Is PRISM just a not-so-secret web tool?

(Updated with an infographic on June 30, 2013)

Since The Guardian first published about the PRISM data collection program on June 6, there have been new disclosures of top secret documents almost every day, resulting in some fierce protests against apparently illegal wiretapping by the NSA and GCHQ. However, it remains unclear what PRISM actually is or does, as The Guardian didn't provide any new details or disclosed more than 5 of the 41 presentation slides about the program.

This makes it hard to determine whether PRISM really is the illegal or at least embarrassing program which most people now think it is. Especially, because it could even be the hardly secret Planning tool for Resource Integration, Synchronization and Management (PRISM), which is a web-based tool to manage information requests widely used by the US military. Here we will take a closer look at this program and try to determine whether this could be the same as the PRISM revealed by The Guardian.

> The latest information: What is known about NSA's PRISM program

Planning tool for Resource Integration, Synchronization and Management

The earliest document which mentions the Planning tool for Resource Integration, Synchronization and Management (PRISM) is a paper (pdf) from July 2002, which was prepared by the MITRE Corporation Center for Integrated Intelligence Systems. The document describes the use of web browsers for military operations, the so-called "web-centric warfare", for which intelligence collection management programs were seen as the catalyst. These programs fuse battlefield intelligence information with the national data that they already possess, in order to provide a complete picture to their users.

PRISM was developed by SAIC (formerly Science Applications International Corporation, a company that was also involved in the 2002 TRAILBLAZER program for analyzing network data). The program was originally prototyped and fielded for the US European Command, but is also being used in other military operation areas such as Iraq. Involved in the establishment of PRISM was Ron Baham. His LinkedIn profile says that he currently is senior vice president and operations manager at SAIC and that he worked on CMMA PRISM at JDISS from 2000 - 2004, so PRISM might be developed somewhere between 2000 and early 2002.

On an older page of its website, SAIC says that the PRISM application allows theater users, in various functional roles and at different echelons, to synchronize Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) requirements with current military operations and priorities. The application was first developed for use on JWICS, the highly secure intelligence community network, but is now also being used on SIPRNet, the secure internet used by the US military.

Screenshot of the PRISM Input Tool (EEI = Essential Elements of Intelligence)
source: GMTI Utility Analysis for Airborne Assets (pdf)

Other sources clarify that PRISM consists of a web-based interface which connects to PRISM servers, and that it's used by a variety of users, like intelligence collection managers at military headquarters, to request the intelligence information which is needed for operations. These requests are entered in the PRISM interface, which sends them to the PRISM server. From there the request goes to units which collect the raw data. These are processed into intelligence, which then becomes available through the PRISM server.

PRISM is able to manage and prioritize these intelligence collection requirements to ensure critical intelligence is timely available to the commander during crisis operations. The application integrates these requirements and, with other tools, generates the so called daily collection deck. PRISM also provides traceability throughout the so-called intelligence cycle, from planning through exploitation to production.

The PRISM application made by SAIC is still widely used. It's mentioned in joint operations manuals from 2012 and in quite a number of job descriptions, like this one from March 2013 for a systems administator in Doha, Qatar, which says that part of the job is providing on-site and off-site PRISM training and support. Also these US government spending data show that in 2011 a maintaince contract (worth $ 1.085.464,-) for PRISM support services was awarded to SAIC, with options for 2012 and 2013.


Are there two different PRISMs?

So now it looks like as if there are two different programs called PRISM: one is a web-based tool for requesting and managing intelligence information from a server that gets input from various intelligence sources. The other is the program from which The Guardian says it's a top secret electronic surveillance program that collects raw data from the servers of nine major US internet companies.

If the Guardian's claims are true, it's strange that two important intelligence programs apparently have the exact same name. For sure, this would not be very likely, if "PRISM" would be an acronym or a codeword in both cases. But if we assume one PRISM being an acronym and the other PRISM a codeword, it could be somewhat more likely.

As we know, the PRISM tool developed by SAIC is an acronym, just like the names of many other military and intelligence software tools are often lengthy acronyms. This leaves the PRISM which was unveiled by The Guardian likely to be a codeword, or more correctly said, a nickname. NSA data collection methods, officially designated by an alphanumerical SIGAD like US-984, can have nicknames which may or may not be classified.

These are different from codenames, which are always classified and often assigned to the intelligence products from the various data collection methods. This can cause some confusion, as "PRISM" perfectly fits in the NSA tradition of using 5-letter codewords for products of sensitive Signals Intelligence programs.

If PRISM had been a classified codename, it should also have been part of the classification line, and the marking should have read TOP SECRET // SI-PRISM // [...] instead of the current TOP SECRET // SI // [...]. This indicates that if there are two PRISMs, and one is an acronym, the other PRISM isn't a codeword for intelligence from a specific source, but most likely the unclassified nickname of a collection method.

This still leaves the question of why in 2007 an apparently new collection program got a nickname which is exactly the same as the acronym of an already widely used computer application - which is even going to be one of its tasking systems.


A less spectacular PRISM?

Allthough The Guardian presented PRISM as a method of directly collecting raw data from major internet companies, other sources say that PRISM might well be a much less spectacular internal computer program.

Initially, The Washington Post came with the same story as The Guardian, but revised some of its claims by citing a classified report from the NSA Inspector General that describes PRISM as allowing "collection managers [to send] content tasking instructions directly to equipment installed at company-controlled locations." These words very much resemble the way the PRISM Planning Tool is described.

National security reporter Marc Ambinder describes PRISM as "a kick-ass GUI (Graphical User Interface) that allows an analyst to look at, collate, monitor, and cross-check different data types provided to the NSA from Internet companies located inside the United States" - which also sounds much more like the SAIC application, than like a data dragnet with free access to commercial company servers.

This view was also confirmed by a statement (pdf) of Director of National Intelligence (DNI) James Clapper, which says: "PRISM is not an undisclosed collection or data mining program. It is an internal government computer system used to facilitate the government’s [...] collection of foreign intelligence information from electronic communication service providers [...]".

With this statement, Clapper officially confirms the existance of a program called PRISM, and allthough his description could also fit that of the Planning tool for Resource Integration, Synchronization and Management, he didn't positively identified PRISM as such.

Finally, an anonymous former government official told CNet.com that The Guardian's reports are "incorrect and appear to be based on a misreading of a leaked Powerpoint document", making journalist Declan McCullagh go one step further by suggesting that PRISM might be actually the same as the web application named Planning Tool for Resource Integration, Synchronization, and Management.


PRISM as an all-source planning tool

Some sources, like a joint operations manual and a number of job descriptions, seem to indicate that the PRISM planning tool is primarily used for geospational intelligence (GEOINT), which is analysed imagery of the earth as collected by spy planes and satellites.

