Subject: [NEXTEL-1] Wiretapping of CDMA Phone Calls Possible’

From: [email-masked]
Date: Wed, 26 Nov 2003 20:46:30 -0500

Wiretapping of CDMA Phone Calls Possible’

By Kim Sung-jin
Staff Reporter

The chairman and chief executive of Qualcomm Inc., a U.S. wireless technology
giant that developed and holds various licenses for code division multiple
access (CDMA) technology for mobile telecommunications, admitted the
technological possibility of wiretapping phone calls made via CDMA mobile
systems.

Qualcomm chairman Irwin Jacobs, in a recent interview with Yonhap News Agency at
the company headquarters in San Diego, said it could be possible to wiretap CDMA
mobile phone calls as there is no way to completely block wiretapping threats of
intercepted wireless conversations.

However, he said apart from time division multiple access (TDMA) technology that
can easily be eavesdropped on with bugging scanners, it can be said that the
CDMA technology, which uses codes to transmit conversations, is much safer from
wiretapping during wireless segment of its transmission. But conversely, this
means that mobile phone calls can still be wiretapped during the fixed-line, or
wired, sections of calls between base stations.

Jacobs also said Qualcomm has completed development of a telesecurity system
that provides a safer wiretap-free mobile phone call environment that goes
beyond to a level requested by the U.S. government. He said even though CDMA
technology itself is already safe from wiretappers, the U.S. government has
requested his company to provide them with technology with a higher level of
anti-wiretap safety.

Jacobs told a Korean newspaper last May that it was possible to wiretap CDMA
phone calls but that is very difficult. He said tapping a CDMA phone is
technologically possible within a systematic effort using highly specialized
technology in the hands of a skilled user or entity.

``As Minister of Information and Communication Chin Dae-je said last month, CDMA
mobile communication technology that South Korea is employing has a
sophisticated code encryption system that makes it extremely difficult to
wiretap,'' a ministry spokesman said.

``Although local mobile phone manufacturers and the government are developing
fully secure CDMA mobile handsets and technologies, it does not in any form
imply that the regular CDMA phones on the market are susceptible to
wiretapping,'' he added.

The tapping of CDMA phones remains a politically-charged subject in South Korea,
made all the more controversial by statements from government and industry
sources who assert that it is impossible.

Chin in October officially denied that it is practically impossible to wiretap
mobile phone calls in South Korea due to complicated CDMA code encryption
technology in a parliamentary audit of the Ministry of Information and
Communication. During the audit, Grand National Party (GNP) lawmakers claimed
that the presidential security service secretly provided bugging-proof mobile
phones to some high-level presidential officials.

Many top politicians and business leaders are known to typically use multiple
handsets to prevent possible interception of their conversations by third
parties.  GNP policymakers then said that they would file a lawsuit against Chin
for perjury for denying the possibility of CDMA wiretapping.

Pantech & Curitel in February also unveiled a bugging-proof CDMA mobile handset,
adding credibility to GNP lawmakers' allegations. It then said that its 600S
model, developed by Prof. Lee Phil-joong of Pohang University of Science and
Technology, features technology designed to block illegitimate duplication of
ESN (electronic serial number) of mobile handsets and unique voice encryption
technology that prevents the interception of calls between mobile and fixed-line
networks.
Secure calls, however, are only guaranteed when both the caller and the receiver
use handsets equipped with the same anti-wiretap security and encryption
devices.

Meanwhile, Jacobs also dismissed the possibility of Qualcomm readjusting the
rates of royalty it collects from South Korean companies for using their CDMA
technologies.

``I think the royalty agreement with Korean firms is reasonable,'' Jacobs was
quoted as saying, while adding, ``Qualcomm will give a careful consideration in
adjusting the royalty rate.''

Qualcomm holds licenses for core CDMA technology used in mobile phones and
Korean companies were the first in the world to commercialize it and pay
royalties to the U.S. firm.

Under the so-called Most Favorable Royalty Rates (MFRR) agreement with Korean
cell phone manufacturers, Qualcomm had promised to collect the lowest possible
royalty rates from them.

But Korean cell phone makers, such as Samsung Electronics and LG Electronics,
and Qualcomm have been in a dispute after the U.S. firm awarded a new royalty
rate to Chinese manufacturers.

Qualcomm collects 5.25 percent of local sales of handsets in royalties and 5.75
percent of exports from Korean manufacturers.

Chinese handset makers pay 2.65 percent royalties for internal sales and 7
percent for exports.
The Korean government and handset manufacturers have argued the Korean rate is
unfavorable compared with the Chinese rate.

[email-masked]
11-19-2003 18:05

http://times.hankooki.com/lpage/biz/200311/kt2003111918034011860.htm