More details on Zimmermann's VOIP encryption scheme

Once upon a time, the U.S. government wanted to limit the strength of encryption schemes in the marketplace so workers in the puzzle palace wouldn't have to try terribly hard to read encrypted electronic transmissions. That was when Phil Zimmermann introduced Pretty Good Privacy, which enabled Average Joes to ensure their communications weren't easily cracked. Zimmermann received a federal investigation for his efforts, and PGP spread across the globe, thwarting the government's aim to keep strong encryption -- and privacy -- out of reach to its citizens.

Now Zimmermann, who has also made a career of being a privacy advocate has unveiled a prototype for something he calls zphone, a product that would encrypt VOIP calls, and protect them from eavesdropping.

On Thursday, as previously reported here, Zimmermann demonstrated his concept at the Black Hat security conference in Las Vegas.

He said he expects to make the product available online at the end of August. The VOIP client is based on the Shtoom phone client, with added cryptography according to coverage from ZDNet.

The initial market for the product will likely be to those users of software-based phones, like Skype and others.

For more coverage on this emerging issue, here are links to articles from ZDNet, and PCWorld.