However, more extensive research has shown that the Planning tool for Resource Integration, Synchronization and Management (PRISM) is not only used for geospatial intelligence, but for fusing intelligence from all sources. Besides GEOINT, sources prove that PRISM is also used for SIGINT (Signals Intelligence), IMINT (Imagery Intelligence) and HUMINT (Human Intelligence), probably through additional modules for each of these sources.

Even the 2006 Geospatial Intelligence Basic Doctrine (pdf) says PRISM is a "web-based application that provides users, at the theater level and below, with the ability to conduct Integrated Collection Management (ICM). Integrates all intelligence discipline assets with all theater requirements."
More specifically, the 2012 Joint and National Intelligence Support to Military Operations manual describes that where applicable, requests for SIGINT support should be entered into approved systems such as PRISM, for approval by a military commander.

In a job description for an Intelligence Training Instructor from 2010 we see a distinction being made between PRISM-IMINT and PRISM-SIGINT, and a LinkedIn profile mentions the IMINT/SIGINT PRISM training in 2006 of someone who was administrator for PRISM, which is described as the system of record USCENTCOM uses for submitting, tracking, and researching theater ISR requirements. In a job description for a SIGINT Collection Management Analyst (by Snowden-employer Booz Allen Hamilton!) experience with PRISM is required too.

Also a module was added to PRISM for accessing information from HUMINT (Human Intelligence) sources. Testing of this module was done during the Empire Challenge 2008 exercise. In the daily reports of this exercise we can read that for example the Defense Intelligence Agency's HUMINT team loaded "additional data into PRISM HUMINT module for operations on Tuesday morning". From a French report about this exercise we learn that the PRISM HUMINT module was a new application, just like the Humint Online Tasking & Reporting (HOT-R) tool, which runs on SIPRNet. This indicates that modules for different -INTs were added gradually in time.


Are both PRISMs one and the same?

If The Guardian's PRISM really is just a computer system for sending tasking instructions to equipment that collects the raw data, it is hard to believe that it's different from the Planning tool for Resource Integration, Synchronization and Management (PRISM), which for many years is used to order and manage intelligence from all sources.

If this could be true, and there's only one PRISM program, what about the slides which were disclosed by The Guardian? First of all, as this newspaper is not willing to publish all PRISM-slides, we cannot be sure about what this presentation is really about, but it's possible that it's not about a PRISM which is the nickname of the US-984XN collection method, but about how to gather material from that source by using the PRISM web tool. This way around, the SIGAD US-984XN can still deliver for most NSA reporting, including the President's Daily Brief.

More specific, we can think of a machine-to-machine interface between the PRISM system and dedicated data collection devices at remote locations, like a secure FTP server or an encrypted dropbox at sites of the internet companies. At the PRISM desktop interface this tasking may be done through a separate SIGINT module. As one of the slides says: "Complete list and details on PRISM web page: Go PRISMFAA" we can even imagine a module called "PRISM FAA" for requesting intelligence from intercepts of foreign communications under the conditions of the FISA Amendment Act (FAA) from 2008.

Infographic of the PRISM Planning Tool as part of the Intelligence Cycle,
with a possible way of how it could be the same as the
PRISM internet data collection program
(click for a bigger picture)

By publishing the PRISM slides, The Guardian for the first time revealed evidence about the NSA collecting data from major internet companies. But as this apparently surprised the general public, the practice is hardly new. Spies and later intelligence agencies of all countries have always tried to intercept foreign communications and of course tried to do this with every new way of communication: first letters, later phonecalls and radio communications, and nowadays internet based social media. Therefore, it may hardly come as a surprise that NSA found ways to intercept those new means of communications too.

What looks more of a problem, is the fact that in the past, enemies were nation states, which could be targeted by focussing on diplomatic and military communications, leaving most people's privacy untouched. Nowadays, with terrorism considered as the main enemy, almost every (foreign) citizen could be a potential adversary. This made intelligence agencies try to search everyone's communications, which are also more internationally intertwined than ever before.


Next time we will discuss more specific details of the Planning tool for Resource Integration, Synchronization and Management (PRISM), as this gives an interesting look at internal intelligence procedures.


Links

- TheWeek.com: Is the NSA PRISM leak much less than it seems?
- CNet.com: What is the NSA's PRISM program? (FAQ)
- CNet.com: No evidence of NSA's 'direct access' to tech companies
- VanityFair.com: PRISM Isn’t Data Mining and Other Falsehoods in the N.S.A. “Scandal”
- ExtremeTech.com: Making sense of the NSA Prism leak as the real details emerge
- Medium.com: The PRISM Details Matter
- Reflets.info: #PRISM: let’s have a look at the big picture
- VanityFair.com: PRISM Isn’t Data Mining and Other Falsehoods in the N.S.A. “Scandal”- Mashable.com: See How PRISM May Work — in This Infographic
- ZDNet.com: How did mainstream media get the NSA PRISM story so hopelessly wrong?

Abbreviations, Acronyms, Nicknames and Codewords

The communications security and intelligence branch is notorious for its abbreviations, acronyms, nicknames and codewords, and recently we learned a number of new NSA codewords from many classified documents which Edward Snowden handed over to The Guardian.

Here we provide two listings, one of abbreviations and acronyms, and one of nicknames and codewords, to get somewhat more grip on these things:

- Abbreviations and Acronyms

- Nicknames and Codewords

Listings like this can never be complete, and therefore expect new entries to be added gradually, as well as updates of existing entries.

Are the NSA's PRISM slides photoshopped?

(Updated: June 10, 2013)

Yesterday, Thursday June 6, The Washington Post and The Guardian came with a breaking news story about a Top Secret NSA program called PRISM, which reportedly collects data directly from the servers of nine major internet companies like Microsoft, Google, Facebook, Skype and Apple.

Many of these firms have already denied that the government has access to their networks. Today both president Obama and director of National Intelligence James Clapper said there is no gathering of information about US citizens or of any person located within the United States.

> The latest information: What is known about NSA's PRISM program


The Guardian claimed to have obtained 41 slides of an NSA presentation about the PRISM collection program, and showed some of them on its website. But some strange looking details caused a number of people, especially on Twitter, think the slides might be fake.

Here we take a more close look at these slides, which, if genuine, give a very rare look at a recent Top Secret document from the US National Security Agency.

The strangest thing about the slides is probably the PRISM program logo, which is shown at the top right side of each slide. On the Guardian website this logo is also shown separately with an orange background box - the same way it appears on their slides. But as we look at the same slides on the website of The Washington Post, we see that the orange background has been cropped away.

