The quoted passage describes the fictional STU-6 secure telephone used by US Secretary of State Scott Adler. Calls travel through a Defense Department satellite and sound like running water to a casual listener. Its randomized 512-bit scrambling can be broken about one-third of the time by Fort Meade computers after several days of directed effort. Engineers are trying to connect it to the stronger TAPDANCE cryptological system, although technical problems remain. Even connecting a call takes 11 seconds while units on opposite sides of the world synchronize. These specifications belong to Clancy's fictional system and do not establish real communications capabilities.
Transcript Excerpt · 10:13-11:19
How Clancy's fictional STU-6 secure telephone works
Clancy's fictional STU-6 telephone combines a Defense Department satellite link with scrambling, codebreaking, and an 11-second synchronization delay.