Mailbag: VoIP encryption and law enforcement

NETWORK WORLD NEWSLETTER: STEVE TAYLOR AND LARRY HETTICK ON
CONVERGENCE
08/03/05
Today's focus: Mailbag: VoIP encryption and law enforcement

Dear security.world@gmail.com,

In this issue:

* Readers weigh in on VoIP encryption and privacy issues
* Links related to Convergence
* Featured reader resource
_______________________________________________________________
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Today's focus: Mailbag: VoIP encryption and law enforcement

By Steve Taylor and Larry Hettick

In a recent article concerning VoIP and encryption, we raised
the issue of whether we possibly had too much readily available
encryption. The rationale was that encryption makes lawful and
appropriate monitoring of traffic for national security and law
enforcement much more difficult than it should be.

This generated lots of feedback, and it did not seem that our
readers were too sympathetic to these lawful intercepts. (We did
not hear from anyone in law enforcement.) Some of the responses,
which we'll happily share without comment, are included below.

One reader wrote, "I simply do not trust the U.S. government
with unrestrained snooping (as in Patriot Act) no more than I
trust anyone else!"

Another expressed the sentiment with a little more elaboration:

"Not being a big fan of the Patriot Act and more than a little
worried about Big Brother I would say that encryption is a good
thing and should not be discouraged. Phone calls have the
'expectation of privacy' and encryption only serves to make that
expectation happen. If the CIA wants to get my audio stream they
will, encrypted or not. However, encryption will keep it secure
from some kid in a co-lo with Ethereal and too much time on his
hands."

A third reader responded:

"As far as encryption preventing national security and law
enforcement, I believe most of the U.S.-based vendors need to
comply with regulation on how to allow law enforcement agencies
to monitor calls. But then again, if as you mentioned in the
article the users are using IPSec or SSL end-to-end, you have to
handle a 'non-compliant' environment anyway."

A fourth reader said:

"In the U.S., the home of the world's biggest supercomputers,
where the authorities are paranoid about the ability to prevent
their citizens (and any non-citizen, i.e. the rest of the
world's people) having any privacy at all, I cannot believe that
there is no way for lawful organizations to de-crypt intercepted
traffic. It will be expensive. It will be awkward. But I firmly
believe that it should be hard for government to intrude upon
the privacy of an individual. There should be hurdles placed in
the way, i.e. due legal process, and such monitoring should not
be undertaken lightly. This is a fundamental issue based upon
the freedom of the individual, the right to free speech and the
pursuit of liberty."

Clearly, this is an area where we will not reach consensus soon.

The top 5: Today's most-read stories

1. Leaked Cisco slides pulled after legal threats
<http://www.networkworld.com/nlconvergence4313>

2. Cisco vulnerability posted to Internet
<http://www.networkworld.com/nlconvergence4314>

3. Router flaw sparks battle
<http://www.networkworld.com/news/2005/080105-blackhat.html>

4. Google now a hacker's tool
<http://www.networkworld.com/nlconvergence4315>

5. Michael Lynn and Cisco: Stepping in front of the freight
train
<http://www.networkworld.com/columnists/2005/080105backspin.html>
_______________________________________________________________
To contact: Steve Taylor and Larry Hettick

Steve Taylor is president of Distributed Networking Associates
and publisher/editor-in-chief of Webtorials. For more detailed
information on most of the topics discussed in this newsletter,
connect to Webtorials <http://www.webtorials.com/>, the premier
site for Web-based educational presentations, white papers, and
market research. Taylor can be reached at
<mailto:taylor@webtorials.com>

Larry Hettick is an industry veteran with more than 20 years of
experience in voice and data. He is Vice President for Telecom
Services and Infrastructure at Current Analysis, the leading
competitive response solutions company. He can be reached at
<mailto:lhettick@currentanalysis.com>
_______________________________________________________________
This newsletter is sponsored by WiredRed
Web Conferencing - The Case for Installed Software

Web and video conferencing are growing more popular every day,
and with increased use, more IT managers are taking control.
What's best for IT: hosted services or installed software? In
the following Wainhouse Research white paper, learn about the
key features that make a successful enterprise web and video
conferencing solution. The paper covers the pros and cons of
installed software versus hosted services, and includes a
three-year cost analysis.
http://www.fattail.com/redir/redirect.asp?CID=109009
_______________________________________________________________
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