Encryption made for police and military radios may be easily cracked
Briefly

Researchers discovered intentional vulnerabilities in an encryption algorithm used in radios for critical infrastructure. The European Telecommunications Standards Institute advised deploying end-to-end encryption solutions for added security. However, a flawed implementation of the endorsed solution was later found to also be vulnerable to eavesdropping, using a 128-bit key compressed to 56 bits, facilitating easier cracking. The end-to-end encryption is widely used by law enforcement and military agencies, raising concerns over the security of sensitive communications given the flawed implementations.
At least one implementation of the end-to-end encryption solution endorsed by ETSI has a similar issue that makes it equally vulnerable to eavesdropping.
The encryption algorithm used for the device examined starts with a 128-bit key, but this gets compressed to 56 bits before it encrypts traffic, making it easier to crack.
Read at Ars Technica
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