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TOM-SKYPE in China IS being monitored
A group of Canadian human rights activists and computer security researchers have discovered that Tom-Skype (the Chinese version of Skype, a joint venture between a Chinese wireless operator and eBay, the owner of Skype) is being monitored, as the system is tracking text messages.
While Skype itself is secure, messages between users of Tom-Skype and Skype users have been recorded.
The original report only notes the recording of tom-skype chats, and does not indicate any recording of voice calls. Likewise, it doesn’t appear that Skype itself has been penetrated. (The discovery was made by a hacker group using packet sniffing software, as I figured it would be if this actually was being done.) However, considering eBay/Skype’s earlier assertions that there was no recording of the conversations, Skype doesn’t look good at the moment. It will be important to watch what happens and consider alternative systems.
Additional Reading links, updated over time
10/2/2008 New York Times.
10/2/2008 9:36pm Original report (PDF)
10/3/2008 Skype’s official statement
Check back here for updated links.
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You’re absolutely right - all communications made with standard versions of Skype remain completely secure and private.
Josh Silverman, Skype’s president, has posted a statement on the Skype blog explaining where we stand currently, and what we’re doing to sort things out.