gea2 and gea3.

In the United States, a certain 3 letter network operator specifically forces the newer authentication algorithms to be disabled

I must respectfully disagree with a number of your points.

The act of possession means it is no longer a thought crime. It is a crime in the United States to even view an image of Child Pornography.

There are ways to catch the manufacturer, but what other freedoms will be lost in the balance. Shall we have to provide ID to buy a Camera?

A couple of points need to be clarified in your comment.

• HSPA is still referred to as 3G. Specifically, it refers to the R6 version of the 3GPP standards.
• HSPA+ is a technology being rolled out now (I believe Bell Mobility in Canada). There are devices that will be commercial very shortly that support 21Mbps in the forward link (down link).
• AT&T has made the specific decision to not migrate to HSPA+ (R7) and will not offer more than 7.2 Mbps

That will cause violent and unstoppable retching from all bodily orifices

WGA is like a body cavity search, but without the rubber glove

1. In GSM/UMTS, The encryption keys are stored on the SIM/USIM and never transmitted over the air. There are two parameters passed to the MS/UE which calculates and returns a value to the network. If the two values don't match, the authentication process fails.

2.) Again, There is the issue of knowing the keys. The IMSI/TMSI/PTMSI is not enough information to successfully intercept a call. I can setup an entirely fake network for Mobile to Mobile calls, and if both mobiles are on my network, I can turn off authentication and ciphering and have complete access to the call.

3.) Private Keys are stored on the SIM/USIM

Don't get me wrong, A number of security issues still remain with Wireless Networks, but they do have a few security measures.

I am going to speak in regards to GSM and UMTS networks as I know the protocol

There are security messages in Wireless Networks. There is Authentication and Ciphering in GSM/GPRS/EDGE/WCDMA/HSPA/HSPA+. In addition, there is integrity protection of signalling messages in WCDMA/HSPA,HSPA+ networks. There are a few messages which can not be ciphered/integrity protected for obvious reasons such as the initial Location Update Request/Attach Request. Yes, certain authentication algorithms have been compromised GSM A5/2. It has been superceeded by A5/3.

It is true that malware has made it onto cellular devices (Blackberry in UAE and Symbian come to mind). It is almost impossible for someone to remotely access the phone without such software existing on the device for voice frames.

Yes, the redirecting of packets/frames is a legal requirement in many jurisdictions. It usually has to be accompanied with a warrant from a relevant law enforcement agency otherwise the specific phone company employee faces criminal charges. The usual redirection is done in the MSC or SGSN and I have never seen a case where it was done at the basestation.

The network providers actually contain visible disclaimers about the total speed.

There is extensive documentation available concerning additional accessories to the devices. If I recall correctly, some of these devices are even shipped with the Y Cable.

I don't think any changes are required for Linux or MacOSX because the RxWindowSize in Linux auto-tunes to the correct value.

The following is the default in Fedora 11 2.6.29.5-191.fc11.x86_64: [rwwyatt@rwwyatt ipv4]$ more /proc/sys/net/ipv4/tcp_rmem 4096 87380 4194304

Disclaimer: I work for a Data Card Manufacturer

Without the actual procedure for the tests, it is difficult to say if PCWorld'ss are any good. I am not familiar with the software used as no major industry provider uses it. The standard tool in the industry is Windcatcher

It really depends on the way the test is run. The problem actually relates to the TcpWindowSize as it should be increased to at least 128Kb for HSPA based networks and for CDMA as well.

Another major issue is that Data Cards don't inherently support streaming. Streaming is often used as a secondary PDP context and this will have a major negative effect. Were they in a handover region or not? On HSPA, every other cell is an interferer so throughput should be measured with a Single Carrier in the active set. It is still possible to be in a handover zone while in a parked car.

Did they use the carrier supplied good coverage locations? Randomly may not cross the panaroma of RSSI.

As well, the latest modem from Novatel Wireless is the USB760. I also believe the latest Sierra Wireless card is the compass something or other. Did they use a Y Cable? Did they use an external antenna? What model of PC did they use as TRP/TIS makes a huge difference in low coverage areas?

Without more data, I would still say there isn't sufficient evidence to form any conclusions from their article.

Working in the industry, I can tell you phones have a really really short design period. Typically the design starts around 9 months before commercial availability.

If the Iphone had fizzled, all Smart phone projects would have been killed.

We actually have caught up to Japan for the most part. There are other technologies at play depending on the region in the east (CDMA, WiBro, WiMAX), but WiMax is dying