[CQ] Encryption in the Amateur Service - Santa Clara, California, April 24

[Michael Shiloh]

Wow. This is pretty interesting, and as you say, very important.

I won't be able to attend the meeting but would love to hear a summary, 
if someone has time to write such.

M

On 04/11/2013 12:00 PM, Bruce Perens wrote:
> Please pass this message to interested parties.*
>
> Amateur Radio WiFi, Encryption, HIPAA, and HSMM-MESH
>
> Santa Clara California, April 24
> *At the Santa Clara ARES/RACES Monthly Meeting
> 7:30 PM to 9:30 PM,
> 1900 Walsh Ave, Santa Clara, CA 95050**
> *
> At their last board meeting, ARRL considered a request to change the
> amateur radio rules to allow the use of encryption on the air. This was
> the first meeting of what will probably be a long process.
>
> * Health providers are responsible to protect patient information under
> HIPAA, the patient privacy bill passed in 1996. It's made them
> increasingly nervous about using Radio Amateurs to provide emergency
> services. We're doing everything we can, but they're still nervous about
> being sued. The advent of digital communications over Amateur Radio
> presents a potential solution: encryption of patient information would
> protect its privacy.
>
> High power WiFi-like devices are now available for Amateur frequencies.
> We share either the operating frequency or the IF frequency with
> conventional WiFi, but we can use higher power and higher-gain antennas
> than non-licensed users. But how do we keep non-hams off of Amateur
> digital networks? Encryption is proposed for that, too.
>
> */But proposed rule changes to allow encryption could be a disaster for
> ham radio:/*
>
>   * Amateur radio isn't for private communications, but encryption would
>     make communications private.
>   * Frequencies that carry encrypted traffic are no longer shared
>     frequencies. Hams who don't know the cryptographic key can neither
>     monitor nor participate.
>   * Encryption defeats self-policing in the Amateur service.
>   * Encryption facilitates the use of frequencies for purposes we don't
>     desire in the Amateur spectrum.
>   * Amateur Radio must be /harmless/ in order to continue to be
>     supported by governments. But encryption removes any assumption that
>     the content of a communication is harmless
>
> The prospect of encryption on the Amateur airwaves has been so
> contentious that ARRL's High-Speed Multimedia committee disbanded when
> half of the members walked off in anger over the topic. The HSMM-Mesh
> group prohibits discussion of encryption and the FCC rules on their
> message boards because discussion has been so acrimonious. This,
> however, has prevented them from arriving at any solution and a
> consensus among Radio Amateurs on the issue.
>
> *Fortunately, there **/are /**solutions and consensus /is /possible.
> Bruce Perens K6BP explains:*
>
>   * What are the HIPAA requirements?
>   * How does ham-frequency WiFi work?
>   * WiFi distance records vs. practical radio links.
>   * What is /Fresnel distance,/ and how does it effect WiFi communications?
>   * What other forms of digital communications can we use?
>   * How does WiFi security work? Would it be secure over Amateur Radio?
>   * What sort of encryption does Part 97 permit today?
>   * What's the difference between /authentication/ and /encryption?/
>   * Can we authenticate without obscuring information?
>   * What is a /zero-knowledge proof/, and how can we use it on Amateur
>     frequencies?
>   * What are "Part 15 on-ramps", and how do they differ from Amateur
>     communications?
>   * What is OpenWRT, and how can it help us?
>   * What is HSMM-Mesh?
>   * What is end-to-end encryption, and how does it differ from WiFi
>     security?
>   * Should there be a capability for regulators and others to decrypt
>     recorded messages after acquiring the key? Why isn't SSH/SSL the
>     best protocol for this function?
>   * Should we use end-to-end encryption for patient information?
>   * Is there a chance for changes to HIPAA that would protect our served
>     agencies?
>
> Bruce Perens K6BP is one of the founders of the Open Source movement in
> software, and an expert witness and consultant who makes his living
> explaining technological issues to lawyers, judges, corporate officers,
> and government agencies. He is presently involved in the development of
> Codec2 an Open Source ultra-low-bandwidth digital voice codec for radio,
> and FreeDV, the Open Source HF digital voice application using Codec2.
> See freedv.org <http://freedv.org/> for more information. Perens founded
> /No-Code International /and successfully evangelized for the elimination
> of the Morse code examination for Amateur Radio licensing worldwide. He
> is the creator of /Busybox, /the foundation of embedded Linux and an
> important component of OpenWRT and the HSMM-Mesh software. He is a
> keynote speaker worldwide, and spoke at the /United Nations Summit on
> the Information Society/ at the UN's invitation.
>
> Contact Bruce via email to bruce at perens dot com, or phone +1
> 510-4PERENS (510-473-7367).
>
>
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> CQ mailing list
> CQ at lists.noisebridge.net
> https://www.noisebridge.net/mailman/listinfo/cq
>