There’s no hiding behind Skype
Hearing something like the story below makes you question the privacy afforded to users by free VoIP solutions. Imagine being on the run and having your travels cut short because of a 1-minute call placed via Skype traced to your current location.
Kobi Alexander, the founder of Comverse, was nabbed in Negombo, Sri Lanka yesterday by a private investigator. He is wanted by the US government in connection with financial fraud charges. He is accused of profiting from some very shady stock-option deals, to the detriment of Comverse shareholders. Once the deals became public and he was indicted, he resigned as CEO and fled the US.
Alexander was traced to the Sri Lankan capital of Colombo after he placed a one-minute call using Skype. That was enough to alert authorities to his presence and hunt him down.
There is no hiding from authorities, especially for those who assume that they’ve escaped their illegal activities.
VoIP and law enforcement have been in the news lately, due primarily to the Communications Assistance for Law Enforcement Act. CALEA, passed in 1994, gives the FBI the ability to easily tap landline and cell phone calls.
So is anyone else a little more hesitant to continue communications over the internet?
ummmmmm
No?
I’m not wanted by any government agencies for any crime, nor will I be.
And I seem to have lost my tinfoil hat somewhere
Re skype, the UAE is blocking it, VoIP, and all voice messengers now. Their web censor is right up there with China, and qualifies as mindless for blocking engineering sites. Brilliant, except it will make expatriates move elsewhere rather than pay Etisalats phone rates…
Eh, I’ve got nothing to hide. And besides, free freakin’ phone calls to the US and Canada for a few more months. Sounds like a pretty good deal to me.
From the information provided there is no evidence that they were able to tap Skype. He may well have used SkypeOut to call a landline which they were monitoring in case he called it.