Comms: new product encrypts mobile to office comms

Cellcrypt Enterprise Gateway(TM) which enables business executives to securely call office desk phones from their cellphone. The product is aimed at senior executives travelling to hostile countries where phone interception is widespread.

Users can securely access standard office telephony features - such as voicemail, conference calls and calling out to the public telephone network - allowing them to seamlessly continue their normal business routine when abroad, safe in the knowledge that confidential corporate and personal information is kept private.

Earlier this month, an unauthorised "spy centre" was discovered in Latin America. There was sophisticated cellular interception equipment used for spying on businesses, politicians and journalists. A 2005 report to the U.S. Congress showed that far from being restricted to a few rogue nations, state sponsored interception is widespread, stating, for example, that 108 countries are actively engaged in collection efforts against U.S. technology assets.

Another reason for business travellers to secure cell phone calls when abroad is to protect personal information from kidnappers in high-risk regions, such as South America. According to Time magazine, in 2009, an estimated 9,000 kidnappings took place in Venezuela alone.

"The issue of phone interception is often thought to be restricted to government agencies but it has recently become clear that the equipment and software required is now available to the general public," said Dr. Larry Ponemon of the Ponemon Institute. "The widespread availability of both the GSM encryption codebook and a complete base station software stack has brought mobile interception within reach of any graduate IT student with USD2,000 of readily available equipment, substantially increasing the scale of the threat to the enterprise."

Of course, none of this helps if the person behind the newspaper two seats away is a scout for the kidnappers or an industrial spy. But then again, if you are on the 16:42 out of Liverpool Street, the chances are no one unexpected will be waiting for you to say anything about that M&A deal your company will announce tomorrow.