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Skype Apparently Threatens Russian National Security
Mr.Bananas writes "Reuters reports that 'Russia's most powerful business lobby moved to clamp down on Skype and its peers this week, telling lawmakers that the Internet phone services are a threat to Russian businesses and to national security.' The lobby, closely associated with Putin's political party, cites concerns of 'a likely and uncontrolled fall in profits for the core telecom operators,' as well as a fear that law enforcement agencies have thus far been unable to listen in on Skype conversations due to its 256-bit encryption."
This is the new incarnation of formulaic news.
SURPRISE, yet another national govenrment considers unhindered, truly private free speech to be a national security risk, from france to the good-ol' US of A every government is probing their constitutions and public opinion with microscopic probes looking for the loopholes and excuses which will make their abolition appear justified.
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So, security is threatened because people can more easily communicate securely? But before VOIP, when more people used insecure phone channels, security was better? The solution to these security problems is to prevent encryption so that anybody with the right tools and knowledge can listen to any conversation?
Between the rumors of back doors, and the fact that Skype is an Estonian company whose service was then bought by a large American corporation, it's easy to see why Putin's old-guard party would have some major misgivings about the service.
How can I believe you when you tell me what I don't want to hear?
After all, in soviet russia, national security threatens you.
Unfortunately, Russian citizens can't and *do not want* to fight shit.
After 1998-1999 humiliations and since Putin came to power the public consciousness has been conditioned so that nowadays words like "liberal", or "human rights defender", or such are considered virtually as profanities and you wouldn't want to call yourself as one in the crowd.
And I guess this won't change now until people start starving or being killed en-masse. If even then.
It is reasonable for Russia to be worried about security since with Skype they can't track it properly.
But to stop letting people use Skype or totally disable it because of profits to phone companies is just plain stupid.
Skype is wonderful for people who can't afford the prices of phones and international/national fees. I don't pay for a single phone bill, my parents put Skype on their computers and same with my friends/siblings. When we want to call, we just log onto our laptop/desktop, press Call and viola. It's a wonderful piece of technology, really is.
I see their problem with security. Terrorists could use this on laptops and really not be tracked. Except you need Internet and with Internet you can be tracked. :)
Russia, just track laptops. I'm sure you can do it.
Putin, friendly with the RBN? Nah, can't be true.
I do find it interesting when governments want encryption, then want to deny it to their populace. Hmm, sorta like guns. You don't need encryption unless you have something to hide. You don't need guns unless you want to commit a crime.
"What luck for the rulers that men do not think." - Adolph Hitler
The deal is simple: mobile phone operators fear to lose their revenues and want to destroy the competition. That's their only motive. But they can't just go to the officials and say "we lose profits, ban skype" So they make up those ridiculous claims about "national security" and "uncontrolled communication channels" Anyway, "the strictness of Russian law is compensated by optional compliance", as the saying goes, so there.
The evil in the Kremlin rivals the worst evils of Chinese society.
I have to disagree. China's got nothing on Russia when it comes to oppression, human rights violations, and the constant terror under which ordinary citizens live. The way I see it, the Chinese government may be oppressive, and in its attempts to keep its opponents quiet it does commit human rights violations, but Russian society is simply saturated with corrupt, violent criminals, with no remorse or compassion whatsoever. No victim and no crime is out of bounds for the Russian government and Russian mafia, which are often indistinguishable. So, I'll say it again - China's got nothing on the degenerate monsters which control every aspect of life in Russia.
weinersmith