Researchers Renew Project 25 Security Criticism

A team of university researchers will present findings at a security conference today that claims Project 25 radio systems used by public safety agencies are susceptible to jamming by even simple radio devices. The same University of Pennsylvania security group made claims last year that Project 25 digital radios use an insecure communications protocol that can be easily hacked to allow interception of confidential law enforcement information. Their latest revelation is that a Mattel toy instant messaging device can jam a P25 radio, although they conceded that most criminals wouldn’t be able to master the techniques they used. However, they warned that it will only become easier to hack P25 radio networks. Read more about their latest claims here. Update: The researchers have posted the paper (pdf) they presented to the 2011Usenix Security Symposium in San Francisco.