In the photo: Sheikh Khalifa bin Jassim bin Mohammed Al Thani, Chairman of the Qatar Chamber of Commerce and Industry, presents the Ship of Friendship to Anatoly Klepov.

Cryptography — The Klepov Family Legacy

Anatoly Klepov continues a family tradition: his ancestors have worked in cryptography for over 150 years.

• Father: Viktor Ivanovich Klepov participated in the development and operation of the renowned Soviet cryptographic computer “Vesna,” capable of breaking nearly any cipher of its time.

• Uncle: Anatoly Ivanovich Klepov provided encrypted communications for Soviet cosmonauts, starting with Yuri Gagarin.

Corporate Leadership and Key Projects

For 28 years, Anatoly Klepov led Ancort, a company that provided encryption solutions for:

• Presidents of the USSR (Mikhail Gorbachev) and Russia (Boris Yeltsin),

• The Ministry of Defense, Ministry of Internal Affairs, Central Bank, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and other state bodies of the Russian Federation,

• Approximately 500 Russian banks.

He also led Swiss companies Crypto Telecommunication Security (CTS) and Mobile Trust Telecommunication (MTT) for over 20 years. These companies specialized in the development and production of encryption technology.

• MTT was selected by the Swiss government to represent the country at the CEBIT exhibition in Hannover as one of the top IT companies. It also participated in many major international electronics and computer exhibitions, including in Dubai.
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• CTS unveiled a hardware crypto-messenger at an international military tech exhibition in Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia), which sparked worldwide interest.
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Major Achievements in Cryptography

Saving Russia’s Financial System in the 1990s

During the economic crisis of the early 1990s, hackers stole trillions of rubles in cash (equivalent to around $200 billion) through counterfeit financial documents (fake advices). According to Russian government estimates, the country was three months away from a total collapse of its financial system.

Under the leadership of Anatoly Klepov, Ancort developed and implemented:

• Azimut hardware encryptors for securing financial data,

• A cryptographic system for 2,100 settlement and cash centers of the Central Bank of Russia,

• Training for 6,000 Central Bank employees in encryption technology — more personnel than were trained during all of World War II,

• Detection of insider threats (“moles”) within the Central Bank using cryptographic methods — these individuals were involved in embezzlement schemes.

As a result of these efforts:

• Inflation was reduced by 300%,

• The collapse of the financial system was prevented, as personally reported by Viktor Gerashchenko to Boris Yeltsin and the Russian Parliament.

A modern cryptographic email system co-developed by Ancort and Samsung was successfully deployed to protect commercial information in Russia. This system demonstrated higher effectiveness and stronger information security than leading global alternatives — even outperforming Gmail by Google in terms of encryption strength and local adaptability.

International Recognition

Cryptographic algorithms developed by Anatoly Klepov received official certification from government agencies in neutral countries — Sweden and South Africa — traditionally recognized for their high national standards in cryptography.

The security verification process lasted several years, involving supercomputers and the top national cryptography experts. Final expert reports confirmed that Klepov’s algorithms were mathematically unbreakable, even with the most powerful supercomputers available throughout the lifespan of the universe.

To date, no Soviet or Russian cryptographer has received such high international recognition.

As part of a joint development effort, Ancort and the South African government introduced the world’s first crypto device combining the functions of a crypto phone and crypto fax, which was successfully implemented across government communication channels in 18 countries.

Additionally, a stationary cryptographic communication system was developed and launched, combining a crypto phone and crypto smartphone. The device provided secure voice protection for heads of state, including several leaders of Arab nations. It was delivered together with a hardware encryption key generator, both meeting TEMPEST and military-grade security standards, ensuring protection against all known side-channel attacks capable of compromising encrypted communications.

Innovative Developments

Anatoly Klepov pioneered the creation of the world’s first hardware cryptographic smartphone with a touchscreen, fully compliant with the TEMPEST standard. The device included a proprietary operating system managing two processors — one operating in open mode and the other in a super-secure mode.

This crypto smartphone seamlessly interacted with stationary cryptographic phones, significantly boosting the efficiency of encrypted communications across government institutions.

According to Western analysts, the estimated value of this development exceeded $300 million USD. The device was certified by a Russian government agency and distributed through the Megafon telecom operator. It was successfully adopted in over 30 government organizations worldwide. Each unit included a hardware key generator manufactured to TEMPEST and military-grade specifications.

A luxury designer version of the device was also created — the world’s most expensive hardware cryptographic smartphone, priced at $1,300,000 USD. Designed by renowned artist Peter Aloisson, its case was made of platinum, with the logo and original key crafted from rose gold. The smartphone was encrusted with 50 diamonds, including 10 rare blue ones, and featured side panels made from hand-polished Macassar ebony.

