Yet another illustration of how true security can only be provided by
the users themselves on an end-to-end basis. Saltzer, Reed & Clark
(authors of "End-to-End Arguments in Systems Design") have been proven
right yet again. So has Machiavelli, author of "The Prince".
The necessary hook for CDMA PCS users to provide their own end-to-end
encryption -- a generic IP packet data service -- has finally been
rolled out by Sprint PCS, over six years after I first prototyped it
in the lab. You may have seen their ads last weekend for their
"Wireless Web" service. I haven't used it for VoIP yet, but SSH works
just fine. A Palm Pilot (or pdQ) also works just fine.
Plugging a secure VoIP phone into a PCS handset certainly won't be as
convenient as a cell phone with built-in encryption, but at least
it'll make true end-to-end security possible. And I'm pushing hard for
the same packet data service to be provided in Globalstar; we're
already testing it in-house on an ad-hoc basis.
Phil
