Scrambling & Encryption Solutions for Police and First Responders
by Jenny Christensen

“Can you hear me now?” Surely, we have all had a laugh or two from the popular advertising campaign and maybe even used the phrase in making a joke with coworkers or family. However, when it comes to your work in protecting and saving the public, there are times when you don’t want people to hear your conversations. There are emergency and tactical situations when it is important, and perhaps essential, that your communications remain secure and confidential.

Securing Communications from Unwanted Listeners
With technology available from local retailers, the curious public, the story-seeking media and even your worst adversaries can be listening in on your two-way radio communications.  For just a few hundred dollars, anyone can visit a local radio store or get on the Internet to buy a scanner.  With this piece of equipment, unwanted listeners are as aware as your first response team to the status of a crime, crisis or emergency situation. 

By installing a scrambler or encryption module in your two-way radios and then using your radio in the coded mode when you need to, you can keep your communications confidential.  No one wants the media showing up to an accident or crime scene before your personnel arrive.  Although the majority of scanner users are purely listeners, there have been incidences where they have become ambulance chasers, interfering with emergency operations.  And today, there is also the possibility of terror threats, which unfortunately can occur anywhere and at anytime.  And some critical situations are more common than we like to think, from bomb threats at a county office or school to a family hostage situation.  These are just a few examples of situations where you want to assure that your communications are protected.  Lives of the public and your personnel could be depending on it.

A voice security module or scrambler fits within
the internal structure of a two-way radio.

Conducting Confidential Operations
Say your local Drug Task Force is preparing to make an arrest.  As your team makes its move, you need the element of surprise to be successful.  If the media were to arrive ahead of you with a camera crew, your operation could be doomed.  Or, perhaps you have an escaped prisoner or robbery suspect and their accomplices have a scanner.  They could easily listen in on your tactics and avoid being captured.  They head east, when they know you are heading west.  High-speed chases are also occurring with greater frequency.  With scramblers installed in your mobile radios, you can direct your squads to locations to preempt the chase without the risk of tipping off the driver.

For Personal Data, Privacy is the Law
When it comes to personal data, privacy is now becoming the law.  It is critical that you keep an injured person’s or even a suspect’s/convict’s personal information confidential.  Regulations regarding the protection of private information are becoming increasingly stringent.  For example, when radioing into a hospital you may need to transmit data about a person that is considered private.  The last thing you want is a lawsuit or an important case thrown out of court because the person’s personal data became known because someone was listening in on your radio communications.

Securing personal information is the law,
even in emergency situations.

Getting Started with Scrambling
A scrambler or encryption module is a small device that installs inside of a two-way analog radio.  For digital technologies, it may be a software add-on for a P25 radio.  Modules can be retrofitted into your existing analog radios or can be installed into any new radios that you may add to your system.  When your radio system is equipped with scrambling, listeners will hear a garbled and unrecognizable speech.  With the highest levels of encryption, they will hear only “white noise.”  When used it the coded mode, your radio communications become private to only those who need to know.

There are scramblers made for most popular brands and models of radios including Motorola, Icom, Kenwood, Yaesu and many more.  It is recommended that the scrambler manufacturer or your local radio dealer evaluate your radio system before installing any scrambler in your radios to be sure that the scramblers work optimally in your system.  A brief training session with your personnel will also be needed to be sure they know how to operate the radio in clear and coded mode.

There are scramblers made for most every
popular brand and model of two-way radio.

Not All Scramblers are Created Equally
This can be where scrambling can get tricky.  There are different methods of scrambling which offer varying levels of security.  From the most basic to the most secure, there is simple inversion scrambling, hopping code scrambling, a hybrid of sweeping and hopping code scrambling, and most recently digital encryption for analog radios.  The level of security you need is based upon the level of sophistication of your unwanted listener, how sensitive and critical your data is, and your budget.

Simple inversion has long been the most common type of scrambling.  Some radios even come with simple inversion installed in them by the radio manufacturer.  However, using simple inversion scrambling in police and first responder applications is risky, as equipment to decrypt simple inversion communications is now easily accessible and available from a variety of retailers.  Plus, a trained and careful ear can understand at least portions of a conversation that is protected with simple inversion. 

A higher level of encryption is recommended for truly secure communications, with simple inversion only being appropriate for commercial applications such as taxis, limousines and private businesses.  The “bad guys” are getting smarter and more clever, challenging encryption manufacturers to build increasingly secure solutions.  New digital encryption for analog radios offers the most superior security available today, however digital ciphers can vary in security as well.  They may have from 32-bit to 128-bit keys, with longer keys typically signifying greater security.  A manufacturer or your local dealer can help you determine the level and type of encryption that is right for your situation.

Now, More Than Ever, Being Secure is Smart
Many militaries and governments around the world secure their two-way radio systems with scramblers, as do many national and local police forces.  Since 9/11, the number of encrypted systems has been increasing, as the threat of political turmoil and terror attacks has become a global issue.  Too often, a radio system is not encrypted until something tragic happens and the encryption comes too late, after an unfortunate outcome that may have been prevented.  Voice security is something that you probably don’t need all of the time, but its users find comfort in knowing it is there when they do need it.

For additional information about securing your radio system.
Web: www.transcrypt.com
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