Zfone

Zfone is software for secure voice communication over the Internet (VoIP), using the ZRTP protocol. It is created by Phil Zimmermann, the creator of the PGP encryption software. Zfone works on top of existing SIP- and RTP-programs, like Gizmo, but should work with any SIP- and RTP-compliant VoIP-program.

Zfone turns many existing VoIP clients into secure phones. It runs in the Internet Protocol stack on any Windows XP, Mac OS X, or Linux PC, and intercepts and filters all the VoIP packets as they go in and out of the machine, and secures the call on the fly. A variety of different software VoIP clients can be used to make a VoIP call. The Zfone software detects when the call starts, and initiates a cryptographic key agreement between the two parties, and then proceeds to encrypt and decrypt the voice packets on the fly. It has its own separate GUI, telling the user if the call is secure. Zfone acts as if it were a "bump on the wire", sitting between the VoIP client and the Internet, but implemented in software in the protocol stack.

Zfone's libZRTP SDK libraries are released under a GPL or a commercial license. Note that only the libZRTP SDK libraries are provided under the GPL. The parts of Zfone that are not part of the libZRTP SDK libraries are not licensed under the GPL or any other open source license. Although the source code of those components is published for peer review, the intellectual property status of those components remains proprietary.

Platforms and specification

* Availability - Mac OS X, Linux, and Windows as compiled programs as well as an SDK.
* Encryption standards - Based on ZRTP, which uses 128- or 256-bit AES together with a 3,000-bit key exchange system and voice based verification to prevent man in the middle attacks.
* ZRTP Protocol - Published as an IETF draft: "ZRTP: Media Path Key Agreement for Secure RTP" [http://zfoneproject.com/zrtp_ietf.html]
* VoIP Clients - Zfone has been tested with the following VoIP clients: X-Lite, Gizmo, XMeeting, Google Talk VoIP client, and SJphone.

ee also

* Comparison of VoIP software
* Secure telephoneOther encrypted voice-over-IP programs:
* PGPfone
* Gizmo Project based upon Jabber
* Skype

External links

* [http://zfoneproject.com/ Zfone home page]
* [http://www.philzimmermann.com Phil Zimmermann official website]
* [http://news.com.com/E-mail+security+hero+takes+on+VoIP/2100-7352_3-6105589.html?tag=nefd.top CNET News: E-mail security hero takes on VoIP]
* [http://www.wired.com/news/technology/0,70524-0.html 'Wired.com' article April 03 2006]