Securing DECT Devices

This paper addresses the security of Sennheiser DECT Contact Center and Office (CC&O) headsets. It describes the DECT security chain comprised of “Pairing”, “Per Call Authentication” and “Encryption”, which are all part of the standard DECT protocol.

Furthermore, it explains that an intruder can only compromise the security of a DECT system by gaining access to the data exchanged between the headset and base station during initial pairing. Therefore, protecting the pairing process from unauthorized access is at the heart of a secure wireless communication system.

In Sennheiser devices, pairing is only possible when the headset is physically docked in the base station. A potential intruder therefore has no way of calculating or intercepting the pairing data wirelessly.

This, together with the added security layers provided by the standard DECT protocol, makes the overall security of Sennheiser DECT products very high. As a result, they are virtually immune to the commonly perceived threats to a wireless system, namely – passive eavesdrop ping, base station impersonation and fraud.