Why Barrett’s HF radio is more secure for humanitarian use

Secure communication for humanitarian workers in the field is essential for successful operations and to ensure everyone’s safety. Field work can be dangerous, especially for civilian volunteers, if their communications about location and journey plans are not secure enough to stop hackers and other people from listening.

Fortunately, Barrett Communications’ humanitarian HF radios can be equipped with leading Advanced Encryption Standard (AES) systems, armed with frequency algorithms protecting valuable audio data from others. These options are subject to export control.

What HF radio equipment is safe from hacking?

AES systems use complex algorithms to block frequency interference or hacking, with both the sending and the receiving radio set equipped with ‘keyloaders’ designed to unlock the algorithm and transmit the audio as encrypted data. These keyloaders are connected to your radio sets and a unique code entered, meaning your transmitted data is only accessible by devices with this unique code.

Barrett’s entire humanitarian HF radio range can be equipped with a variety of optional secure transmission systems. All of our HF transceiver products, from our 2050 HF SSB transceiver to our comprehensive HF Rapid Field Development System, are equipped with security protocols for your data encrypted audio, with AES the best method for secure communications. However, more standard frequency hopping and code inversion encryption protocols are also available.

Numerous charity organisations are now operating in one of the largest field missions ever, supplying food to over 800,000 people.

Can HF radio waves be monitored during humanitarian operations?

Yes. Standard and inexpensive radio units can have their signals monitored by easily-obtainable HF scanners, meaning any conversations can be listened to or recorded. This can make the field very dangerous, as humanitarian work often takes workers into some of the most volatile parts of the world. For example, numerous prominent charity organisations are now operating in Iraq in one of the largest field missions ever. Helping refugees and civilians displaced by fighting between so called Islamic State and Iraqi Army forces has required supplying food to over 800,000 food insecure people across a huge expanse of remote and rural land (statistic according to the World Food Program).

In conditions like these, secure communication is vital to ensuring field workers can operate without threat of detection and attack. Barrett’s HF SSB Transceiver products represent excellent options for secure field communication, with AES and other encryption systems available to keep your audio data secure.

Make Barrett Communications your humanitarian HF radio supplier

Barrett’s range of humanitarian HF radios are designed with maximum ease of use in mind – but for their operators only. While low-quality radio equipment is formatted with standard encryption patterns, these can be easily figured out, leaving your operations exposed. With a Barrett radio, you can be certain that your field workers can communicate safely, with encryption options subject to receipt of an Australian Government Export Licence. For more information, visit the Barrett website or contact our customer service team today.