Table of Contacts

Taliban Using Skype Phones to Dodge MI6

NSA Offering ‘Billions’ for Skype Eavesdrop Solution – Business Model for P2P Firm at Last?

India to Ban Skype

Spooks Want Government to Block Skype

Taliban Using Skype Phones to Dodge MI6

by Glen Owen on 13th September 2008, from DailyMail Website

Taliban fighters targeting British troops in Afghanistan are using the latest ‘internet phones’ to evade detection by MI6, security sources said last night.

Skype, a popular piece of consumer software that allows free calls to be made over the web, has been adopted by insurgents to communicate with cells strung out across the country.

Unlike traditional mobile calls, which can be monitored by RAF Nimrod spy planes, Skype calls – the commercial application of a technology called Voice Over Internet Protocol (VOIP) – are heavily encrypted.

Voice calls are broken into millions of pieces of data before being sent down the line and reassembled by the other caller’s computer.

The British and American governments are investing considerable resources to crack the codes, and in the UK the Government is introducing legislation to force internet service providers to log all web activity by subscribers, which could then be turned over to the security services on demand.

The disclosure comes as the 8,000 British troops in Afghanistan are facing attacks almost daily from an increasingly well-coordinated Taliban.

‘The trouble with this technology is that it is easily available but devilishly hard to crack,’ the source said. ‘The technology can now be accessed on mobile internet devices and the country’s mobile phone network is expanding rapidly.’

Skype was created in 2003 and three years ago was bought by eBay for £1.4billion.

It has 300million accounts and at any one time, more than 12million people are using the service.

Sir David Pepper, the head of GCHQ, the British Government’s top-secret listening post, has told MPs that internet calls are ‘seriously undermining’ his organization’s ability to intercept communications.

Skype said last night it did not want to comment.

NSA Offering ‘Billions’ for Skype Eavesdrop Solution – Business Model for P2P Firm at Last?

by Lewis Page on 12 February 2009, from TheRegister Website

Counter Terror Expo News of a possible viable business model for P2P VoIP network Skype emerged today, at the Counter Terror Expo in London.

An industry source disclosed that America’s super-secret National Security Agency (NSA) is offering “billions” to any firm which can offer reliable eavesdropping on Skype IM and voice traffic.

The spybiz exec, who preferred to remain anonymous, confirmed that Skype continues to be a major problem for government listening agencies, spooks and police.

This was already thought to be the case, following requests from German authorities for special intercept/bugging powers to help them deal with Skype-loving malefactors.

Britain’s GCHQ has also stated that it has severe problems intercepting VoIP and internet communication in general.

Skype in particular is a serious problem for spooks and cops.

Being P2P (Peer-to-peer), the network can’t be accessed by the company providing it and the authorities can’t gain access by that route.

The company won’t disclose details of its encryption, either, & isn’t required to as it is Europe based.

This lack of openness prompts many security pros to rubbish Skype on “security through obscurity” grounds: but nonetheless it remains a popular choice with those who think they might find themselves under surveillance.

Rumor suggests that America’s NSA may be able to break Skype encryption – assuming they have access to a given call or message – but nobody else.

The NSA may be able to do that: but it seems that if so, this uses up too much of the agency’s resources at present.

“They are saying to the industry, you get us into Skype, and we will make you a very rich company,” said the industry source, adding that the obscure encryption used by the P2Pware is believed to change frequently as part of software updates.

The spyware kingpin suggested that Skype is deliberately seeking to frustrate national listening agencies, which seems an odd thing to do – Skype has difficulties enough getting revenues out of its vast user base at any time, and a paid secure-voice system for subversives doesn’t seem like a money-spinner.

But corporate parent eBay, having had to write down $1.4bn already following its $2.6bn purchase of Skype back in the bubble-2.0 days of 2005, might see an opportunity here.

A billion or two from the NSA for a backdoor into Skype might make the acquisition seem like a sensible idea.

