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Wikileaks Publishes FBI VoIP Surveillance Docs

Posted by CmdrTaco on from the watching-the-watchers dept.

An anonymous reader writes "The folks on wikileaks have published a new interesting and shocking report: FBI Electronic Surveillance Needs for Carrier-Grade Voice over Packet (CGVoP) Service. The 88 paged document, which is part of the CALEA Implementation Plan was published in January 2003 and describes in detail all needs for surveillance of phone calls made via data services like the internet. Wikileaks has not published any analysis yet, so maybe some of the techies hanging around this end of the internet are interested in taking that one on."

8 of 145 comments (clear)

  1. Why is this shocking? by MyNameIsFred · · Score: 5, Informative

    I'm trying to figure out why the summary calls this document "shocking." Interesting yes, shocking no. It is well known that the law requires VOIP providers to maintain a capability for law enforcement agencies to wiretap. This requirement has been around for years, and is completely consistent with older "Plain Old Telephone Service." Its not like CALEA is hidden. You can find its website with a quick google. The author of the summary seems to be conflating CALEA with the dustup with the Bush administration and unlawful wiretaps. They are separate issues. Conflating them helps no one.

  2. Re:PGPfone, where are you? by mikiN · · Score: 4, Informative

    Twinkle?
    It handles encryption using ZRTP/SRTP and can do point-to-point (IP2IP) calls like good'ole Speak Freely.

    --
    The Hacker's Guide To The Kernel: Don't panic()!
  3. Old by RockMFR · · Score: 5, Informative

    This was leaked at least 4 years ago.

  4. Re:paradigm shift by dbolger · · Score: 4, Informative

    You mean "Don't talk about what you have done or what you are going to do (at least over an unsecured medium)"? ;)

  5. Re:PGPfone, where are you? by CNeb96 · · Score: 5, Informative
    It was replaced by zphone http://www.zfoneproject.com/ alive and kicking and better.

    Q: What is Zfone?

    A: Zfone is my new secure VoIP phone software which lets you make secure encrypted phone calls over the Internet. The ZRTP protocol used by Zfone will soon be integrated into many standalone secure VoIP clients, but today we have a software product that lets you turn your existing VoIP client into a secure phone. The current Zfone software runs in the Internet protocol stack on any Windows XP, Mac OS X, or Linux PC, and intercepts and filters all the VoIP packets as they go in and out of the machine, and secures the call on the fly. You can use a variety of different software VoIP clients to make a VoIP call. The Zfone software detects when the call starts, and initiates a cryptographic key agreement between the two parties, and then proceeds to encrypt and decrypt the voice packets. It has its own little separate GUI, telling the user if the call is secure. It's as if Zfone were a "bump on the cord", sitting between the VoIP client and the Internet. Think of it as a bump in the protocol stack.
  6. Public Standards by chill · · Score: 4, Informative

    Yawn. This is the FBI's implementation plan, not some super-secret details of the specs. This is derived from J-STD-025A, J-STD-025B, and EWA 3.0 AMTA docs. Feel free to Google for those. The first and last you should be able to find. The "B" one they want money for, so it is harder to find freely online.

    Those detail exactly WHAT and HOW monitoring is going to occur, on a technical level.

    And don't get your knickers in a twist about the FBI document. I've already seen one instance where the FBI told a carrier "we want it done this way" and the carrier's lawyers said "no, that isn't legal and we won't do it". Of course, it was probably a result of the software not being implemented in that manner and it would have cost the carrier mucho $$ to do it the FBI's way...

    Nothing like a few $$ to prompt the legal dept. to see it your way.

    http://www.google.com/search?q=j-std-025&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&aq=t

    --
    Learning HOW to think is more important than learning WHAT to think.
  7. Re:paradigm shift by scionite0 · · Score: 5, Informative

    Obama has done nothing to show that he would be any different then the others but you are willing to cut him a pass because you don't know.

    Senator Obama's qualifications Include a J.D. in constitutional law from Harvard, He was a lecturer of constitutional law at the University of Chicago Law School, and he worked as a community organizer and later as a lawyer representing community organizers on voting rights and discrimination issues.

    So yeah I think that there is some evidence that he might have a better understanding of and respect for the constitution of the United States of America.

    this can be confirmed with a simple wikipedia search or set of google searches (or by reading his first book, Dreams from My Father).



    Just because something is not yet proven does not mean that no evidence exists.

  8. I call BS by dreamchaser · · Score: 4, Informative

    When used properly with *warrants*, wiretapping is an important law enforcement tool. Don't go confusing bad behavior by the Government with necessary law enforcement tools.

    The capability is needed, but so is proper oversight and protection of Consitutional rights. Then again all you wanted was to squeeze in your Obama ad ;)