Fall 2004 Issue

HSMM

Communicating Voice, Video, and Data
with Amateur Radio

HSMM and Information Security

 By John Champa,* K8OCL

September 11, 2001 changed everything in America. We have often heard that phrase. Did we think it would apply to U.S. radio amateurs? It certainly does increasingly apply to our clients, the local emergency operations centers and other disaster-response agencies. They welcome the capability of high-speed multimedia (HSMM) equipped and trained teams of hams providing internet-type emergency radio communications services anywhere, anytime, in the field during a disaster. Being able to have simultaneous voice, video, data, and text at a digital rate more than 5000 times faster than conventional packet radio is impressive. However, increasingly, such agencies are expecting that our ham services be secure from unauthorized individuals. How do we accomplish that goal within the traditional bounds of the Amateur Radio Service?
That was the question faced by the ARRL’s HSMM Working Group (WG) earlier this year. Subsequently the working group developed a proposal that was enthusiastically endorsed by the ARRL Board of Directors at its meeting this summer. The Board directed its legal counsel to incorporate the HSMM WG proposal into current efforts toward proposing new regulations for the service. What follows is the full text of this historic milestone proposal in amateur radio.

Security and Data Integrity
on a Modern
Amateur Radio Network
By Paul J. Toth, NA4AR
Emergency Communications Specialist
ARRL HSMM Working Group
Amended 6/29/2004

Executive Summary

This document has been prepared by the ARRL High Speed Multimedia & Networking Working Group (HSMM) to highlight a growing need for regulatory change governing high-speed, wireless data stations operating in the Amateur Radio Service. The HSMM respectfully requests the support of the ARRL Board of Directors for development and filing of a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) permitting the use of encryption and strong security protocols on domestic transmissions above 50 MHz.

Part 97 has, for decades, required that all Amateur Radio Service communications be conducted “in the clear.” ITU regulations and treaties, to which the United States is a signatory, prohibited the use of ciphers and schemes designed to conceal the meaning of transmitted communications. However, an amendment made to Article 25.2A (1A) at the 2003 World Radio Conference no longer specifically prohibits the use of encryption and other strong security measures on transmissions between amateur radio stations within the same jurisdiction.
Several recent events are driving the need for stronger station access and content security. These include:

• The need to prevent access to amateur radio stations by millions of unlicensed commercial and non-commercial users operating under Part 15 of the FCC’s rules.

• The need for amateur radio operators providing emergency communications services to observe significant changes in security and privacy regulations.

• The continuing threat to Homeland Security since the 9/11 attacks have caused numerous federal, state, and local agencies to mandate more secure communications.

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