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Harris and Motorola DES compatability

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radioman2001

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Our agency has APX radios both portable and some mobiles, but we are required to buy lowest bid. Motorola comes with ADP and Harris is offering single key DES. If we order Motorola radios with DES will they talk to Harris in P-25 mode? or any other mode for that matter.

IMO AES is just a money maker for the vendors and mostly has no use other than users who are discussing National Security. National Security users really should be using Type 1 anyway.
 

Mattsenft

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You could use either. Harris now offers ARC4 which is compatible with ADP, or you could use DES. The single key DES that Harris offers utilizes RPM to program the key rather than a keyloader.
 

radioman2001

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From reading other posts here I got the impression that the single key DES offered by Harris was a weaker version (less bits not 56 bit) version, maybe more like DVP or DVI. Is the ARC4 offered by Harris a zero $ option?

I am aware that both ADP and single key DES are loaded by RPM, and there was mention by my agency to go to a KMC. Not thrilled with that.
 

RayAir

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DES-OFB for P25 I believe is a required standard (if enabled) so Harris radios should talk to Moto's in DES-OFB mode provided the Key ID and Key Value are the same.

As far as the cost of AES being purely for extra profit, that is not true. Though it may cost more than ADP(RC4) or DES, that is the price for communications security.

Systems using ADP or DES-OFB cannot be guaranteed as being secure. DES is magnitudes stronger than ADP, but today DES is obsolete.

You need to ask yourself from whom do you want to protect your communications? What is the worst that can happen if your comms become compromised?

If you want protection from scanner listeners, ADP or DES-OFB is adequate.

If you want protection against organized criminal enterprises, state actors, or technically capable adversaries, AES is the only answer.
 

RayAir

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From reading other posts here I got the impression that the single key DES offered by Harris was a weaker version (less bits not 56 bit) version, maybe more like DVP or DVI. Is the ARC4 offered by Harris a zero $ option?

I am aware that both ADP and single key DES are loaded by RPM, and there was mention by my agency to go to a KMC. Not thrilled with that.

Single Key DES is 56 bits and just means the radio can only hold one DES key. In other words, all TGs/Users would use the same key.
 

radioman2001

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quote" DES-OFB for P25 I believe is a required standard (if enabled) so Harris radios should talk to Moto's in DES-OFB mode provided the Key ID and Key Value are the same.

But is single key DES from Harris really DES-OFB or straight DES and DES/DES-Xl both work in P-25 mode, but are not interchangable. I know I use it everyday, plus Mot does not give away DES-OFB, just ADP. At nearly $1K a radio for AES is a bit much.

qutoe" Single Key DES is 56 bits and just means the radio can only hold one DES key. In other words, all TGs/Users would use the same key.

I understand that I go back to the time where radios could only handle one key, and there was no proper code detect available. PIA

We are not talking National Security here and the chances of actually using the encryption is pretty seldom (selectable on only specific modes). The Officers have enough trouble just knowing what channel to be on for the area the are patrolling considering we have a lot of them. Over 4000 sq miles of territory covers a lot of mutual aid agencies.

I have never heard of anyone actually breaking ADP or DES, and all you have to do is look online and Youtube to see how difficult it is to hard break it. The only time I ever heard of a security breach was when someone in the radio shop loaded up a criminals radio.

I have suggested that a test radio be obtained to test this theory of DES working across platforms.
 

Forts

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Harris single key DES is DES-OFB. Completely compatible with Motorola/Tait/Icom etc etc, no difference in key strength. DES-XL was a Moto proprietary version that is only found in their radios and some EFJ gear I believe. Single key DES was Harris' answer to counter ADP at the time, but now their newer radios (XL-200) are ARC4/ADP compatible so you have options.

As mentioned above it's all about the level of security you want to achieve. ADP is 100% effective at blocking scanners and unauthorized radios. With DES or AES you are just adding further levels of complexity to that.
 

GTR8000

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ADP is 100% effective at blocking scanners and unauthorized radios.

Scanners, yes...unauthorized radios, maybe.

There is a longstanding bug in APX CPS where in some instances, the software ADP key is not masked in the codeplug, and is visible in plain text when opening an existing codeplug or reading a radio. It would not take much for someone to exploit that bug, view the key, then have it find its way into unauthorized radios.