This can only mean that the logo was added somewhere afterwards, and therefore wasn't part of the original slide deck. On Twitter, it was also noticed, that the PRISM logo was made by using a standard clipart image.

UPDATE:
One of the journalists of The Guardian explained on twitter, that these differences between the slides are caused by using different powerpoint readers (The Guardian using OpenOffice).



Details and explanation of the first PRISM slide

This does not automatically mean the whole slide deck is fake, so let's take a closer look at the rest of the slide contents:

- At the top left and the bottom right corner of each slide we see the standardized classification marking line, showing the classification level and the dissemination control markings. In this case the slides are marked: TOP SECRET // SI // ORCON // NOFORN, which combines:

TOP SECRET - the classification level, meaning that public disclosure of the document would cause 'exceptionally grave damage' to national security.

SI - Special Intelligence, formerly known as COMINT or COMmunications INTelligence, which means this document is part of a control system for Sensitive Compartmented Information (SCI).

ORCON - ORiginator CONtrolled, meaning the originator controls dissemination and/or release of the document. Therefore these are always viewed in secured areas that are cleared for top-secret data and one cannot view or copy such a document without leaving an audit trail.

NOFORN - NO FOReign Nationals, meaning distribution to non-US citizens is prohibited, regardless of their clearance or access permissions.

- At the top of each slide we also see the logos of the internet companies involved in the PRISM program. The way these logos are grouped at the top of each slide looks not very professional, it distracts from the content and there's also no good reason for showing them on every slide. Therefore this part is also seen as a typical photoshop work.

- Top left we also see a seal with the words Special Source Operations, which is a department of the NSA responsible for important intelligence collection programs. This seal cannot be easily found elsewhere on the internet and looks well designed, so is most likely real.

- The title of the presentation is: PRISM/US-984XN Overview or The SIGAD Used Most in NSA Reporting Overview. SIGAD is the abbreviation of SIGINT Activity Designator, which is a unique addresss for every signals intelligence collection station, ship, or method and consists of a country code followed by alphanumeric characters. Thus the second part of the title (The SIGAD Used Most in NSA Reporting) refers to the first part, where US-984XN is the SIGAD of the PRISM program.

- Underneath the title there's a line which is partly (Guardian) or fully (Washington Post) blacked out. From what we can read, this line most likely started with the name of the person being the PRISM collection manager, followed by a kind of service/department number. Understandably the name has been blacked out because of privacy and security reasons, and the American paper even blacked out the rest.

- Finally, at the bottom right we see a red bordered box with three lines:
Derived from: NSA/CSSM 1-52 - meaning this was derived from the NSA/CSS Manual 1-52 about Classified National Security Information, which describes additional responsabilities of holders of NSA/CSS protected information.
Dated: 20070108 - meaning the presentation was derivative of work dated January 8, 2007, which appears to be the date of the NSA/CSS Manual 1-52.
Declassify On: 20360901 - meaning the slide deck was meant to be declassified on September 1, 2036. In general, this has to be 25 years from the date of the document’s origin, which seems to indicate that this presentation was classified on September 1, 2011, allthough the first slide itself is dated April 2013.

After this close look at the first slide of the PRISM presentation we have seen that there are a few strange elements, but also that most of the content looks realistic.



Another difference between the slides

Not only there's a difference between the PRISM logo on the slides at the Guardian and the Washtington Post websites, but, as noticed at this website, also on the slide showing in which years the various internet companies were "added" to the program:

As we can see in the picture, the slide on the Guardian website shows a different green arrow underneath the yellow circles than the Washington Post slide does. Both papers each seem to have some slightly different slides, which is quite strange if they really obtained a copy of such a higly classified slide deck.

UPDATE:
One of the journalists of The Guardian explained on twitter, that these differences between the slides are caused by using different powerpoint readers (The Guardian using OpenOffice).

As the presentation concerns signals intelligence, it has to be handled either trough the highly secured JWICS network used by the US intelligence community, or through NSAnet, which is the classified intranet of the NSA. It looks like PRISM is related to NSAnet, as one of the slides says: "Complete list and details on PRISM web page: Go PRISMFAA". Using a command like this appears to be common practice for NSAnet.

As it is very difficult and risky to get the slides themselves out of NSA's control, it is of course far more easy for someone who has seen the presentation, to tell a journalist what was in it. Then some graphic artist at the newspaper could have made these slides according to what was told to him. In this way, the differences between the slides of both newspapers can easily be explained by an internal messing up of some different versions.



The story revised?

Meanwhile, the Washington Post (because they had rushed the publication?) had to walk back a bit from its initial claims by citing a second classified report that identified PRISM as a program to "allow ‘collection managers [to send] content tasking instructions directly to equipment installed at company-controlled locations,’ rather than directly to company servers."

Also the New York Times came with a story which says that each of the large internet companies negotiated with the government about handing out information. As far as this concerns non-US citizens, they are legally required to share the data under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) and in this way these companies are providing intelligence agencies like NSA with specific data in response to individual court orders.

These FISA orders can range from inquiries about specific people to a broad sweep for intelligence, like logs of certain search terms. Last year there were 1856 of such FISA requests. In order to make this more easy, some companies agreed with NSA to transmit these data electronically, using company’s servers or even government equipment at a company location. This however is different from giving the NSA wholesale bulk access to user data.

This version of the PRISM story was more or less confirmed by Director of National Intelligence (DNI) James Clapper, who released a statement with a fact sheet (PDF), which says "PRISM is not an undisclosed collection or data mining program. It is an internal government computer system used to facilitate the government’s statutorily authorized collection of foreign intelligence information from electronic communication service providers under court supervision".



More about classification markings

Earlier on the evening of June 8, The Guardian published another slide, to clarify that PRISM, which involves data collection from servers, is distinct from four different programs involving data collection from "fiber cables and infrastructure as data flows past".

This newest slide (shown left in the picture above) seems to have an omission, which can also be seen in some of the earlier slides: allthough they have the obligatory classification line (as described above), and the slide title is marked with the so called portion marking (the (TS//SI//NF) which is an abbreviation of the full classification line), this portion marking is missing in the content.

As the DoD and intelligence community Classification Markings Manuals prescribe, all content of briefing slides, including bullets, captions, titles, and embedded graphs, charts and figures, have to be marked with portion markings at the beginning of each portion (except when a waiver for the portion marking has been obtained). This because parts of a document classified as Top Secret can have a lower classification level or can even be unclassified, which also clearly applies to some of the paragraphs of the slides.

Again, this omission alone does not mean these slides are fake, it's also possible that the author of the presentation was simply somewhat lazy. At least in case of the slide titled "Introduction. U.S. as World's Telecommunications Backbone" the content is public information, for which the overall Top Secret classification would clearly not be justified.

