[Clips] Is Skype a haven for criminals?

[Damian Gerow]

Thus spake Steve Schear (s.schear at comcast.net) [10/03/06 19:57]:
: >While I have no key insights into how Skype encryption is handled -- aside
: >from the fact that most crypto-knowledgable communities view it skeptically
: >-- I /do/ know they've stated they will fully comply with any wiretapping
: >request, and declined to comment further on what exactly that meant.
: 
: I believe it means they will comply with wiretapping requests of calls that 
: touch the public switched network.

Anything to support that?

They /do/ claim that there are no back doors within the code.  And the quote
I was thinking of is:

    "Skype 'cooperates fully with all lawful requests from relevant
    authorities.'"

    <http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/business/13889705.htm?template=contentModules/printstory.jsp>

What we infer from that is meaningless: so long as they continue to make
vague comments about their call security and what they'll comply with, and
so long as their crypto remains closed, I'm not exactly filled with warm
fuzzies over their product.

However, no matter what your approach (the trusting or the paranoid), it's
all speculation.  So long as their crypto /does/ remain closed -- and
they've given nobody any reason to believe it will be anything but -- we'll
have a hard time telling just how good it actually is.

Like I said, I'm waiting for Zfone and ZRTP.