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Mission 01: Alphanumeric Paging Analysis

2026-05-04

Evaluate the security posture of legacy alphanumeric paging systems still in use today.

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Complexity Rating

Receive2/5
Decode3/5
Analysis3/5

System Studied

POCSAG (Post Office Code Standardisation Advisory Group)

Hardware Requirement

rtlsdrhackrf

Software Suite

SDR++Multimon-ngPDW

1. Field Methodology: Capture

Wide-band FM demodulation on known paging frequencies (typically 138-174 MHz or 450-470 MHz).

Gear Selection NoteAny stable RTL-SDR will work, as these signals are generally strong and high-power.

2. Analysis Workflow: Decode

Pipe raw audio into a POCSAG decoder to translate Frequency Shift Keying (FSK) bursts into ASCII text.

Intercept Simulation: 2-FSK Decoding

Alphanumeric paging uses Frequency Shift Keying (FSK) to transmit data. This simulation captures a 1200 baud burst on 152.000 MHz and translates the raw audio tones into ASCII text via the PDW engine.

VHF/UHF SPECTRUM
REC
CENTER FREQ
152.000 MHz
PDW PAGER DECODER v3.1POCSAG 1200

WAITING FOR AUDIO PIPELINE...

TUNE SDR TO 152.000 MHz

SIG: NONEERR: 0%
UNENCRYPTED DATA STREAM

3. Findings & Limitations

Most paging traffic remains unencrypted and unauthenticated, often broadcasting sensitive operational or personal data in the clear over a wide radius.

Legal & Ethical Briefing

In many regions, receiving these signals is legal, but disseminating or acting upon the contents of private messages is a violation of privacy laws.

What to study next

Study FLEX and other more advanced paging protocols used in modern industrial settings.

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