A correct implementation of the portion marking can be seen in some slides about the NSA's BOUNDLESSINFORMANT data mining tool, which were disclosed by The Guardian on June 8. Here we see the slides are marked as TOP SECRET // SI // NOFORN within an orange bar, which is the color code for Top Secret, but with the separate text portions marked as (U//FOUO) as they are Unclassified // For Official Use Only:

With correct markings and a more professional look, these new slides look more credible than those of the PRISM presentation. As government agencies apparently often produce bad looking presentations, this alone doesn't make the PRISM slides fake, but we always should be aware of things like hoaxes, sensationalism and disinformation from whatever source, and at the same time don't get trapped into conspiracy theories.



Other PRISM programs

As there are still questions about what exactly NSA's PRISM program does, it became clear that there are also a number of other intelligence and security related programs called PRISM, which may cause some confusion:

The journalist Matthew Keys discovered that in 2007 a classified Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) intelligence job listing mentions "national intelligence community collection management systems" like PRISM, COLISEUM and HOT-R. A DIA job listing from earlier this year requires "Experience working in collection requirements management systems and procedures, to include PRISM, HOT-R, GIMS, NSRP, TORS, OSCR, COLISEUM, and CMST"

As this are DIA jobs, it seems however that this PRISM system is different from the one of the NSA. At the website of defense contractor IIT, PRISM is explained as an abbreviation of the "Planning tool for Resource Integration, Synchronization and Management", which just like COLISEUM, seems to be used in the field of Geospatial Intelligence, which analyses satellite imagery of the earth. In this way, PRISM is also mentioned in a number of documents on the Cryptome website. These are dating back to 2003, which is four years before the alledged start of the NSA PRISM internet program in 2007.

> More about this confusion: Is PRISM just a not-so-secret web tool?

The existence of what looks like a third PRISM system was unveiled by this PDF document at the Cryptome website. This document, dated March 21, 2004, describes PRISM (Protect, Respond, Inform, Secure, and Monitor) as a Homeland security Command and Control (C2) decision support system, providing a single end-user application for messaging, alerting, geo-referenced mapping, and asset tracking.

A program called PRISM is also used by the US Secret Service, where this is an acronym which stands for Protective Research Information System Management (PRISM-ID). This system is used to record information that required to assist the agency in meeting its protective mission that includes the protection of the President, and other top level officials. More about this program can be found in this PDF document from 2010 at the Cryptome website.



Links and Sources
- The Washington Post: U.S., British intelligence mining data from nine U.S. Internet companies in broad secret program
- The Guardian: NSA Prism program taps in to user data of Apple, Google and others
- Business Insider: Is The Claim That The Government Has A Direction Connection To Tech Companies A Lie?
- Forbes: Startup Palantir Denies Its 'Prism' Software Is The NSA's 'PRISM' Surveillance System
- New York Times: Tech Companies, Bristling, Concede to Federal Surveillance Program
- ABC News: 4 Unanswered Questions About NSA Leaks
- The 2011 Intelligence Community Classification and Control Markings Implementation Manual (PDF)
- The 2012 DoD Marking of Classified Information Manual (PDF)
- ZDNet: The real story in the NSA scandal is the collapse of journalism
- The Week: Solving the mystery of PRISM

General Dynamics secures commercial smartphones for classified information

(Updated: October 21, 2014)

In February this year, the communications division of defense contractor General Dynamics presented a software platform called GD Protected. This is the first product that secures commercial available Android smartphones in a way that they can be allowed to handle classified information.

For decades, General Dynamics has been manufacturing devices for securing top level communications of the US government and armed forces, like the Sectéra voice encryption family. One of those products was a highly secure cell phone for GSM, which was produced from 2002 until 2012.

Securing common cell phones generally requires hardware solutions, but to keep in pace with the fast evolving commercial smartphone technologies, security measures are now being implemented by using software applications. For smartphones there are already quite a number of apps for encrypting voice and data, but GD Protected also secures the Android operating system (OS) in order to meet the requirements for handling classified communications.


Dual systems

To achieve a high security level, the phones need a specific hardware feature called TrustZone. This is a set of security extensions programmed into the ARM processor of the smartphone, which make that a single processor core can run a dual operating system, a secure and a normal one. The specific implementation details of TrustZone are proprietary and have not been publicly disclosed.

Initially, GD Protected comes in two different versions, one for the LG Optimus 3D Max, and one for the Samsung Galaxy S IV smartphone. General Dynamics is looking to converge the two approaches in the future, as well as supporting a broader range of Android devices. The pricing has yet to be disclosed, but the company said it would be licensed on a "very competitive" basis.

Both versions make it possible to use the same smartphone for both accessing commercial phone and internet services as well as making encrypted voice calls, using secure email and even accessing classified networks.


Secure voice and data apps

These secure communications are provided by a number of approved apps from a controlled government or enterprise app store. These include a Secure Voice over IP (SVoIP) app which encrypts voice communications and runs over the data network. Other app offerings will include secure chat and secure video conferencing. These are expected to be available in 2014.

With these apps the (voice) data will be secured using two independent layers of encryption, one at the VoIP layer, and the other at the VPN layer, using IPsec. Finally, these double encrypted data will go through servers of the NSA to be verified, logged, and re-encrypted, before being sent back out to the carrier data network and on to its destination.

For authentication there are a pair of authentication certificates residing on the handsets, as well as users being required to log-in with a password before they can use the SIP server.


GD Protected for the LG Optimus

General Dynamics first presented GD Protected at the Mobile World Congress (MWC), which was held in Barcelona from February 25-28, 2013. For this occasion, the product was installed on an LG Optimus 3D Max smartphone and demonstrated to press and public:

Demonstration of the LG Optimus 3D Max, secured by General Dynamics

For this phone, GD Protected provides two separate copies of the Android operating system, one for personal use and the other for business use. A dedicated hardware button on the phone is used to flip between the two environments. This so-called dual-persona feature allows users to seamlessly switch between personal and secure operating modes, indicated by thin green and red borders, respectively.

The personal side is completely open and acts just like a conventional smartphone, whereas the secure side is more restricted. Data is firewalled between the two sides so, for example, data from the secure side cannot be accessed or copied over to the personal side, and the secure side cannot be tampered with by malware.

This partition of the handset into two separate virtual smartphones is controlled by the OKL4 mobile hypervisor or "microvisor" platform, which was gained by General Dynamics from its acquisition of Open Kernel or OK Labs in September 2012.

Additional security is provided by the Fixmo Sentinel Integrity Services. This offers an integrity verification through advanced monitoring and remediation techniques, proactively detecting and preventing mobile device operating system tampering, policy violations, system-level state changes, and the presence of unverified third party apps. The Fixmo Sentinel Integrity Service was developed as part of an agreement with the NSA and is also used by other governments.

