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July 18, 2012

Whisper Systems Makes Voice Encryption App RedPhone Code Open

By Ashok Bindra, TMCnet Contributor

Security company, Whisper Systems is making the code for its voice encryption application RedPhone available as an open source code. Designed for Android (News - Alert) smartphones, the app encrypts VoIP calls using the ZRTP open standard.



Whisper Systems said that the RedPhone app integrates with the system's dialer to deliver what the developer describes as a "frictionless call experience".

Reports indicate that unlike other applications, the RedPhone app does not use a SIP gateway to communicate. Instead, as reported, it establishes a direct connection to another RedPhone user via Wi-Fi or UMTS.

Whisper Systems said that a server operated by the company sends a text to the receiving caller to initiate the connection. The receiving caller is required to set-up the connection, the company said. However, Whisper Systems said that separate accounts are not needed, as RedPhone app uses the Android device's phone number to identify users.

The RedPhone was originally created by security researcher Moxie Marlinspike, whose company Whisper Systems was acquired by Twitter (News - Alert) last November.

The report indicates that another app developed by Marlinspike, called TextSecure, which encrypts text messages using the Off-the-Record-Messaging protocol and elliptic curve-based cryptography, was open sourced last December.

The developer said that additional information on RedPhone app, including developer resources and technical documentation, is provided on the RedPhone wiki. Meanwhile, version 0.5 of RedPhone is currently in the beta phase, which is available for download from the Google (News - Alert) Play store for devices running Android 2.2 or later. In fact, according to the developers, the source code for the RedPhone app can be downloaded from Whisper System's GitHub repository and is licensed under the GPLv3.




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Edited by Brooke Neuman
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