The EU’s judicial coordination group says criminals are increasingly turning to encrypted VoIP tools like Skype to evade surveillance — and is launching an effort to ensure that European law enforcement can listen in.As high-tech tools expand the ability of intelligence and law enforcement agencies to sweep up and sort vast quantities of communications traffic, European Union officials worry that encrypted Voice over IP technologies like Skype are leaving criminals with a digital hole in the telecom dragnet. In a statement released this weekend, the Italian arm of the European Union’s judicial cooperation agency, Eurojust, announced it would lead an international effort to “overcome the technical and judicial obstacles to the interception of internet telephony systems.”The statement singled out Luxembourg-based Skype as presenting particular problems, because “Skype’s encryption system is a secret which the company refuses to share with the authorities.” Eurojust officials told reporters that the new initiative comes at the request of Italian authorities concerned that organized crime was resorting to encrypted Skype communications to evade eavesdropping.To read this ars technica report in full, see:
arstechnica.com/tech-policy/news/2009/02/eu-group-aims-to-eavesdrop-on-skype-calls.ars
EU group aims to eavesdrop on Skype calls
The EU’s judicial coordination group says criminals are increasingly turning to encrypted VoIP tools like Skype to evade surveillance — and is launching an effort to ensure that European law enforcement can listen in.