Overview of the GD Protected solution for the LG Optimus smartphone
(source: Engadget.com)

Compared to the solution for the Samsung Galaxy smartphone (see below), the use of a dual Android operating system for the LG Optimus offers slightly less security, but almost complete freedom on the personal side of the phone. The secured LG Optimus 3D Max will be available through General Dynamics from the end of July 2013.


GD Protected for the Samsung Galaxy

For the new Samsung Galaxy S IV smartphone, the GD Protected software comes on top of Samsung's KNOX platform, which was also presented at the Mobile World Congress in February and was developed in cooperation with General Dynamics. KNOX runs a Security Enhanced version of Android, or SE Android, which has been developed by the US National Security Agency (NSA).

The KNOX platform, which is available for government and enterprise users only, protects both data which are stored on the smartphone and data which are sent and received. KNOX creates an isolated and secured container within the memory area, with its own home screen, launcher, applications, and widgets. Applications and data inside the container are separated from applications outside the container. This secured container is created by a TrustZone-based Integrity Measurement Architecture (TIMA).

Stored data are encrypted using an Advanced Encryption Standard (AES) algorithm with a 256-bit key. For secure communications the Samsung KNOX container comes with a FIPS-certified VPN client called "per-app VPN". This supports strong IPSec VPN encryption, including Suite B cryptography, which is suited for the majority of sensitive communications by government agencies.

Overview of the KNOX platform for the Samsung Galaxy S IV
(source: Samsung.com)

With the additional GD Protected the original Android operating system of the Samsung Galaxy S IV will be replaced by a hardened Android version with even more security measures. This replacement is done by simply calling General Dynamics with the IMEI number and then the Android operating system will be replaced via an over-the-air reflash.

The hardened operating system includes root certificates from General Dynamics that replace those from Samsung. This means that any subsequent changes need to be digitally signed by General Dynamics, ensuring the integrity of the Android operating system.

Compared to the dual Android operating systems on the LG smartphone, the Samsung solution of installing new firmware offers a slightly higher level of security but at the expense of user freedom. The GD Protected platform for the Galaxy S IV will be available from May 2013.

Access to US Department of Defense networks

General Dynamics' GD Protected platform was developed according to the requirements of the program for secure mobile communications, codenamed FISHBOWL, which was presented by the NSA in February 2012. The goal of this program is to provide a secure Voice over IP capability using commercial available devices that can be approved for handling classified information.

In October 2012, the US Department of Defense (DoD) announced that they were looking for industry contractors to develop a secure communications system for at least 162.500 iPhones, iPads and Android systems. This should provide alternatives to the BlackBerry, which was until then the only device approved for secured email access to the Pentagon’s unclassified networks.

An interesting coincedence was, that when General Dynamics presented their GD Protected product last February, DoD published a plan to equip up to 600.000 mobile device users with "secure classified and protected unclassified mobile solutions" based on commercial-off-the-shelf (cots) products. This program may eventually be expanded to handle up to 8 million devices.

For use by the US military, General Dynamics already offers a two-factor sign-on process. This is done by inserting a military Common Access Card (CAC) into a separate card reader, which connects to the smartphone through Bluetooth. When a PIN code is entered on the phone, it will validate the PIN against the CAC. This was also shown in a demonstration at the MWC in Barcelona, using a Samsung Galaxy S III:

Demonstration of the two-factor sign-on process
using a Common Access Card (CAC)

On May 3 it was announced that mobile devices equipped with the Samsung KNOX platform were approved by the US Department of Defense (DoD) for use in DoD networks. The BlackBerry 10 phones, the PlayBook tablet and the BlackBerry Enterprise Service 10 were also approved, and it's expected that Apple's iPhone and iPad should gain DoD approval later this month.

However, these approvals only grant access to unclassified DoD networks (like the NIPRNet), which is often not specifically stated in press reports. Until now, the only mobile devices approved for access to classified networks are General Dynamics' Sectéra Edge and an NSA directed test version of the Motorola Razr Maxx.

When equipped with GD Protected the LG Optimus and Samsung Galaxy S IV will be the first commercial available smartphones to get access to classified networks. At the moment this can only be used for Sensitive But Unclassified (SBU) communications, but General Dynamics is hoping to attain an NSA certification for classified communications (Confidential, Secret or even Top Secret) in 2014. Only by then may these phones get access to secure networks like the SIPRNet.

Update:
Samsung announced on October 21, 2014 that NSA had approved the Galaxy Note 4 and Galaxy S5 for use with classified US government networks and data.

A Boeing alternative?

Early 2012 not only General Dynamics announced the development of a secure smartphone solution, but also the aerospace and defense company Boeing. The announcement of the latter company got most media attention, but this was probably mainly because (secure) phones seemed quite a strange new product for Boeing, which is by most people only known for its civil aircrafts. A preview can be found in this PDF-brochure of the Boeing Secure Mobile Enterprise program.

Unlike General Dynamics, Boeing has no history in making encryption products and as General Dynamics already presented it's software last February, nothing was heard from Boeing anymore. After a request in March, a Boeing spokesperson told this weblog, the company is still developing a trusted mobile device that will serve the US government, defense and security market. When this phone will be launched is not known yet.

Update:
Boeing eventually launched it's secure mobile phone, called Boeing Black, in March 2014. This is a custom made device with dedicated security features.

Sources and links
- 29-10-2012: Pentagon plans to buy iPhones, Androids in threat to BlackBerry’s market share
- 25-02-2013: General Dynamics secures Samsung and LG Android smartphones
- 25-02-2013: General Dynamics locks down Android
- 28-02-2013: Samsung Takes Low-Key Approach on Cellphones After Reaching the Top
- 28-02-2013: General Dynamics eyes government-level security on smartphones
- 03-05-2013: DoD grants network access to Android, BlackBerry 10 devices
- 26-11-2013: DISA to Roll Out Unclassified and Classified Mobile Capabilities, App Store

How Obama's BlackBerry got secured

(Updated: November 1, 2013)

Around January 20, 2009, when Barack Obama took over the office of president of the United States, there was quite a lot of media attention about the fact that he had to give up his BlackBerry, because it was considered to be a security risk.

This caused almost world wide media attention, but the follow-up was less accurately covered and a number of different stories were told. Here we will show that Obama actually kept his beloved BlackBerry, but only after it had been secured by special encryption software and some additional security measures.

