Christchurch company develops anti-eavesdropping device

A Christchurch company's anti-eavesdropping device is attracting international attention.

The SQ-Phoenix is a box which sits between the telephone or fax machine and the network.

"When you make a telephone call the product essentially takes the signal from your voice, manipulates it so that any unauthorised person listening in would not be able to understand it, and then reconstructs it for the person receiving the call," CES Communications product manager Sarah Macann said in a statement.

CES had developed the technology for both land line telephone and fax systems, Ms Macann said.

The SQ-Phoenix protected voice, fax and data communications, and its digital encryption technology was designed to be strong enough to meet the stringent requirements of government and military customers, she said.

CES was also preparing to submit the SQ-Phoenix for evaluation under the Australasian Information Security Evaluation Programme, which tests security products to government standards.

"This is a strategic move to have the product recognised as an approved solution for government users, and it's a significant investment for us," Ms Macann said.

A preliminary production run of the SQ-Phoenix has been completed and two orders received.

- NZPA