More Privacy For Your Cell Calls? Lots more?
If you're the kind of person that yaks confidential company info into your phone the second the airplane touches down, then you probably don't need this: The Cryptophone, a GSM handset by GSMK in Berlin, encrypts your conversation end-2-end during its entire passage through the cellular network, both wireless and wired segments. In fact, your call can only be understood by another cryptophone or a PC running cryptophone software. GSMK has built strong encryption into a suped-up model of the same HTC smartphone 02 offers. Bearing in mind that GSM calls are already fairly secure, and that the price is 1,800 Euros per handset, only the most paranoid need inquire. If you are a cloak and dagger type who scuttles off to a safe-zone for calls, you might be the niche market that requires this phone. Just be careful no one is reading your lips, because unless you're using the cones of silence, the most vulnerable place in any phone call is between your molars and the phone's mic.
Thank you for reading this Techdirt post. With so many things competing for everyone’s attention these days, we really appreciate you giving us your time. We work hard every day to put quality content out there for our community.
Techdirt is one of the few remaining truly independent media outlets. We do not have a giant corporation behind us, and we rely heavily on our community to support us, in an age when advertisers are increasingly uninterested in sponsoring small, independent sites — especially a site like ours that is unwilling to pull punches in its reporting and analysis.
While other websites have resorted to paywalls, registration requirements, and increasingly annoying/intrusive advertising, we have always kept Techdirt open and available to anyone. But in order to continue doing so, we need your support. We offer a variety of ways for our readers to support us, from direct donations to special subscriptions and cool merchandise — and every little bit helps. Thank you.
–The Techdirt Team