Barack Obama using his BlackBerry 8830 during the election campaign in 2008
(Photo: Getty Images)

Obama's predecessor, George W. Bush, also used a BlackBerry during the 2000 presidential campaign, but had to give it up, as well as the use of any e-mail software, upon taking office. Three days earlier, he sent out a final e-mail to 42 friends and family members to inform them that he would no longer correspond electronically.

Eight years later, Barack Obama was also forced to give up his BlackBerry, not only because of concerns that its communications and e-mail could be intercepted, but also because of the Presidential Records Act of 1978. This makes all written White House communications public property and subject to examination under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA).

However, this time Obama definitely wanted keep using this popular business phone to stay in touch with people outside the White House bubble. Therefore, the Secret Service, The White House Communications Agency (WHCA) and the National Security Agency (NSA) went looking for a solution.

US President Obama using a silver BlackBerry 8830
Nokia E61 or E62, as recognized by someone here

Sectéra Edge

Some media suggested Obama had to change his BlackBerry for the Sectéra Edge, a highly secured PDA, which is produced by General Dynamics for the US military. But the Sectéra Edge is quite big, heavy (340 grams) and bulky and therefore hardly convenient for someone used to a BlackBerry. This solution would also require everyone that Obama would like to communicate with to have the same phone, which is priced between 2650,- and 3350,- USD. Secure communications are only possible if both ends use the same (or compatible) encryption devices.

According to other sources, the Sectéra Edge was only used in addition to Obama's BlackBerry, until a permanent solution was worked out. Reports weren't clear about how exactly these two devices were combined. Probably the Sectéra Edge acted like an encryptor, which was plugged into the BlackBerry, so Obama could keep using this device to make a call or send out an e-mail, which then went through the Sectéra Edge, encrypting it, before going over the telecommunications network.

The Sectéra Edge, manufactured by General Dynamics

Compromise

That latter, temporary solution must have been even more cumbersome, so a compromise was made, in which president Obama could keep using a BlackBerry, but equipped with a software package to encrypt phone calls and text and email messages.

For this purpose, the security agencies choose the SecurVoice application, which was developed by The Genesis Key, in cooperation with engineers from BlackBerry manufacturer Research In Motion (RIM). SecurVoice should not be confused with Secure-Voice.com, nor with SecuVOICE, which is used for securing the smart phone of the German chancellor Merkel.

After the NSA did all the necessary tests and checking to make sure the software met federal standards like FIPS 140-2, the highly secured BlackBerry was delivered to the president somewhere in May or June 2009. He also gave up his old e-mail address and switched to a new one, which is kept secret.

Maybe we can see the new, secured BlackBerry in this picture below, where there are two BlackBerrys lying in front of Obama. The silver one seems to be the BlackBerry 8830, which he already used during the election campaign. The black one, probably a BlackBerry 8900, could then be the new secure one, as we can see the president using this one in later pictures:

President Barack Obama works with Jon Favreau, director of speechwriting, on the Normandy speech
aboard Air Force One enroute to Paris. In front of him are a black and a silver Blackberry.
(White House photo by Pete Souza, June 5, 2009 - click for a bigger picture!)

Detail from the picture above, showing the two BlackBerrys

The secure BlackBerry was not only issued to the president, but also to a small group of people with whom he likes to stay in close contact with. This because, as said, it's only possible to have secure communications if both ends are using the same encryption method. This limited Obama's goal of keeping in touch with the outside world: encryption (still) means exclusion.

The number of people able to message and call the president is probably only between ten and twenty. Included are vice-president Biden, Obama's chief of staff and some of his top advisers, his press secretary, first lady Michelle Obama, a few other family members, and a small group of personal friends from Chicago.

On October 30, 2013, Obama's press secretary Jay Carney said that the president will continue to use his (secured) BlackBerry, despite concerns about eavesdropping which came up after it was revealed that NSA intercepted the communications of 35 world leaders.


The Genesis Key

The SecurVoice software for the presidential BlackBerry was developed for a small company called The Genesis Key, Inc., based in Washington DC. This company was founded in October 2008 by W. Steven Garrett, who took the name from an item used in the 1986 computer game The Legend of Zelda.

The software was developed in the previous four years, apparantly for one of the projects of Steve I. Cooper, a former special assistant to the president, senior director for information integration, and CIO (Chief Information Officer) for the Office of Homeland Security. He is now a member of the advisory board of SecurDigital, Inc., a firm founded in October 2009 by Bruce Magown and Steven Garrett to distribute the SecurVoice software applications.

Steven Garrett is a man with a quite surprising background. His Linked-In profiles show that he has been involved in a very wide range of businesess, like manufacturing plants for Fannies Fat Free Cheesecakes and Fat Free Burger (providing microwave-ready cheeseburgers to military commissaries) and marketing & sales for Lion Sportswear and Faded Glory Jeans. He also developed a highly secure appartment building, named Garrett Place. At his twitter account he describes himself as "Proven Rainmaker, Change Agent, Strategist, and Driving Force for Unprecedented, Exponential Growth in Revenues, Earnings, and Market Valuation".


SecurVoice

The Genesis Key released the SecurVoice software in December 2008, claiming this to be the world's first completely secure voice and data encryption solution. Allthough there were already a number of other hardware and software encryption solutions, the SecurVoice application should be able to protect global voice connections between and within all types of cell, satellite, PBX, SDR and VOIP phones and phone systems.

SecurVoice is 100% Java based, which should make it device- and carrier-independent, but according to the website, the software is currently only operational on the Blackberry operating system version 4.5 and up. Software porting for other operating systems, like Symbian, Brew, Windows Mobile, Google, and iPhone is said to be underway.

With SecurVoice, each phone can be loaded with up to three levels of security, each one accessible through a separate icon and recognizable by a different ringtone. When dialing a number and this number has a cryptographic key associated with it, then the call is automatically placed as a secured call. If a phone number has no cryptographic key associated with it, then the cell phone operates normally and the call is placed unencrypted.

The SecurVoice software comes in two versions:
- Phone-to-Phone (P2P), where secure calls are made directly from one cell phone to another. The price for government users is 1795,- USD per application.
- Phone-to-Server (P2S), where secure calls are routed from the phone to an enterprise server and back. The price of a server license is between 2500,- and 25.000,- USD.

It's likely, that for Obama the server solution was chosen. This allows a centralized key management, monitoring of all secure calls and record keeping of the messages. One source says the president may have to wait up to 50 minutes for an e-mail reply, as the system actively sniffs out incoming messages for viruses or Trojan horses.

Overview of the SecurVoice application options
(by The Genesis Key/SecurDigital)

Encryption

The SecurVoice software features a dual-layered, or hybrid encryption scheme, which means it combines symmetrical and asymmetrical encryption algorithms. It performs the voice encryption in real time by using a fast symmetric cipher, using a strong key. This key is then encrypted with a public-key or asymmetrical cryptosystem, like RSA or ECC, and transmitted together with the encrypted message. This is also how the vast majority of present-day communications encryption works.