This exclusive crypto smartphone was purchased by one of Hollywood’s most famous actresses. Its coverage in leading luxury and tech publications generated over 500 million mentions online, reflecting extraordinary global interest and recognition.

Klepov also developed the world’s first hardware crypto-messenger with an integrated crypto wallet — Stealthphone Hard, fully compliant with the TEMPEST standard. The built-in wallet is unclonable and immune to compromise. The solution was certified in Germany and is used at the government level in multiple countries.

In addition, software versions of the crypto-messenger were created for Android and iOS, successfully tested by Rostec and rated as more secure than Telegram and Signal.

Stealthphone Hard easily connects via Bluetooth to smartphones, computers, satellite phones, and radios — providing comprehensive protection for both data and voice communications.
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The development of Stealthphone Hard introduced a breakthrough technology — "stealth telephony" — enabling encrypted voice messages to be transmitted over standard communication networks. No intelligence agency in the world, even with advanced surveillance tools, can decrypt or detect these transmissions.
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The device is supplied with the Stealthphone Key Hard — a hardware key generator built to TEMPEST standards, ensuring the highest level of protection for use in government infrastructures.
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Crypto Flash – Secure Hardware Storage

Special attention should be given to the Crypto Flash hardware crypto drive, designed for secure storage and transmission of confidential information. All data transferred to the device is automatically encrypted at the hardware level, eliminating any possibility of unauthorized copying or reading — even with direct physical access.

Unlike standard USB drives, Crypto Flash implements a protected cryptographic environment where data can only be decrypted using authorized access keys. This makes it an ideal solution for storing mission-critical information in both government and corporate infrastructures.

The device is fully compliant with TEMPEST standards. Even if the crypto flash drive falls into the hands of intelligence agencies, they cannot extract encryption keys or decrypt the stored messages. There are no equivalents anywhere in the world.

Literary and Historical Work

Anatoly Klepov is a recipient of the Golden Pen of Russia award for his book “Encryptors and Radio Intelligence: The Shield and Sword of the Information World.” Drawing on archival documents, Klepov compellingly proves that during his time at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Empire, Alexander Pushkin collaborated with Pavel Schilling, head of the cipher department, as a linguist-decryptor of international diplomatic ciphers.

Klepov is also the author of “Espionage, Encryptors, and Chocolate,” which for the first time details the contributions of Soviet radio intelligence during the Cuban Missile Crisis and uncovers Mikhail Gorbachev’s previously unknown role in the dismantling of the USSR’s microchip manufacturing industry.

Reviving Lost Technologies

In a remarkable interdisciplinary effort, Anatoly Klepov has been working on reviving lost Aztec technologies for producing a special kind of chocolate believed to rejuvenate and enhance creative intuition. The unique formula and properties of this chocolate were even covered in an official TASS news agency report.

Klepov’s great-grandfather was a chocolate supplier to Emperor Alexander III in the 19th century.

Combating Cybercrime in the 21st Century

According to technical experts from the World Economic Forum in Davos, hackers stole approximately $6 trillion USD in digital assets last year — exceeding the combined military budgets of all countries in the world. The scale of cybercriminal profits continues to grow exponentially.

One of the largest incidents was the compromise of the Bybit cryptocurrency platform, resulting in a loss of approximately $1.4 billion.

Modern hacker groups now employ the most advanced technologies — supercomputers, artificial intelligence, and even quantum computing systems. In such conditions, only hardware-based cryptographic infrastructure, compliant with TEMPEST standards, can offer reliable protection. This includes crypto smartphones, messengers, and key devices with physically implemented encryption mechanisms.

A key element in safeguarding critical information is the use of hardware encryption key generators, also built to TEMPEST specifications. Unlike software-based or pseudo-random generators that may be vulnerable to compromise, hardware-based solutions form a truly resilient cryptographic foundation, capable of resisting even quantum attacks.

In the 21st century, cyberwarfare has become the primary tool of global confrontation. Its destructive power is now comparable to or even greater than that of nuclear weapons. The main targets are the financial systems of rival nations — particularly the infrastructure for storing and transacting cryptocurrencies and digital financial assets, as these have become a cornerstone of the emerging global economy.

The Central Bank of the Russian Federation’s experience in financial data protection confirms: only hardware cryptographic tools that meet TEMPEST standards offer real resilience against current and future cyber threats.

Tectum Keys: A Cryptographic Revolution

It is widely known that every microchip — including random number generators (RNGs) — can potentially contain hardware backdoors embedded during manufacturing. This is even legally permitted in several countries for export-grade cryptographic devices. As a result, no chip manufacturer can guarantee total independence from external control.

Therefore, a critical step in ensuring true security is the testing of components under the TEMPEST standard — the international benchmark for detecting information leakage channels, including electromagnetic emissions and hardware backdoors. This process enables the creation of unique software-hardware cryptographic architectures, eliminating any chance of external interference and ensuring the generation of unbiased secret keys, beyond the reach of any government or third party.

