The software was classed as munitions and one needed an arms dealer's license to publish it, including online. The creator of PGP published the full source code as a book, as these are covered under first amendment rights.

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[–] 19 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

I think FCC still takes it pretty seriously.

just use Meshtastic/LoRa. you can use encryption and you don't need a Ham license. your output power is limited but I've heard of people getting 50+ miles of range for reception.

specifically, for ham you're not allowed to obscure the meaning of your transmissions. this means no:

  • symmetric cryptography
  • numbers stations (one-time pad ciphers)
  • communicating in codewords ("the Falcon has left the nest, over!"

but you can use:

  • compression
  • commercial telegraph codes (e.g. 22415 = "Partly cloudy with a chance of showers"), as long as you're using a public codebook
  • message authentication codes (to prevent forging messages)
  • (arguably) asymmetric cryptography for signatures, identity challenge/response
  • encrypted control messages for hobbyist satellites (special exemption)

so authentication is possible, just not privacy.

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