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Last month, on November 4, 2012, the National Security Agency (NSA) of the United States celebrated it's 60th anniversary. The NSA is one of the world's largest intelligence agencies, responsible for gathering foreign signals intelligence and protecting domestic communications. For this diamond anniversary, NSA published a full color illustrated publication (available here in PDF) with an interesting overview of its history. In this booklet there are also nice pictures, some of them unseen until now: President George H.W. Bush using a secure Motorola STU-III telephone. Such a phone was placed everywhere where the president stayed during a travel, so he was able to always place secure calls. This purpose is also indicated by the plate below the phone. It's not clear what the white device is for. This black Motorola STU-III still served in this function, when president George W. Bush was calling during his stay at the elementary school on September 11, 2001. (Photo: NSA -...

(Updated: April 22, 2018) In a previous article we discussed the Washington-Moscow Hotline , being the most famous bilateral hotline. It was soon followed by direct communication links between a number of other countries with nuclear capabilities. In general these hotlines started as a teletype connection, being upgraded with facsimile units in the eighties and were eventually turned into dedicated secure computer networks. An exception is the hotline between Washington and London, which was a phone line already since 1943. Overview of the top level bilateral hotlines worldwide (Click to enlarge) The hotlines between the heads of governments, are meant to prevent (nuclear) war in times of severe crisis. For preventing misunderstandings and miscommunications in less critical situations, countries have also set up lower level telephone hotlines between their defense or foreign ministers. For example, the United States has so called Defense Telephone Links with at least 23 other states. ...

Last week, David Petraeus resigned as director of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), after admitting he had an extramarital affair with his biographer Paula Broadwell. This led to many news reports and also many pictures on the internet. Some of them give a nice look at the telecommunications equipment which general Petraeus used when, from July 2010 to July 2011, he was commander of the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) in Kabul, Afghanistan: ISAF Commander Petraeus being interviewed by Paula Broadwell (Photo: paulabroadwell.com, date unknown) In this picture we see the following telecommunication devices: Video conferencing screens On Petraeus' desk we see two Centric 1700 MXP video teleconferencing screens, made by the Norwegian manufacturer Tandberg . In 2010 this company was bought by Cisco Systems, and so the 1700 MXP screens are often used by US military officials. They are equipped with a HD camera and have a widescreen LCD screen, which operates both a...

(Updated: October 8, 2016) In October 1962, the Cuban Missile Crisis ended and the world was saved from falling into a nuclear war. In order to prevent this risk in the future, the United States and the Sovjet Union established a direct communication line between their two capitals in August 1963. This Washington-Moscow Hotline became one of the most famous top level communications systems in modern history. In popular culture, the Washington-Moscow Hotline is often called the Red Phone , and therefore many people think it's a telephone line, with a red phone set on the president's desk. However, this is false: the Hotline was never a phone line, but instead set up as a teletype connection, which in 1988 was replaced by facsimile units. Since 2008 the Hotline is a highly secure computer link over which messages are exchanged by e-mail . Contents - Origins - Installation - The Hotline terminals - 1963: Teletype equipment - 1978: Satellite link - 1988: Facsimile equipment - ...

In the previous post we presented a range of highly secure mobile phones. Because of their nature we almost never see officials using them, but here we have a rare picture of US president Obama using a Sectéra Wireless GSM Phone , made by General Dynamics and approved by the NSA for conversations up to the level of Top Secret: President Obama using a Sectéra Wireless GSM Phone, March 19, 2011. (White House photo by Pete Souza - click for a bigger version) The picture shows president Obama giving the final authorization for the United States Armed Forces to begin a limited military action in Libya, in support of an international effort to protect Libyan civilians. This call was made during a short visit to Brazil. Sitting next to Obama is his National Security Advisor Tom Donilon, using one of the two secure STE desk top telephone sets, which are always standing by in case the president has to make a phone call. As can be seen in the bigger picture , the other STE phone seems to be u...

(Updated: April 9, 2016) In the previous post we saw that ordinary mobile phones offer only limited protection against eavesdropping. Therefore, special devices are designed to keep conversations safe. Here we will list a range of mobile phones, which offer a high level of security and are therefore suited for top level telecommunications. The following information is gathered from the internet, only to provide a general overview. For more information, provided by the manufacturer, please click the yellow section title or the fact sheet. - for government and military use - General Dynamics: Sectéra Wireless GSM Phone - Produced from 2002-2012 by the American company General Dynamics Corp. - For GSM and GPRS networks. - Ordinary Motorola Timeport GSM phone, with a special Security Module attached at the back side of the phone, replacing the battery cover. - Approved by the NSA for conversations up to the level of TOP SECRET * and by NATO for up to COSMIC TOP SECRET. This phone is als...