Microsoft Makes Skype Easier To Monitor

In a follow-up to a story earlier this week, derekmead writes "Skype has gone under a number of updates and upgrades since it was bought by Microsoft last year, mostly in a bid to improve reliability. But according to a report by the Washington Post, Skype has also changed its system to make chat transcripts, as well as users' addresses and credit card numbers, more easily shared with authorities. As we've already seen with Facebook and Twitter, big Internet firms aren't digging their heels in against government requests, which shouldn't come as a shock; angering the authorities is bad business. The lesson then is that, while the Internet will always retain a vestige of its Wild West days, as companies get bigger and bigger, they're either going to play ball with governments or go the way of Kim Dotcom."

Comments

Open Source

[Nerdfest]

Time to switch to something where we actually know what the software is doing.

Problem: It is not true

[benjymouse]

This from the TFA:

Skype has gone under a number of updates and upgrades since it was bought by Microsoft last year, mostly in a bid to improve reliability. But according to a killer report by the Washington Post, Skype has also changed its system to make chat transcripts, as well as users’ addresses and credit card numbers, more easily shared with authorities.

The " to make chat transcripts, as well as users’ addresses and credit card numbers, more easily shared with authorities" is pure speculation.

And the alleged updates "since it was bought by Microsoft last year" (supernodes hosted in central data centers) was actually started in 2010, well before the Microsoft acquisition:

http://www.zdnet.com/skype-talks-back-to-critics-on-security-and-privacy-7000001682/

But this is slashdot. Why let facts get in the way of a good rumor-fueled speculation when it promises for a good Microsoft bashing?

Almost Yes.

[DrYak]

Will Jitsi let me call home to my old wired phone?

Yes:
Jitzi supports the SIP standard and there are plenty of SIP-to-POTS providers around (for example, I use Switzernet which is based in switzerland and free to/from several european countries. Works with both my SIP sfotwares - Ekiga and Twinkle). ...BUT...

For obvious reasons there's no easy way to guarantee end-to-end encryption. So you *CAN* call home, but you won't get guaranteed privacy.

For full end-to-end encryption you need:
- a digital link from the source to the other end (which is not the case when bridging to POTS)
- the possibility to audit the software used at both ends that there are no bugs or implementation problems which could leak critical data. (So you need an opensource front-end and an opensource encryption layer, preferably using known and well tested and documented protocols (like ZRTP). And you need enough independent eyeballs looking at said code) (Jitzi is opensource so one can check that everything is properly implemented to avoid leaks).

Want to know the truth about Skype? Read on.

[Anonymous Coward]

I'm posting anonymously because I don't need attention. Here's the chronology and you can find the sources of these claims on your own.

- NSA issues a billion dollar RFP asking for a solution to wiretapping Skype
- as years pass, NSA's concerns about Skype keep on growing, they keep on lobbying lawmakers and industry officials
- out of the blue, MS buys Skype and pays an astronomical price
- buying Skype at that price makes no sense for MS since it poisons their relationships with carriers and pundits are confused
- first thing MS does is it kills supernodes and installs THOUSANDS of Linux servers running grsecurity http://grsecurity.net/news.php#Skype
- that means that ALL Skype traffic now passes through MS servers and can be easily wiretapped since MS holds all the keys and can easily perform a MITM attack
- NSA starts jumping from joy because their biggest black hole has been plugged.
- MS is happy because they are now getting regular large checks from NSA

tl;dr: Skype's a botnet and NSA paid MS to buy Skype

Re:For me, the real question is...

[Kalriath]

Your government already thinks constitutional rights don't apply when the target is not a US citizen (bonus points if they aren't even in the US)