Post
by system_tech » Mon Oct 10, 2011 10:26 am
Skygen is on the right track ... therw were plenty of unathorised radios on 4.1, and fact so many with duplicated IDs it became a problem.
Haha the default ID, 700000, was actually an ID for an agency, and that ID came in the radio as default! Later cancelled for obvious reasons.
EFjohnson made a 4.1 compatible radio under licence or approval from /\/\. Tested by NOCC on behalf of GCIO and approved by GCIO for use on GRN. I carrried a few of these test radios around myself.
I know people brought in 4.1 /\/\ radios from the US, cheaper than on govt contact prices and they sold them to anyone. Easy to do when you are in, or sort of in "the trade". Often bought of Ebay as well.
Certain NSW govt agencies sold their "surplus" MCS-2000 and MTS-2000 GRN radios at auction or via radio dealers. They turned up in various places with their original ID still intact, and OFTEN still paid up on the network as the agency DID NOT cancel the subscription for that ID. Known as a fact as I had to investigate this.
And of course, there is the Ex-SORN XTS-3000 cluster-fcuk where they (the Govt, not Telstra) ostensibly sold the radios to volunteer units, except that the unit acted as middle man to private individuals, thus numerous 3000's ended up in private hands. Known as a fact.
So, you didn't really need to steal a radio.
All you needed was CPS and a bit of knowledge about Smartzone settings, most of which were found on websites. A bit here, a bit there. Hahaha and if you wanted to program in talkgroups, just read this website or its predecessors for talkgroup IDs, happily found and documented by enthusiasts.
I even tracked down an enthusiast who advertised programming of /\/\ gear for GRN for the appropriate fee. It was on an enthusiast website.
4.1 was as wide open as a barn door, so being proprietry didn't help at all.
Govt at the time had very poor procedures & control over all of the radios, the fact that each agency owned the radio dictated the anomaly that they could dispose of as they wished. GCIO were the ones behind selling of the 3000's and put no process in place to ensure correct disposal. With that volunteer unit, it was assumed that the actual unit was buying the radio, when in fact the unit just ordered on behalf a member with the cash, there was no inventory checking afterwards, no accountability.
[note ex-SORN radios very easy identify, and they were seen in all kinds of places]
Needles to say, same folks at Govt still running the show.
And if you think the world became as safer place with ASKs and XTL, XTS radios? Not at all.
Even before XTL-5000 radios were issued from the main store of a volunteer agency (after being registered on the GRN), they appeared on eBay as brand new, ready for "use". Tracked to a corrupt temporary employee at the store. Luckily the NOCC was notified by a well meaning eBay looker, and the radios didn't make it out the door. Mind you the stupid corrupt person actually replied to an equiry on eBay and supplied the serial number! Easily found on NOCC database and tracked to agency concerned. Police advised and sting commenced. It was close thing though, the radios could have easily made it out the door.
So, as much as you might have technical standards, humans tend to bugger things up. Even if you had the best physical security, it wouldn't last long under determined attack. Skygen's anaology of dumb crimm hiring smart hacker will work every time. If you look carefully, there are doors to find open all over the place. Oops, well, you don't even have to look hard. You don't have to bust the encription, just get an already encrypted unit, for example. (years ago I stopped at an acco to help. the first tow truck driver offered me 2k to loose my work MCS-2000 I was carrying, bet you that kind of mentality & practice is still around, and No, I didn't "drop" the radio!).