Zfone provides on-the-fly encryption of VoIP calls for Symbian smartphones based on S60

[Nikos Kartalis]

Atelier, a leading provider of wireless software solutions for smart devices and Philip Zimmermann, creator of PGP, the most widely used email encryption software in the world, today announced they have partnered to provide secure Voice over IP (VoIP) technology for Symbian smartphones.

Atelier is making available the Zfone software for Symbian OS that automatically encrypts voice calls made over the Internet, effectively turning existing Symbian smartphones into secure crypto phones. The technology ensures voice communications are truly private and prevents threats such as wiretapping or eavesdropping by notifying the user when a call is secure. With your mobile phone, you can now whisper in someone’s ear from a thousand miles away.

"Today, we’re seeing VoIP telephony’s stellar growth and acceptance in the mass market, but users do not realize their Internet calls are more likely and easily intercepted than with standard telephony", said Marc Menschenfreund, CEO of Atelier, "with Phil Zimmermann’s Zfone for Symbian OS, we’re bringing to the masses the same level of privacy to VoIP calls that PGP brought to email."

Zfone for Symbian OS integrates with the Internet protocol stack of the operating system and intercepts VoIP packets as they go in and out of the phone, seamlessly scrambling voice on the fly. Zfone is compatible with all SIP/RTP-based VoIP clients, so it can be used out-of-the-box with the standard Internet telephony software built into Nokia S60 phones for example.

"Zfone is the easy and smart way to provide privacy to VoIP calls and it is a ready-to-go technology that can be widely deployed" said Phil Zimmermann, "Atelier’s expertise enabled Zfone to be very tightly integrated into the Symbian platform, allowing secure VoIP communications to reach critical mass faster by transforming millions of existing and forthcoming Symbian smartphones based on S60 and UIQ platforms into secure Internet phones."

Zfone is end-to-end compatible with its desktop implementations making it possible to make encrypted calls between a Symbian smartphone and a PC. The technology auto-detects if the other endpoint supports encryption, and if not, allows regular VoIP calls, enabling immediate deployment in heterogeneous environments.

Zfone does not require any user configuration making it easy for Handset Manufacturers, Enterprises and Network Operators to rapidly provide secure communications to their users and customers. The technology is based on the ZRTP protocol which uses 128 and 256-bit AES encryption. The protocol has been submitted to the IETF as a proposal for a public standard and its source code is available for peer review.

Atelier will demonstrate Zfone running on Symbian smartphones and its interoperability with PC based encrypted Internet telephony software on its booth #80 during the Symbian Smartphone Show in London UK, on Oct 16-17, 2007.