Skype admits Chinese privacy breach (AFP)
19 minutes ago
WASHINGTON (AFP) - Skype, the online text messaging and voice service, said Thursday it was "extremely concerned" by monitoring of Internet chat by its Chinese partner reported by Canadian researchers.
Skype said it learned just Wednesday that a previously disclosed text filter operated by TOM-Skype, a joint venture between Chinese mobile firm TOM Online and Skype, had been altered.
"Last night, we learned that this practice was changed without our knowledge or consent and we are extremely concerned," Skype, which is owned by US online auction house eBay, said.
"We deeply apologise for the breach of privacy relating to chat messages on TOM's servers in China and we are urgently addressing this situation with TOM," the company said.
Skype issued the apology after Citizen Lab, a University of Toronto research group, reported that China was spying on Skype users, censoring politically sensitive messages and storing them on servers.
In a 16-page report, Citizen Lab said "TOM-Skype is censoring and logging text chat messages that contain specific, sensitive keywords and may be engaged in more targeted surveillance.
"These logged messages contain keywords relating to sensitive topics such as Taiwan independence, the Falun Gong, and political opposition to the Communist Party of China," it said.
"These text messages, along with millions of records containing personal information, are stored on insecure publicly-accessible web servers," Citizen Lab added.
The researchers said they were able to gain access to the servers and discover which words attracted the attention of the Chinese authorities.
"What is clear is that TOM-Skype is engaging in extensive surveillance with seemingly little regard for the security and privacy of Skype users," Citizen Lab said.
The report, "Breaching Trust: An analysis of surveillance and security practices on China's TOM-Skype platform," was published on Wednesday on the website of Information Warfare Monitor, a joint project between Citizen Lab and the SecDev Group, a think-tank on security issues based in Ottawa.