You’re grounded for 2 weeks.

What do you mean “almost”?

Don’t bother with the link, it wouldn’t surprise me if they sent a press release, but that has not been standard practice – nor have they ever really gone to great lengths to keep the code names confidential.

As for the STU series, those are phones and the STU3 was always considered secure. In addition, the frequency hopping radios were considered secure too and we had those in the field in or around 1990 (thus, decades or pretty damn close).

I also don’t buy that 128 bit encryption is “unbreakable.” Everything is breakable. Remember when we almost successfully hacked into the North Andover School System computers via modem in the early 80’s? (I hope the statute of limitations has passed.)

In this case you are wrong. The Secret Service actually sent a press release across the wire providing the names. I’m looking for a link to it now, but it did not “leak.”

They went on to further explain that the names are just following a tradition and there is not need for them from a security standpoint.

As for secure communications, not true either. It was not until the advent of the STU-4 encryption in the mid- 90’s that communication became secure. Even still, that was broken. Now with 128 bit encryption radios are truly secure.

They don’t make it public, the info. just kinda leaks out and the SS doesn’t really care because no damage is done.

In spite of secure communications they still use code names for uniformity (and tradition too, I’m suppose). Instead of having agents refer to individuals by multiple names (the President, Bush, POTUS, Commander in Chief etc.) they use the code name and therefore eliminate confusion.

The military has had secure communications for decades but uses call signs for the same reason – uniformity. You always know who you are talking to/about.

EDITED to include: The same goes for the phonetic alphabet (Alpha, Bravo, Charlie etc.)

My point exactly

Yeah, I would think so, or why would they make it public??

However, I was under the impression that SS names were now used only as a tradition not to serve any privacy/security function.

It looks like Truman was the first. His code name was “General.”

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/chi-talk-code-namesnov11,0,2798932.story

Reagan – Rawhide
Clinton – Eagle
Carter – Deacon
GW Bush – Tumbler

I wonder who the first President was to get a SS code name??