The SecurVoice symmetric encryption uses a 256-bit session (conversation) key, which replaces the encryption every second with non-reoccurring numbers. This session key is a combination (salted hash) of the sender Base Secure Key (stored in the recipient key store) and a random session key. According to the manufacturer, SecurVoice uses classified Type 1 encryption algorithms, which are restricted to government and military users. For corporate users, public crypto algorithms like AES are used.

In case of a SecurVoice enterprise server, the software converts voice into encrypted data, which is then sent over the carrier network to the SecurVoice Enterprise Server where it is decrypted. It is then re-encrypted and sent back over the carrier network to the receiving phone, where it is decrypted and converted back to voice. It's also possible to select different encryption algorithms, so that, for example, encryption from a cell phone to the enterprise server may be the AES algorithm with a 128-bit, while from the server to the receiving phone this may be done by using Elliptic Curve Cryptography (ECC).

President Obama using his BlackBerry 8900 in the limousine while traveling
from the University of Indonesia to the airport in Jakarta, Indonesia.
(White House Photo by Pete Souza, November 10, 2010)

Security risks

As Obama wanted to keep using a BlackBerry device, the security solution is software only. This still leaves risks like compromised hardware and hacking by means of social engineering. Therefore, some security specialists say that it's not impossible to hack Obama's BlackBerry and that foreign states and other hackers will likely try to do so.

To minimize these risks, the secured BlackBerrys prevent forwarding e-mail messages from the president and sending him attachments. His secret e-mail address is likely to be changed regularly as well and Obama's friends and staff members were lectured about these security issues.

Another risk of the president using a BlackBerry, like a cell phone in general, is that enemies can try to track the president's location in real-time, even when GPS is disabled. Every cell phone regularly transmits it's IMEI-number to the cell tower, and this can be intercepted by devices like a Triggerfish. How this tracking can be done, and countered, is described in this, respectively this article.

One source says the presidential BlackBerry can only connect to a secure base station, which can be used to hide the IMEI-number of the device and thus prevent tracking it. This would mean the White House Communications Agency has to carry such a secure base station wherever the president goes.

There must be also a secure base station inside the presidential limousine, as we can see in the picture above. First because using a foreign cell phone network would be a big security risk, but also because the limousine is most likely constructed like a Faraday cage, and therefore a BlackBerry could only be used if there's a base station in the car itself (and probably also in Air Force One). The secure base station is probably connected to a secure satellite link with Washington.

President Obama uses his BlackBerry for calling Mitt Romney
(White House photo by Pete Souza, November 6, 2012)

President Obama using his old BlackBerry, during a campaign
visit to Albuquerque, New Mexico in August 2008

Conclusion

As we have seen, president Obama has kept his BlackBerry, but only after it had been secured. This took quite some effort: newly developed software had to be tested within a couple of months, all his contacts have to use the same software, limiting their number to a rather small group, and a secure base station has to follow the president. Nonetheless, this ad hoc solution for the president marks the beginning of an era in which top level mobile communications will no longer be secured with dedicated hardware, but by using software applications for regular commercial smartphones.


> See also: Some SIGINT and COMSEC during the Nuclear Security Summit



Sources and Links
- CNN.com: 'I made Obama's BlackBerry'
- FoxNews.com: Obama Getting Super-Secure BlackBerry
- New York Times: Symbol of Elite Access: E-Mail to the Chief
- Washington Times: Obama soon to get secure BlackBerry
- The Telegraph: Barack Obama's BlackBerry 'no fun'
- September 2010: The X-Change Corporation Acquires Genesis Key, Inc.
- Radio interview about SecurVoice: Telecom Junkies - Secret Agent Phone
- Interview with Steven Garrett: Wireless Technology Risks and Enterprise Security
- See also: securvoice.blogspot.com

The phones and the iMac of Kim Jong-un

Last week, North Korea said that it entered a "state of war" with neighboring South Korea. According to a report from the state-run Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) this includes a threat to "dissolve" the United States mainland too.

On Friday, March 29, KCNA also released some pictures of the North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, giving a rare look at some of his communications equipment:

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un presides over an urgent operation meeting
at the Supreme Command in Pyongyang, March 29, 2013.
(Photo: KCNA through Reuters)

Quite surprisingly we see that at the right side of the table, there's an aluminum unibody iMac computer (with a corded keybord and mouse). This computer is made by the American manufacturer Apple and is an iconic capitalist lifestyle item.

If this isn't a fake remake, it's a bit strange that we see this computer here, because there's a full US embargo for exporting products to North Korea. Probably the iMac came in from China, the only ally of the communist republic.

The whole arrangement looks very much like propaganda, and we can doubt whether the iMac is very functional: with a close look we can see that the yellow ethernet cable lies disconnected next to it.

At the left side of the table there are three white telephone sets (no red one!). These phones seem to be the same as the one we can see in the picture below, which looks like a quite ordinary office phone:

Kim Jong-un smoking a cigaratte in an empty looking launch control center,
after Pyongyang successfully launched a satellite into space

Earlier in March, North Korea already disconnected various hotlines with South Korea. One hotline, which is maintained by the international Red Cross and runs through the truce village of Panmunjom, was cut off on March 11. This also happened with another hotline, which connects to the US-led United Nations Command at the border.

On March 27, North Korea also cut off a military hotline with South Korea, that allows cross-border travel to the jointly run Kaesong industrial complex in the North. This hotline, which actually consists of four telephone lines, is used to communicate about the daily cross-border traffic of about 900 workers and cargo traveling back and forth to the Kaesong complex.

Now there is still one active hotline left (consisting of three phone lines), linking the civil aviation authorities of North and South Korea.


Sources and Links
- Reconstruction: North Korean Photo Reveals ‘U.S. Mainland Strike Plan’
- Article about North Korea Cuts Off the Remaining Military Hot Lines With South Korea
- Article in Dutch: Kim Jong-Un plant wereldoorlog op verouderde iMac

Papal telephony

(Updated: March 27, 2013)

Earlier this month, pope Benedict XVI announced his historical decision to step down from his office on February 28, 2013. This makes him the first pope to resign since 1415! Therefore, a good moment to take a look at the telephone equipment, which is used by this leader of almost 1.2 billion catholics.

Pope Benedict XVI, assisted by his private secretary, signs a papal bull.

In this picture we see pope Benedict XVI at work in his private study in the papal apartment of the Apostolic Palace in Vatican City. At the far right we can see two white telephones sitting on a side table: an older one with a rotary dial and a newer one with a keypad.

