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Deutsche Telekom Secretly Tracked Phone Calls

Posted by timothy on from the mercantilism-strikes-back dept.

Dekortage writes "German telephone giant Deutsche Telekom has admitted to secretly tracking the phone calls between board members and journalists, in an effort to identify media leaks about internal affairs. As noted by the German Journalists' Association, 'This company has special access to the records of its customers.... That means it has a special obligation to be trustworthy.' DT denies having eavesdropped; it merely tracked the calls dialed."

5 of 83 comments (clear)

  1. double-edged by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0, Interesting

    I'm not the least bit versed in German law, but it seems to me that this is a double-edged sword. On the one hand, if they don't keep the call detail records, they're probably in violation of some sort of data retention law. At the same time, since they logged the calls (which is a standard telecom practice), they've opened themselves up to accusations of spying. It's a tough call, and we won't know more until we find out exactly what the government did with those records.

  2. Summary incorrect by Denial93 · · Score: 3, Interesting

    The company's internal security didn't just track the phone calls between board members and journalists. Obviously, they "had to" check for journalists' number in board members' connection lists. But they also checked for board members' numbers in the connection lists of journalists who wrote particularly much about the company. So hundreds of thousands of connections between journalists and informants, friends etc. were monitored.

    I don't think Germany even has laws that are adequate for crimes of this scale. After all, data is knowledge, knowledge is power, power is abusable. More data means more knowledge means more abuse. It is time for lawmakers to react.

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    blow your mind already
  3. Actually... by Grashnak · · Score: 2, Interesting

    The question isn't whether or not this is wrong; the question is who on earth is stupid enough to use a phone company's own system to leak secret information about that phone company....

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    Life needs more saving throws.
    1. Re:Actually... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Interesting

      The question isn't whether or not this is wrong; the question is who on earth is stupid enough to use a phone company's own system to leak secret information about that phone company....

      Lots of people, since everyone knows that the evil Bush/Cheney/Haliburton/Rove conspiracy has been demolishing privacy rights in the USA while progressive Europeans are protected by their benevolent governments.

      There was a case a few years back when a bunch of senior people at Canadian investment bank were planning to jump ship, set up a competing firm, and steal clients. The bankers were doing the planning on their company blackberries...

  4. Re:This just in! by Tom · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Yes, I think that. Mostly because I work at the local telecom company. :-)

    The people in our company who handle this data are very aware of what they're handling, and in addition to their contract had to sign numerous papers saying they'll never break those laws, not even under a direct order from a superior. We have not one but two departments handling regulation and compliance.

    That is why this is such a big scandal in Germany right now: Pulling this stunt off means that there is massive corruption at all levels within T-Com.

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    Assorted stuff I do sometimes: Lemuria.org