Update:

As of today the GSM encryption code is officially cracked. Well-known German security expert Karsten Nohl announced today that his open source A5/1 Cracking Project has finally computed all the necesarry rainbow tables (PDF, 926 KB) needed to crack any GSM-device. While the GSM Association claimes it still would be difficult to listen in on actual calls, security experts disagree.

But what does this mean in plain english? Basically: From now on any well-fundet organisation (criminal or governmental) can listen in on your personal mobile phone calls quite easily. This is all the more reason to push the developenent of a more distributed mobile phone network. Traditional phone networks can not handle the extra traffic large scale real encryption would produce. But with the computing power of a 600MHz iPhone or Droid/Milestone or a 1GHz Nexus One and the potency of the internet using PGP encrypted SIP telephoning could be easily done! (SIP is one of the most versatile VoIP-Standards and PGP, the acronym for Pretty Good Privacy, a very strong open source encryption software/algorithm)

Related articles by Zemanta:

• Privacy Algorithm to encrypt GSM calls has been cracked (ecombizcenter.blogspot.com)
• The Algorithm Protecting GSM Calls Has Been Cracked [Security] (gizmodo.com)
• Encryption Code for 80% of the World’s Mobile Calls Cracked (mashable.com)
• Secret code protecting cellphone calls set loose (theregister.co.uk)
• GSM Code Cracked & Released – Another Reason to Be Thankful for Verizon (lockergnome.com)

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