The same combination of a somewhat older rotary dial phone and a newer keypad telephone can be seen at the table of the guard, next to the main entrance door of the papal apartment:

Swiss Guard soldier garding the door
to the papal apartment, ca. 1989

Three rotary dial phones in different colors on a side table
next to the desk of pope John Paul II in the early 1980's.

To prevent people from directly calling the pope, the extension number of the papal apartment is listed nowhere, not even in Vatican phone books. Only a handful of people chosen by the pope himself have his number, which also changes with each new pope. Pope Benedict XVI had no a beeper or cell phone, but he could be reached through the cell phone of his personal secretary, msgr. Georg Gänswein.

The Vatican receives almost 2000 calls a day, and there are always a handful of people saying they must speak with the pope for whatever reasons. One of them was Steve Wozniak, the co-founder of Apple, who once dialed Vatican City, using a so called blue box. He identified himself as Henry Kissinger by imitating Kissinger's German accent and asked to speak to the pope. But due to the different time zone, he was sleeping at that time.*

A very rare picture of pope Benedict XVI using a telephone

The papal telecommunications started in 1886, at the beginnings of telephony, thanks to Giovanni Battista Marzi who invented the world's first automatic telephone exchange, which linked 10 separate phones, but could only make internal calls. A few decades later, Guglielmo Marconi effected the first Italian link via radio, connecting the Vatican and the papal summer residence at Castel Gandolfo.

After the 1929 Lateran Pacts agreement with Italy, by which the Vatican City State was created, the Vatican was finally allowed to send and receive calls to and from the rest of the world. Therefore, in 1930 a new central telephone exchange was donated by the International Telephone & Telegraph (ITT). It was installed in the Belvedere building and provided telephone services for approximately 360 end users in the various Vatican offices and residences. The telephone exchange was consecrated by pope Pius XI on November 19th, 1930.

The first Vatican telephone switchboard,
with the upper left lines 2 and 3 are for the pope
The book is the Annuario Pontificio, the directory of the Holy See
(Photo: David Seymour, 1948)

The Bell Rotary Telephone-system was state of the art at the time and had the following functions:
1. Dial a direct phone set inside the Vatican
2. Get a connection with any phone with only two numbers
3. Get an automatic connection with someone in Rome by just dialling the number and adding a "0" in front for an external line
4. Answer calls from outside the Vatican at a post with 2 seating areas
5. priority for some telephone sets for emergencies and important calls

Together with the new exchange, catholics in the United States donated pope Pius XI the first papal telephone: an apparently solid gold phone set, inlaid with mother-of-pearl, emblazoned with the papal arms and decorated with blue enamel. The phone is now for display at the Vatican State Telecommunications Department:

The first papal telephone, donated to pope Pius XI by catholics in the United States.
(Photo: Dancejill @ TripAdvisor)

This golden papal telephone was used by several popes, until the end of pope John XXIII's pontificate in 1963. Later, the phone in the pope's apartments was a standard phone in 'papal' white.

In 1957 the International Telephone and Telegraph (ITT) also presented a (less elaborate) ceremonial golden telephone to the Cuban dictator Fulgencio Batista. This was depicted in the 1974 movie The Godfather Part II, where "United Telephone and Telegraph" and American industrialists present a solid golden telephone to the Cuban dictator.

Pope Pius XI sitting at his desk, with the golden telephone.

Postcard showing pope Pius XII writing a letter. In the background we can
see the golden phone of Pius XI and another white telephone set,
probably made by the Italian manufacturer Olivetti.

In the forties and fifties it was very special when the pope was calling. For example, when Pius XII picked up the phone and said "que Pacelli" (his original family name), the receiving end would kneel to hear the papal message.

In 1960 the Bell telephone system was replaced by an ITT Pentaconta exchange with a capacity of 1500 numbers, which was later extended to 3000. In June 1992 the Vatican's third central telephone exchange was inaugurated, providing the Vatican with an advanced technological interface, qualifying the Vatican State amongst the first to have a completely numeric telephone network.

The new telephone plant was installed in a forepart of the Belvedere building and consists of a modern numeric telephone exchange with 5120 terminations. The exchange is also equipped with a numeric switch for operator call management and it is linked via radio to the San Giovanni in Laterano, the Palazzo di San Callisto and the Palazzo della Cancelleria. These Roman buildings are extra-territorial zones under jurisdiction of the Holy See.

Since 1948, the Telephone Service of the Vatican State has been run by members of the religious order of the Society of St. Paul. It employs over 30 laymen, a few priests and a dozen nuns, who are members of the Pious Disciples of the Divine Master. On account of their in-depth knowledge of foreign languages, they work for 24 hours a day in six-hour shifts as operators of the manual switchboard:

Two nuns operating the Vatican telephone exchange
(Photo: 30giorni, date unknown)

The Vatican Telephone Service is the telecommunications provider of Vatican City, which is part of the Governorate’s Department of Telecommunications since 2002. The Telephone Service maintains a complex infrastructure of telephone and data networks, designed and maintained by its own personnel. In 2005, the Vatican telephone service handled 8.5 million outgoing calls.

In November 2005 the telecommunications department moved into a new three-story brick building, with sleek, comfortable and modern facilities. They also include historical items, such as papal telephones and early technological equipment, on display in glass cases.

A better look at the present-day keypad telephone, here in
a room used by the cardinal secretary of state, Bertone

After the resignation of pope Benedict XVI, the cardinals of the Roman Catholic Church came together to elect a new pope. The traditional election was done in the famous Sixtine Chapel, but the cardinals stayed in the Casa di Santa Marta, with over 120 rooms. This guesthouse was build in 1996, and got a state-of-the-art Voice over IP (VoIP) telephone network, with Cisco 7911G Unified IP phone sets, as can be seen in the picture below:

A Cisco 7911G Unified IP phone on a side table in the Vatican
(Photo: Orbis Catholicus Secundus, December 2010)

After the Argentinian archbishop and cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio SJ was elected to be the new pope on March 13, he named himself Francis. Shortly afterwards he spoke to former pope Benedict by phone - the first time ever a pope calls his predecessor!

In the days to follow, pope Francis personally called quite a number of other people (including his dentist), probably with the Cisco phone from his Santa Marta suite, but maybe he is also the first pope using a mobile cell phone. We will see.


Sources and Links
- Web page of the Vatican Telephone Service
- Extensive article: On call 24/7: Vatican phone system directs thousands of call each day
- Blog posting: 'Cept for the Pope maybe in Rome
- Wikipedia article: Golden Telephone

See also:
- Bruce Schneier's blog about Hacking the Papal Election
- Article about Vatican admits secretly bugging its own clergy
- During World War II: The Pope’s codes