In the second part of this article series on the security of ADS-B transmissions, we provide more details about the ADS-B message format to justify the need for very efficient cryptographic techniques.

This is the first part of a series dedicated to the importance of securing ADS-B transmissions.  Current air traffic control (ATC) relies on a combination of primary surveillance radar (PSR) based on conventional reflected radio waves and secondary surveillance radar (SSR) that uses an interrogation signal sent to an on-board transponder (Mode-S).  The replies from the aircraft are independent of the primary radar return and provide additional information (i.e., altitude and identity).  Not all aircraft have the Mode-S transponders.  The combined PSR-SSR gives an aircraft location accuracy of 1-2 nmi (nautical miles) with updates every 5-10 seconds, which leads to 3 nmi or greater separation requirement between aircraft.  To achieve the much higher aircraft densities that are forecasted for the years to come and to eliminate the high cost of operation of the PSR-SSR system, the Automatic Dependent Surveillance Broadcast (ADS-B) was introduced as an extension of the Mode-S beaconing system.  Its position accuracy is 0.05 nmi (92.6 m) and the velocity accuracy is 19.4 nmi/h (10 m/s), which means a much smaller separation between aircraft.  Being a satellite-based technology, the benefits of the ADS-B system include increased situational awareness, extended surveillance coverage, enhanced conflict detection, reduced operational costs, and improved routing efficiency.

With just a phone number, hackers can hear and record voice conversations, track a person’s whereabouts, read text messages, spy on a person, and steal information — such as contacts data, giving hackers the phone numbers of others for additional malicious actions.

In the investigation conducted by the CBS News Network, which aired "Hacking Your Phone" on the 60 Minutes television program, hackers quickly and without detection intercepted and recorded a congressman’s phone conversation by just knowing his phone number.

The CipherTalk secure smartphone provides military-grade full-circle protection for all aspects of mobile phone talk and text communications, including an innovative ability to ensure user anonymity. The entire voice and text messaging connection procedure is hidden, and no user data or call logs are generated, collected or stored. Whom and when a user is calling, and where they are calling from, is only known by the user.

Satellite performance, particularly for Transmission Control Protocol (TCP), is adversely affected by the long round trip delay (over half a second) associated with geostationary high earth satellites. Many satellite equipment vendors have developed techniques to minimize this impact on users; one common technique is the use of a TCP proxy for TCP Acceleration. Application(s) requiring strong end-to-end protection using an installed satellite system with TCP Acceleration, however, have a problem. Use of a Layer 3 or 4 IP encryption system to implement end-to-end security is incompatible with TCP Acceleration techniques utilized by satellite gear unless the encryption system is specifically designed to handle this situation. TCC has developed the Cipher X 7211 IP encryption system with innovative TCP Stream Encryption operating to properly handle these optimizations seamlessly.