FBI on Verge of new Online Surveillance Law
The games up. The FBI (or Federal Bureau of Investigations to give them their full title) have finally heard the word about the world of Voip and they are onto it in a BIG way, believing it to be a major surveillance target.
The FBI has been, for some time, (not so secretly) trying to find ways to gather information on suspected criminals by tapping their Voip telephone systems; although thus far their attempts have proved unsuccessful.
However, unperturbed, the FBI has used their power of influence to draft a proposed new law which would require providers of Voice Over IP services to completely alter their code in order to allow their products and services to be wiretapped.
The proposed changes in legislation would directly affect (and cause significant headache's for) almost all US based Voip service providers, although companies would, obviously, have no choice but to co-operate fully with the law.
Before now, law enforcement and government agencies have found it near impossible to tap Voip providers, due primarily to substantial costs and complexities involved in intercepting the data packets (which are converted from audio signals into digital data packets).
But now Voip-PAL president Dennis Chang has been granted a patent which would, in effect, enable all Voip communications to be recorded with ease, by using underlying technology to enable authorities to monitor suspected criminals via their subscriber information and username.
But it seems more than likely that there will be a significant public outcry against the proposed use of such technology and the potential violations of personal privacies, which will, hopefully, result in a lengthy battle to pass the new law - and hopefully result in the law never coming to fruition).
But that being said, with the popularity and use of Voip set only to increase drastically for the foreseeable future, it will, surely, only be a matter of time until much more stringent and invasive measures are bought into effect and our online communications are monitored ever more closely. But until that day, revel in the freedom of internet telephony made possible by forward thinking service providers.
The FBI has been, for some time, (not so secretly) trying to find ways to gather information on suspected criminals by tapping their Voip telephone systems; although thus far their attempts have proved unsuccessful.
However, unperturbed, the FBI has used their power of influence to draft a proposed new law which would require providers of Voice Over IP services to completely alter their code in order to allow their products and services to be wiretapped.
The proposed changes in legislation would directly affect (and cause significant headache's for) almost all US based Voip service providers, although companies would, obviously, have no choice but to co-operate fully with the law.
Before now, law enforcement and government agencies have found it near impossible to tap Voip providers, due primarily to substantial costs and complexities involved in intercepting the data packets (which are converted from audio signals into digital data packets).
But now Voip-PAL president Dennis Chang has been granted a patent which would, in effect, enable all Voip communications to be recorded with ease, by using underlying technology to enable authorities to monitor suspected criminals via their subscriber information and username.
But it seems more than likely that there will be a significant public outcry against the proposed use of such technology and the potential violations of personal privacies, which will, hopefully, result in a lengthy battle to pass the new law - and hopefully result in the law never coming to fruition).
But that being said, with the popularity and use of Voip set only to increase drastically for the foreseeable future, it will, surely, only be a matter of time until much more stringent and invasive measures are bought into effect and our online communications are monitored ever more closely. But until that day, revel in the freedom of internet telephony made possible by forward thinking service providers.
About the Author:
Saul Saresi writes regularly about Voip systems and technology for his website which can be found here business phone previous examples of his research and writing can be found here business voip system