EU steps up pressure for Skype (and VoIP in general) intercepts

[David Farber <dave () farber net>]

Begin forwarded message:

From: Kurt Albershardt <kurt () nv net>
Date: February 23, 2009 2:48:29 PM EST
To: David Farber <dave () farber net>
Subject: EU steps up pressure for Skype (and VoIP in general) intercepts

http://www.eurojust.europa.eu/press_releases/2009/20-02-2009.htm

The Hague, 20 February 2009

Eurojust coordinates internet telephony investigations

Ms Carmen Manfredda, acting National Member for Italy, will take the  
lead in coordinating a Europe-wide investigation on internet telephony  
(VoIP).

At the request of Direzione Nazionale Antimafia in Rome, the Italian  
Desk at Eurojust will play a key role in the coordination and  
cooperation of the investigations on the use of internet telephony  
systems (VoIP), such as “Skype”. Eurojust will be available to assist  
all European law enforcement and prosecution authorities in the Member  
States. The purpose of Eurojust’s coordination role is to overcome the  
technical and judicial obstacles to the interception of internet  
telephony systems, taking into account the various data protection  
rules and civil rights.

Background

Criminals in Italy are increasingly making phone calls over the  
internet in order to avoid getting caught through mobile phone  
intercepts. Police officers in Milan say organised crime, arms and  
drugs traffickers, and prostitution rings are turning to Skype and  
other systems of VoIP in order to frustrate investigators. Skype's  
encryption system is a secret which the company refuses to share with  
the authorities. Investigators have become increasingly reliant on  
wiretaps in recent years. Customs and tax police in Milan have  
highlighted the Skype issue. They overheard a suspected cocaine  
trafficker telling an accomplice to switch to Skype in order to get  
details of a 2kg drug consignment. Investigators are convinced that  
the interception of telephone calls have become an essential tool of  
the police, who spend millions of Euros each year tracking down crime  
through wiretaps of landlines and mobile phones.







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