[TrunkCom] can we decode encryption?

[Brian J Cathcart]

On Wed, 1 Nov 2006 23:57:36 EST Jimmykitw at aol.com writes:
> NO...??? Is there anything available to purchase outside the USA to  
> descrable and listen to a encrypted police radio?

No.  First, it's illegal to decode encrypted transmissions.  Second, it's
not technically feasible or possible.  Encryption has millions of
possible keys, and the tiny microprocessor in a scanner would never be
enough to find just one of those keys, which on some systems can be
changed daily right over the air.  Even if they didn't change the key
daily, you would still need a combination of processor power and time (a
LOT of time) to decipher the key.   OK, so you want to use your new
Pentium 4 with 2GB of memory, that should do it, right?  Nope, still need
lots of time just to find ONE key out of MILLIONS.  OK, you're a
mathematical genius and related to Michael Dell who loans you a few
hundred computers and you decipher the key and decrypt the signals. 
Sorry, you just broke the law.

Some will suggest buying a "real" radio for listening to the system, but
this has several problems, the most significant being the encryption key.
 Having the radio with the add-on encryption module does you absolutely
no good without having the proper key loaded in with a key loader.  And
with millions of possible keys, trying every key one at a time would
probably take you a few hundred (or thousand) years just to find the
right key.  And by then you're not only dead but the technology has moved
on to something we can't even conceive.  Of course, you could try
bringing the radio to the department and ask them to program and load the
encryption key so that you can listen to them, to which they will either
fall on the ground laughing or arrest you (or at a minimum, interrogate
you to find out where you bought the equipment and why you want to listen
to them).

I'd suggest giving up the idea.

--

The Scanner Dude
Brian J. Cathcart - KE4PMJ
South Florida Frequency & Trunking Guide 10th Edition
Available in both Printed and CD-ROM format
http://www.scannerdude.com