MOBILE, Ala. Mobile Police Radio Black Out - Page 2

kel415 · #21 (**permalink**) 02-20-2013, 6:13 PM

I dont think encryption will help 100% for police. They are too many crooks out there that will go to any expense to find a black market radio so they can carry on with their love affair of crime. They may ready have one, big time crime seem to be a step ahead anyway n most cases,, just my thought

richwagner20 · #22 (**permalink**) 02-20-2013, 7:34 PM

as iam in fort fort Walton beach / Okaloosa county florida and I like to listen to my radio shack scanner pro 2053 a 300 channel dual trunking here for our local traffic in severe bad weather and from home I can hear storm dam
age areas and here the watches and warnings, as before my regular scanner was and I have hear mobile on 80-0 and then on the computer internet by radioreference at home in fort Walton beach florida as I have heard this
mobile fire dept dispatching calls on that Christmas tornados by mobile live audio feed and computer and intern
et
as now fort Walton beach and Okaloosa county florida is on and going to what they call florida state digital radio
system as a 800 freq as no scanners to day that will pick up florida state now no matter if they are $ 400.00 or
500.00 or 1.000 dollars and our local city and county and neighboring countys is going there to florida state digi
tal system as my radio shack scanners pro 2053 and pro 95 dual trunk tracking with 800 freqs band is now all
out dataed
Richard wagner
fort Walton beach florida

xmo · #23 (**permalink**) 02-20-2013, 7:42 PM

Balderdash!

Luv2Trk1 · #24 (**permalink**) 02-20-2013, 8:25 PM

What we need to do is band together. With the new computer based scanners, such as Icom, someone out there has to be able to figure out the encryption and pass that information along. I know it is difficult but like everything else, it can be done. Might have to get some help from insiders but it can be done.

balibago · #25 (**permalink**) 02-21-2013, 9:12 PM

They need to focus on that 40 bit ADP encryption. However the actual work may need to be done overseas given the US is so in love with incarcerating it's citizens. But once these hacker tools get out there on the net. There's no stopping them. Even then it may take a fairly technical individual to make it work. Be nice to see a wikileaks style website that would post insider secrets on encrypted systems. Recently Lafayette,La went 100 percent encrypted on it's emergency services channels and crime is up a few percent. Ha Ha

tlcoffee · #26 (**permalink**) 02-22-2013, 12:42 PM

I guess it goes with the times. In reality, the encryption policy narrows down who is going to listen: Law enforcement and any criminal in any industry that has disposable income to afford the decryption software.

troymail · #27 (**permalink**) 02-22-2013, 2:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bairn

I guess it goes with the times. In reality, the encryption policy narrows down who is going to listen: Law enforcement and any criminal in any industry that has disposable income to afford the decryption software.

Decryption software?

Couple of stray thoughts..

1. Based on the article: why in the hell would police be transmitting social security numbers over the radio? In these days of identity theft and other similar crimes, hat's just stupidity and a lack of training.

2. I agree that the audio feeds being so easily available and even via a cell phone are part of the problem that is driving some of the moves to encryption.

3. Basic / routine police calls generally don't contain sensitive data. We all know accidents happen, banks get robbed, people park illegally, drunks get into fights, etc.

4. Using encryption on tactical channels for non-routine does make sense... or to allow transmission of other sensitive information. My county is still analog but they have secured "alternate" channels/talkgroups with encryption. When they need to discuss or transmit sensitive information, or have surveillance or other tactical operations underway, they switch to the secure channel - and that makes sense.

5. Paramedics contact hospitals enroute with patient information and to get guidance on treatment... and there are HIPAA laws requiring that type of information to be protected and yet, I haven't heard anything about encryption of those transmissions...

To me, it seems that police are trying to hide something if they just feel the need to blanket encrypt everything.... and I don't really even listen to police channels/talkgroups.... they're just too damn chatty.

tlcoffee · #28 (**permalink**) 02-22-2013, 2:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by troymail

Decryption software?

