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Texting in secret interests GCHQ
Jun 7 2004
A Birmingham company has attracted the attention of the Government's security services with its latest invention.
Tony King, a partner at Moseley-based Silicon Village Mobile, said officials from Government Communications Headquarters had been in contact with him over a new mobile phone security device.
GCHQ is interested in purchasing the product - a device which enables secure text massaging between mobile phones.
The new encryption application, called Fortress SMS, provides secure end-to-end data transmission for text messages on Nokia Series 60 and Sony UIQ mobile phones.
Mr King said the NHS have also been in touch with the company to see whether paramedics can use the device to take photos at crash scenes, which they can quickly send to surgeons.
"GCHQ have also expressed an interest, which is quite bizarre because they are the people who would be tracking text messages," he said.
"Fortress SMS is designed for a growing number of security conscious SMS users seeking to protect their sensitive messages from interception and snooping, in an easy to use, simple and effective fashion.
"It is amazing how many people would benefit from a service which provides a secure text messaging service."
Fortress SMS can be down-loaded on to mobiles and messages are secure if they are sent to other phones carrying the facility.