For this reason alone, using a keyloader is preferable to using a software key, even for ADP.
 

Forts

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Interesting, never heard of that before. It stands to reason that the key would be visible in a saved codeplug but I've never heard of it viewable after reading a radio.
 

GTR8000

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I've found that the behavior is not always consistent. It's always visible in plain text when opening a codeplug (probably by design), but I have also found that after reading a radio it might also be unmasked.

The moral of the story is that software ADP keys are vulnerable to being discovered much more easily than a hardware key loaded with a KVL. Nothing wrong with using 40-bit ADP for basic privacy, but to protect the integrity of the key, you're much better off using hardware vs software.
 

GTR8000

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Just for the sake of providing some basis for what I'm saying, this issue was supposedly addressed a few years ago. As of the latest release, R15.00.01, it still happens from time to time, based on personal experience. YMMV

Radio Release Notes – Subscriber Release 7.12 - May 2012
New Version: Host/DSP – R08.00.00
CPS Version: R08.00.00

Abstract: ADP software encryption key data visible in CPS
System Platforms Affected: Any using ADP
Special Configurations: ADP in use
User Symptom: Under certain unusual conditions, the encryption key data for ADP software encryption was visible in the CPS after reading a codeplug.
Description: This radio firmware issue has been resolved.
 

radioman2001

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quote" DES-XL was a Moto proprietary version that is only found in their radios and some EFJ gear I believe.

I am aware of the XL variant being M proprietary, that was created to give the data stream a syncronizing burst to cut down the decode time. The Feds complained that point to point actually worked better than the repeater when used without the XL code. It was the way the repeater cleaned up and re-clocked the stream, hence M developed XL, and they are not interchangable even with he same key.

Getting back to vendor games DES-OFB is not a zero dollar item with M radios only ADP is, so the 2 vendors are still playing off one another to get their product picked over the other with different encryption models.

Keyloaded keys is always better security wise compared to the truck size holes in Windows operating system loaded. You would think M would encrypt the whole codeplug as they did even back with the analog Spectra.
Now you have a whole another security issue, as who gets to create, load and secure the keyloader, as I mentioned in my previous post so you now have to guard the keyloader. I like Type I accounting but it would prove to be cumbersome, and I believe the best answer is a KMC.

It's now off to field testing time, and good thing I have a keyloader.
 

DisasterGuy

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The real question is if you require interoperability. AES is the defacto standard for P25. Many agencies even use national interoperable keys for this reason.

With Harris there are several ways to load including local keys on a pc using keyloader application, an encrypted thumb drive or using a KVL. Single Key DES and ARC4 as free options are added as UKEK in the programming software. Use of either Single Key DES and ARC4 isn't recommended but is instead them caving to customer demand and specs written around moto targeted procurement.

Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk
 

radioman2001

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So much for P25 interoperability typical Mot and now Harris B.S., and BTW the AES is WAAAAY overkill for our application and is definitly not worth $1k a radio. I don't see many agencies that will "E" the I-call or Tac channels at a scene, as it kinda defeats the purpose of interoperability. I am waiting on some new Harris units with the single key DES freebee to test with my personal XTL in DES, but that still begs the question of the cost in a Mot radio.

To sum it up basically there is no free lunch when it comes to "E" from either manufacturer and should be disregarded when picking a vendor for your radios. The best practice is to specify a hardware generated encryption scheme in the bid and let the chips fall as they may. Hardware DES may be the choice due to it's lower cost as compared to AES.
 

LMR_Dude

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Yes, Harris and Moto radios can talk to each other with DES over a P-25 network, I had a auto theft task force doing just that until they were moved up to AES.
 

kb4cvn

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Privacy vs. Security

ADP, ARC4 and DES loaded into a radio via the Personality File (aka: Codeplug) gives the user(s) a acceptable level privacy from the casual listener.


Whereas a radio keyloaded with a cryptographic codekey which is physically separate from the programming file, is safeguarded, and is used with an encryption algorithm of 192 bits or greater, offers true communications security.


Keep in mind this is subject to change as technology advances...
 
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