The use of software RNGs remains one of the main vulnerabilities in modern cryptosystems. According to Chainalysis (2022), 51% of crypto wallet breaches were caused by key generation flaws. Between 2021 and 2023, users lost over $2.1 billion due to weak RNGs and vulnerable crypto storage solutions.

Moreover, TEMPEST attacks allow adversaries to intercept electromagnetic emissions from standard computing devices, gaining access to critical information without hacking software.

Only hardware key generators certified to TEMPEST standards and based on transparent architectures can guarantee true cryptographic independence and protection from external control, including that of nation-states.

The Tectum Keys Solution by Anatoly Klepov

• Hardware RNG based on the cryptographic interaction of two diodes generating random sequences

• The key is generated inside the device and never leaves it

• No physical tokens — nothing to lose or steal

• Quantum-resistant, including protection against Shor’s algorithm

• Independently verified — anyone can test its integrity

“This isn’t just mathematics — this is security
based on super-cryptography and TEMPEST.”
— A.V. Klepov, Infoforum 2023

Tectum Keys is the only system in the world where:

• A single universal key works across all protocols

• Security is uncompromisable

• The source of randomness is physics and unique cryptographic algorithms, not software-generated pseudo-random numbers

Klepov’s vast practical experience in developing and deploying encryption devices proves this: not a single device he developed has ever been decrypted.

Certificates & International Validation

1. KTH Certificate (Royal Institute of Technology, Sweden)

• Title: CERTIFICATE (March 8, 1996)

• Organization: KTH (Kungliga Tekniska Högskolan), Sweden

• Summary: Evaluation of the LION encryption algorithm developed by Ancort JSC. Signed by Professor Johan Håstad, a world-renowned expert in computational theory and cryptography. The certificate confirms the algorithm’s statistical robustness, nonlinearity, and cryptographic correctness.

The Royal Institute of Technology (KTH) plays a key role in the Nobel Prize nomination process for disciplines like physics, chemistry, medicine, and biology. KTH experts perform independent technical reviews of scientific work that inform the Nobel Committee’s final decisions. Although mathematics — and therefore cryptography — is not officially a Nobel discipline, KTH’s technical conclusions are considered globally authoritative, especially in mathematics, cryptography, and computing technologies.

On March 8, 1996, KTH issued an official certificate for the LION algorithm, developed by Ancort JSC. The document was signed by Professor Johan Håstad, a leading global cryptographer. The certification confirmed:

• High statistical resistance,

• Nonlinear structure,

• Strong cryptographic integrity.

It further stated that even the most powerful supercomputers could not decrypt the algorithm within the lifespan of the universe.

The certification process lasted over two years and involved deep technical analysis using supercomputers. According to experts, the cost of such a comprehensive cryptographic audit could amount to tens of millions of U.S. dollars, considering that one minute of specialized computing time can cost tens or even hundreds of thousands of dollars, depending on configuration.

2. CE / EMC / EN Certifications (European Union, South Korea, Germany)

• Titles: Technical Construction File (TCF), Declaration of Conformity, R&TTE Statement of Opinion

• Organizations: SGS Korea, TUV Rheinland (Shenzhen), EMCCert Dr. Rasek GmbH

• Summary: Certification of the BM-700 Bluetooth encryption device for compliance with safety, electromagnetic compatibility, and radio frequency standards.

Includes:

• CE identifier 0678,

• Testing protocols,

• Certification numbers,

• Standards referenced: EN 60950, EN 301 489, EN 300 328.

Registered under Mobile Trust Telecommunications AG, where Klepov was CEO.

3. RSA South Africa Certificate

• Title: Analysis of TDEP Cryptographic Algorithm

• Organization: SA Communication Security Agency

• Summary: Confirms the suitability of the TDEP algorithm (formerly known as EVUZ), developed by Ancort, for use in classified government communication systems.

This is the second international certification of a cryptographic algorithm developed by Anatoly Klepov. The SA Communication Security Agency, South Africa’s technical intelligence agency (analogous to the NSA in the U.S. or FSB/FAPSI in Russia), issued the certificate.

The document, titled Analysis of TDEP Cryptographic Algorithm, confirmed that the TDEP algorithm was fully suitable for classified national-level use in secure communication systems.

Thus, two globally respected neutral countries in the cryptography field — Sweden and South Africa — independently conducted rigorous evaluations of Klepov’s algorithms using national-level supercomputing resources and cryptanalysis methodologies. Both arrived at the same conclusion:

Decrypting data encrypted by Klepov’s algorithms is theoretically impossible, even using the most advanced computing systems.

To date, no cryptographer in the world has achieved this level of international validation for the strength of their algorithms across two independent countries with elite cryptographic schools.