There is one thing that binds the phrases “kinky cinema,” “hired killer,” and “throwing eggs.” If you type any one of them into a special eavesdropping-enabled version of Skype used in China, you could find yourself under surveillance.
That’s according to a research project by Jeffrey Knockel, a computer-science graduate student at the University of New Mexico, Albuquerque. As Bloomberg Businessweek reported today, Knockel recently found a way to bypass encryption used by a version of Skype designed specifically for Chinese users, and in doing so uncovered secret keyword lists used in China to monitor Skype users’ communications.
According to the 27-year-old researcher, the software has a built-in surveillance blacklist that scans messages sent between users for specific words and phrases. If a user types one of the offending phrases into the Skype text chat, it triggers an alert—sending a copy back to a centralized computer server and flagging who sent the message and when. Full story...
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That’s according to a research project by Jeffrey Knockel, a computer-science graduate student at the University of New Mexico, Albuquerque. As Bloomberg Businessweek reported today, Knockel recently found a way to bypass encryption used by a version of Skype designed specifically for Chinese users, and in doing so uncovered secret keyword lists used in China to monitor Skype users’ communications.
According to the 27-year-old researcher, the software has a built-in surveillance blacklist that scans messages sent between users for specific words and phrases. If a user types one of the offending phrases into the Skype text chat, it triggers an alert—sending a copy back to a centralized computer server and flagging who sent the message and when. Full story...
Related posts:
- Microsoft seeks patent for spy tech for Skype...
- Skype makes chats and user data more available to police...
- Golden Shield, China's all-seeing eye. ( Must read)
- Song of the Grass-Mud Horse (Cao Ni Ma) or how Chinese bloggers mock...
- Microsoft hypocritically attacks Google over privacy...
- Nowhere to hide: New Facebook app to track offline users...
- Every Move You Make: US to adopt new biometric surveillance system?
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