Sure. I'm not familiar with radio security practices since I come from a computer background but you'll either need a chip or software. Since my local town (watched a council meeting yesterday) is effectively doing the last minute switch to the 800MHz because of the money situation, I don't think they will be forking over the funds to pay for any significant hardware encryption methods. Course that is just my opinion though. I was rather intimated by the amount of effort required to re-outfit 3 services worth in a small town. If they were to add encryption to the situation in this case would be...well I think foolish.

troymail · #29 (**permalink**) 02-22-2013, 5:51 PM

What? How stupid! SSN over the air?

Are these people clueless or what?

szron · #30 (**permalink**) 02-22-2013, 5:55 PM

Often done to confirm warrants.

Last 4 #s here in WA.

Well developed MDC network should completely eliminate that.

kel415 · #31 (**permalink**) 02-22-2013, 6:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by troymail

What? How stupid! SSN over the air?

Are these people clueless or what?

What gets me is when they call it into records they not only give back the SS# again but name & address where they live, to me that leaves something wide open there

JoeyC · #32 (**permalink**) 02-22-2013, 6:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by troymail

What? How stupid! SSN over the air?

Are these people clueless or what?

Common and standard practice in law enforcement for decades. Maybe not the smartest thing to do in these times, but then again, neither is streaming police comms over the internet.

pepsima1 · #33 (**permalink**) 02-23-2013, 11:00 PM

In my city encryption has been around for almost 15 years now on LE talkgroups on our Smartzone system. Our county encrypted even before the internet was even around and cell phones streaming audio of scanner feeds.

Has it really stopped crime probably not. I live in the city where meat head dorner slaughtered two inicident people. Two young adults with a bright future. We had a nut bad on our streets for about 24 hours until we heard about it because of encryption. Hush Hush with the PD. If we had non-encrytpion then we would of heard about which is the right thing to do since he was running our streets after killing two people. Our county is final testing its new P25 Phase I system and LE talkgroups will probably stay encrypted and tell the end of time too. The good thing is that if I need to get an PD action I listen to LA Sheriffs and LAPD which is wide open to anyone. Go figure.

I hope some young smart college kid in China figures out on breaking or providing us with some measures to break encrytpion or some device which probably in time will happen

milf · #34 (**permalink**) 02-24-2013, 6:11 AM

Here we go AGAIN with the nutball ideas of breaking encryption, decryption software, and other useless, pointless, time wasters that CAN'T be done! The only way to open encryption is with the key for that hour/day/week. PERIOD! All the fantasy crap about hacking it, cracking it, plugging your foil covered head into your flux capacitor and going Doc Brown nutball is sheer stupidity. Do your homework fellas. You folks that really yell the loudest about everything should be open on the forums, also probably are the ones that are church mouses at city/county/state meetings where you may get a chance to speak. Then again you may be the ones spouting bullcrap about conspiracies and hacking the systems and getting ignored at the meetings? Oh well, keep pumping the hacker crap on the monitored forums so that the powers that be can be EVEN MORE paranoid and make it even worse! YES, they do read these forums, and YES, they do act on things they see here. Want proof? Read the Mississippi forums regaurding the MSWIN and a couple of agencies that no longer can be heard.

rapidcharger · #35 (**permalink**) 02-24-2013, 8:34 AM

Decryption is never going to happen. Don't waste your time or efforts on it.
Instead use that energy to organize and gain support and get the public behind you just as they did in new orleans where they changed their mind.

There is no legitimate reason for encryption. They like to say it's because of terrorists and 9/11 but they seem to forget that NYPD, the agency that was affected by 9/11 is still in the clear. Most of the public would be against encryption if they only new it was happening. We live in the age of the video camera. HD video cams that fit in pockets (and soon to be worn as glasses) are revealing more and more misconduct and abuses of power. You don't have to be a scanner enthusiast to know that there is only one reason to hide, and that's if you're doing something you shouldn't be doing.

