Will / can Uniden ever make a scanner to break the encryption...and how much would you pay for it?

[Invisibleflash]

I'd pay around $1,000+ for one if it was like the SDS200. And I'm not even in a heavily encrypted area. But is it even possible to do?

 

[dlwtrunked]

Without the "secret" key for individual system/talkgroup "No", and specifically illegal in U.S. law.

 

[trentbob]

To answer your question original poster.. no.

This really isn't for discussion.

 

[AB5ID]

IBTL

 

[wtp]

nope,

 

[nd5y]

https://uscode.house.gov/browse/prelim@title18/part1/chapter119

Sec. 2512

 

[KevinC]

Word on the street is @JoeBearcat had been working on this and the NSA found out and that's why he hasn't been on RR for several months. Read into that whatever you want.

 

[mmckenna]

But is it even possible to do?

As said, no.

Three ways to do this:
1. The agency gives you the encryption keys. And that's not going to happen. Giving away encryption keys would eliminate any value of going encrypted in the first place.
2. Magically 'guessing' the key. Mathematically unlikely to happen. Plus any good agency will roll their keys periodically.
3. The radio being able to break the code. That violates laws. It also requires huge amounts of computing power and more time than you'll have on earth to accomplish. And in those decades it would take to break the code, the agency would roll their codes and you'd have to start all over again.

Any reputable agency should be running AES256. That's not reasonably "breakable", not in any reasonable amount of time, not with any reasonable amount of computing power, and absolutely not for $1000.

The encryption hardware is also heavily regulated by export laws, so that would make things difficult for the scanner manufacturer.

As for agencies giving out the keys, there's been some hobbyist wet dreams about "upstanding citizens" or those with ham tickets getting some sort of special access to the keys. That would never happen and would violate all kinds of standards that agencies are required to meet. And encryption keys cannot be simply lifted out of a borrowed/stolen radio. It's not something you read with programming software.

There are some very low security encryption algorithms that can be broken fairly easily, but agencies shouldn't be running those. The FBI/DOJ standards have some very specific requirements about which algorithms can be used.

 

[MStep]

Here's the key:

a38hdi7ohewqppqcckdoi,wkkJJJ7&&6sjsmspplwoolks_0k2kl2l;;;sfhjdipqpkef*&&9sls'

So now that you have it, where in your scanner are you going to put it ???

See how silly it all becomes? I think that we should just be happy that there is still some stuff that we can listen to, and enjoy it while it lasts.

 

[WB5UOM]

We are right back to those fools who walk down the street at night after business hours and jiggle doors .. and pondering...hey lets see if we can get in!!!!
its the SAME thing fools.
trying to 'break in' to a radio system

 

[Blackswan73]

It is against federal law to decrypt any communications without proper authorization. I know this personally, reasons of which I have already reiterated in other posts. The ECPA act applies to all encrypted communications regardless of type

B.S.

 

[prcguy]

Word on the street is @JoeBearcat had been working on this and the NSA found out and that's why he hasn't been on RR for several months. Read into that whatever you want.

I was going to post that UPMan was healthy until he worked on this and, well, that would be in bad taste so I won't post it.

 

[mikewazowski]

I think the OP gets the idea.