We asked the NSA for comment, particularly on the idea of simply buying a way into Skype but hadn’t yet received a response as of publication.

India to Ban Skype

by rohit on October 03, 2009, from AsiaPacificGlobalThoughtz Website

Intelligence agencies have asked the government to consider blocking Skype.

The popular global VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) engine is refusing to share the encryption code that prevents Indian investigators from intercepting conversations of suspected terrorists.

During the 26/11 Mumbai attacks VOIP was extensively used by the terrorist to communicate with their bosses, which made it extremely difficult for the security agencies to track the terrorists and intercept their calls.

Most VOIP providers, use an encryption mechanism to encode the voice message while transmitting the messages, this is done to prevent anyone from illegally getting into someone else conversation.

But this encryption also proves to be a hassle for all the security agencies, as it prevents them from intercepting call also.

The Cabinet Committee on Security has accepted the recommendation in principle but has not set a date for initiating action.

Since Skype is not registered in India, Indian authorities will have to block the gateways here. to prevent Skype from working, however this might not be a complete solution, Skype can route traffic through other service providers.

What surprises me is what prevents Skype from sharing the code with India, when it has already done so with the US and China.

If it’s in the interest of the nation, it should be justified.

Spooks Want Government to Block Skype

by Mohua Chatterjee on October 3, 2009, from TimesOfIndia Website

NEW DELHI

Intelligence agencies have asked the government to consider blocking Skype as operators of the popular global VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) engine are refusing to share the encryption code that prevents Indian investigators from intercepting conversations of suspected terrorists.

The Cabinet Committee on Security has accepted the recommendation in principle but has not set a date for initiating action.

The urgency to track Skype calls stems from the fact that terrorists – as the 26/11 attacks in Mumbai showed – are increasingly using VoIP services.

The shift to VoIP has been prompted by the growing ability of intelligence agencies to intercept mobile and other calls.

Like the BlackBerry service, VoIP operators send their signals under a specific code which makes it difficult for others to decipher.

Sources said Skype has shared its encryption code with the US, China and other governments but is refusing to accept similar Indian requests.

Since Skype is not registered here, Indian authorities have been forced to mull the drastic option of blocking its gateways here.

This, however, may not be entirely effective as Skype can route traffic through other service providers.

The agencies feel blocking the gateways will at least serve as a signal to local service providers against carrying traffic from Skype or any other similar service provider which does not share the encryption code with the government.

Sections 4 and 5 of the Telegraph Act gives government the right to grant license for any kind of telephony and also the right to intercept.

Last year, government amended Section 69 of the Information Technology Act to empower itself to take over servers of Net and telecom service providers and demand the encryption code.

This may still be no remedy against recalcitrant overseas service providers who usually have their servers abroad.

Last year, the government had a similar run-in with:

Canada’s Research in Motion, BlackBerry makers and service providers
the UAE-based sat phone operator Thuraya

Indian agencies are also keeping their fingers crossed, not sure whether the department of telecom – with a stake in sectoral growth – would like to lean on VoIP service providers on the issue of sharing encryption code.

Besides, there’s also a feeling that the government would be wary of people’s response to the snapping of Skype.

The free service is used by a vast majority of urban middle class Indians for communicating with families and friends spread across the world.

Last year, TRAI had sent a recommendation (with data from 2007), that Skype and Goggle should be asked to pay a license fee, after being brought within the license regime.

However, government turned it down saying they were not based in India.

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Table of Contacts

Taliban Using Skype Phones to Dodge MI6

NSA Offering ‘Billions’ for Skype Eavesdrop Solution – Business Model for P2P Firm at Last?

India to Ban Skype

Spooks Want Government to Block Skype

Taliban Using Skype Phones to Dodge MI6

NSA Offering ‘Billions’ for Skype Eavesdrop Solution – Business Model for P2P Firm at Last?

India to Ban Skype

Spooks Want Government to Block Skype

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