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Cryptovox HC - 3300
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Cryptovox HC-3300
Secure Crypto Phone

The CRYPTOVOX HC-3300 is a secure telephone set with digital encryption, developed by Crypto AG in Switzerland in the early 1990s. It can be connected to a PSTN line and is suitable for voice, data and facsimile traffic. A smart-card is used for key distribution.

The HC-3300 is housed in a rather heavy die-cast aluminium case which provides sufficient TEMPEST shielding. The unit has two simple key pads with 12 keys each. The rightmost keypad is identical to a common telephone. It has the numbers 0-9 plus * and #.

All of the additional features are controlled via the leftmost keypad. The unit communicates with the user via a simple LCD display. Two LEDs to the right of the display show whether the phone is a plain or crypto mode. A valid key card should be inserted at the right.
HC-3300 crypto phone

Secure speech conversations are possible in full-duplex at 2400, 4800 and 9600 baud data rates, depending on the quality of the telephone line. In addition, half-duplex calls are possible at 2400 and 4800 baud. Secure group calls are possible at 2400 baud only. Data and facsimile messages can be sent and received at the same rates, with V.32, V.27 ter and V.22 bis [1].

The HC-3300 can hold 30 communication keys, 3 broadcast keys, 1 structure key and 1 Key Transportation Key (KTK). Each key is 128 bits long, allowing more that 1038 possible keys. It has a key stream period of more than 1028 years.

In 1999, the HC-3300 was still in use by the United Nations (UN) alongside the HC-4220 fax encryptor for the encryption of speech and data via land lines [2]. Apparently, neither the HC-3300 nor the HC-4220 were suitable for communication via HF (radio) or satellite. For a long time, the HC-3300 has been very popular within the governments of some South-American countries such as Mexico and Argentina, until they were decomissioned around 2010.