NSA Offering 'Billions' For Skype Eavesdrop Solution

[Hissyspit]

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2009/02/12/nsa_offers_billions_for_skype_pwnage

NSA offering 'billions' for Skype eavesdrop solution

Business model for P2P firm at last?
By Lewis Page • Get more from this author

Posted in Government, 12th February 2009 11:32 GMT

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 supersecret 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, 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, and 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. Rumour 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.

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[BlooInBloo]

1. (shrug) Break it, and they'll change. Just like other p2p.

[silverweb]

2. I didn't know that about Skype.

I like it. Now I feel safe freely discussing subversive activities with my 80+ year-old parents and aunt.

My main complaint with Skype has been dropped calls and bad connections, but it's still preferable to international cell phone rates.

And all this time, I thought the spooks were being bored to tears by us. Time to spice things up a bit!

:rofl:

[Warren DeMontague]

3. Hmmm. And where do they get those "Billions", I wonder?

Which reminds me, it's almost tax time!

[Poll_Blind]

4. This is such a farce on so many levels. Like there's something unique about Skype that...

...terrorists need to communicate. I've written about different aspects of this same thing over the years and it all comes down to this: There is no way to stop two parties from communicating as long as they know how and where to meet up with each other on the Internet.

  With hard (literal) and soft (interpreted meaning) steganography, it is just as easy for two Al Quaeda operatives to communicate (in a way which appears harmless chatter to outside observers) over Skype as it is over one of the tens of millions of web forums, or Internet Relay Chats, or World of Warcraft or the Swingers Looking For Partners section of Cragislist.

  It's just a joke. The consideration that somehow people are going to plan extremely horrible things using absolutely obvious methods to do so is absurd in the extreme.

  In a moment I can think of dozens then hundreds and assuredly thousands of ways to be mildly devious and defeat even an all-encompassing data Carnivore.

  When you can hide information about explosive shipments, the comings and goings of an embassy staff or the location of the sarin in select virtual Pokemon trades with a group of 30 real 8-year olds plus your accomplice, why oh why does anyone bother to buy back doors into companies like this?

It's a fuckin' joke.

PB

[BlooInBloo]

7. Yup.

[chill_wind]

8. ooops-- self edit- wrong spot

[EFerrari]

9. Think of it as stimulus. n/t

[chill_wind]

10. Preach it! PB!

good to see ya! :-)

[ThomWV]

12. Thank you. A voice of reason.

Every now and then, maybe just one out a hundred posts, its nice to see a voice of reason pop up. I don't know what goes wrong with people when they see the letters NSA. Powerful? Yes. omnipotent? No. Of course then you see the other end of the spectrum, the folks that deny that the agency could possibly gather, save, and analyze as much as they most certainly can.

[nebenaube]

5. pfffft...

http://www.google.com/search?q=skype+backdoor

[Ichingcarpenter]

6. I just mention SKYPE in my "new condo" thread

LOL
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x5046163


ROCK ON SOCIALISTS!

[chill_wind]

11. K & R n/t

[Fleshdancer]

13. NSA willing to throw billions of dollars away

This is absolutely ridiculous.

[guyton]

14. dis-information?

... and what are the odds that this is dis-information to try and convince the bad guys that Skype hasn't been compromised?

We are all in a maze of twisty little passages, all alike