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BID/980 (LAKIN)
Bulk Encryption Device - wanted item

BID/980 was a bulk encryption device, manufactured around 1983 by Cossor Electronics Ltd. (now: Raytheon) in Harlow (Essex, UK), for the British Ministry of Defence. They were used by all three services of the British Army and were suitable for the secure transmission of data via land-lines and radio. The device is also known by its codename LAKIN.

BID/980 was used on main communication trunks and allowed data to be transmitted at speeds ranging from 32 kbps to 2.048 Mbps, in both auto-key and synchronous modes.

The device was approved by SECAN for use by NATO and features a HAIRPIN Key Generator [1], making it compatible with NATO's standard Trunk Encryption Device (TED): the KG-81. Key variables were loaded into the device by means of an 8-level punched paper tape that had to be pulled through the tape reader at the front.
  

Help required
At present, no further information about the BID/980 is available to us. If you have worked with these devices, either in the British Army or at NATO, please let us know.


Variants
  • BID/980/1 - Speed 2.048 Mbps, internally clocked, AC power supply
  • BID/980/1V1 - Speed 32 Kbps to 2.048 Mbps, externally clocked, AC power supply
  • BID/980/1V2 - Speed 64 Kbps to 2.048 Mbps, externally clocked, EUROCOM D/1, AC
  • BID/980/1V3 - as /1 but with DC power supply
  • BID/980/1V4 - as /1V2 but with DC power supply
  • BID/980/1V5 - as /1V2 but with DC power supply
Glossary
BID   British Inter Departmental
Identification used for equipment used by the British Armed Forces and various Government departments. BID is sometimes erroneously explained as British Industrial Development (even by people in the know). Each device is identified by the abbreviation 'BID' followed by a '/' and a number, e.g. BID/950.
CFB   Cipher Feedback
A block cipher mode that enhanced ECB mode by chaining together blocks of cipher text it produces, and operating on plaintext segments of variable length, less than or equal to the block length.
CTAK   Cipher Text Auto-Key
Cryptographic logic that uses previous cipher text to generate a key stream. (Depricated terminology, superceeded by CFB)
KAK   Key-auto-key
Cryptographic logic using a previous key to produce a key. (Depricated terminology, superceeded by OFB)
OFB   Output feedback
a block cipher mode that modifies ECB mode to operate on plaintext segments of variable length lesss than or equal to the block length.
References
  1. Cossor (Raytheon), Bulk Encryption Equipment - BID 980 Series
    Brochure, 4 pages. Date unknown, but probably 1983. Declassified.
Further information
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© Crypto Museum. Created: Friday 27 March 2015. Last changed: Sunday, 25 February 2018 - 13:58 CET.
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