CONDOR secure cell phone

Qualcomm built several prototype secure CDMA phones for NSA under a contract project called "Condor". They insisted on hardware encryption, originally using Fortezza PC cards, but later it became apparent that they really wanted STU-III.

STU-III - Secure Telephone Unit, 3rd Generation.

STU-IIIs are the standard secure telephone for the U.S. Government, used by people at all levels: the President and his Cabinet, Congress, the military, civil agencies, law enforcement, government contractors and research institutions. The major goals of the STU-III program were to provide an affordable secure telephone that fit conveniently on a desk, was easy to use, and worked over the public telephone network. The first STU-IIIs became available in 1987. Since then, over 300,000 STU-IIIs have been fielded. Continual improvements have enabled the STU-III family to evolve to support many applications. They provide security for voice conversations and data communications such as faxes, computer-to-computer file transfers, and video.

The STU-III is a compact, self-contained desktop unit capable of providing the user with clear and secure voice and data transmissions. The unit is fully TEMPEST protected and is certified by the National Security Agency for use up to and including Top Secret material. The STU-III is unique in that it works as an ordinary telephone and as a secure telephone network to other STU-III terminals. For secure transmissions, the STU-III uses a unique keying system. The three manufacturers of the STU-III terminals for the Navy are AT&T, Motorola, and General Electric.

The STU-III is operated the same as any telephone. That is, you pick up the handset, wait for a dial tone, then dial the number of the person you want to call. All calls on the STU-III are always initiated in the clear voice mode. Once the party you have called has answered, you have the option of talking to that person in the clear voice mode, clear data mode, secure voice mode, or the secure data mode.