This is a democracy. Public meetings are held. You've got a better chance of having enough people show up at some of those meetings and making change that way than you do by trying to break some code.

pepsima1 · #36 (**permalink**) 02-24-2013, 1:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by milf

Here we go AGAIN with the nutball ideas of breaking encryption, decryption software, and other useless, pointless, time wasters that CAN'T be done! The only way to open encryption is with the key for that hour/day/week. PERIOD! All the fantasy crap about hacking it, cracking it, plugging your foil covered head into your flux capacitor and going Doc Brown nutball is sheer stupidity. Do your homework fellas. You folks that really yell the loudest about everything should be open on the forums, also probably are the ones that are church mouses at city/county/state meetings where you may get a chance to speak. Then again you may be the ones spouting bullcrap about conspiracies and hacking the systems and getting ignored at the meetings? Oh well, keep pumping the hacker crap on the monitored forums so that the powers that be can be EVEN MORE paranoid and make it even worse! YES, they do read these forums, and YES, they do act on things they see here. Want proof? Read the Mississippi forums regaurding the MSWIN and a couple of agencies that no longer can be heard.

Listen here buddy. The County of Orange went encrypted 15 years ago. They went encrypted way before RR was around and way before 911 attacks. These forums have nothing to do what other cities and counties do. Also, nobody in this world can predict the future so you have no proof what can happen in the future with de-cryption and technology. So stop being so angry. So these radio forum have no proof and no bearing on who encrypts and who does not. Look at the LAPD they are still fully in the clear and this city has a boat load of crime...... They want to keep their image and transparency.

JoeyC · #37 (**permalink**) 02-24-2013, 2:08 PM

Encryption has nothing to do with preventing crime, little to do with tipping off listeners or nefarious acts, and MUCH to do with mitigation. Once you figure that out, you might not be so angry. Modern encryption will never be hacked to the point of usefulness to someone with a scanner in Orange county CA or anywhere.

pepsima1 · #38 (**permalink**) 02-24-2013, 2:19 PM

Just going to put in another 2 cents worth of my time right now. We had Dorner shoot two incident young adults in the head execution style in The County of Orange and Encryption did not stop this brutal guy from doing it.

Also, last week Orange County had a shoot out with a young crazy guy that killed a hooker at his house and then went on a shooting spree on the freeway and killed a couple of more people and then got in a shoot out with cops and then he put a bullet in his head.

ENCRYPTION did not stop that shooting either. So the debate that ENCRYPTION will stop crime has not proven to me that it will help. It just makes cops look bad and not being transparent.

I do agree that certain swat operation and tactical operation may need to be encrypted but not day to day operations. Plus our county has been encrypted for 15 years now and crime is still happening with encryption so go figure. I am not sold on it still.

JoeyC · #39 (**permalink**) 02-24-2013, 2:31 PM

One angry scanner user made this poorly researched assumption and it has snowballed ever since. No police official has ever said that encryption would halt crime.

gtaman · #40 (**permalink**) 02-24-2013, 2:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by milf

Here we go AGAIN with the nutball ideas of breaking encryption, decryption software, and other useless, pointless, time wasters that CAN'T be done! The only way to open encryption is with the key for that hour/day/week. PERIOD! All the fantasy crap about hacking it, cracking it, plugging your foil covered head into your flux capacitor and going Doc Brown nutball is sheer stupidity. Do your homework fellas. You folks that really yell the loudest about everything should be open on the forums, also probably are the ones that are church mouses at city/county/state meetings where you may get a chance to speak. Then again you may be the ones spouting bullcrap about conspiracies and hacking the systems and getting ignored at the meetings? Oh well, keep pumping the hacker crap on the monitored forums so that the powers that be can be EVEN MORE paranoid and make it even worse! YES, they do read these forums, and YES, they do act on things they see here. Want proof? Read the Mississippi forums regaurding the MSWIN and a couple of agencies that no longer can be heard.

Slow down there. Take it easy. It's a forum. I can see your frustrated. Hacking encryption is very easy btw I used a scanner a cable a computer and software. 20mins later I heard all of the presidents motorcade comms that were encrypted. As seeing this thread go down hill I believe a moderator SHOULD CALL THIS CLOSED.