November 15, 2023 at 11:11AM
The encryption algorithms used to secure emergency radio communications will be released to the public domain, after vulnerabilities were found in TETRA. The decision to go public is a complete turn from ETSI, which initially denied vulnerabilities. The algorithms will be open to academic research for independent reviews. No date has been set for their release.
Key Takeaways from Meeting Notes:
1. The encryption algorithms used to secure emergency radio communications, specifically the TETRA standard, will be released to the public domain.
2. This decision is driven by the discovery of vulnerabilities in TETRA by Midnight Blue Labs, which were presented at Black Hat USA.
3. ETSI initially dismissed claims of vulnerabilities but has now made a complete reversal.
4. A technical committee overseeing the TETRA standard met in October and unanimously decided to open-source the cryptographic algorithms.
5. The meeting was attended by members of the TETRA community, including operators, users, manufacturers, and governments.
6. The algorithms will be published alongside the original and new authentication and key management specifications.
7. There is no specific timeline for when the algorithms will become accessible to the public.