Skype Security and Privacy Concerns 128
CDMA_Demo writes "Scott Granneman at Security Focus is discussing the security and privacy issues thanks to eBay's acquisition of Skype. Says the help section on Skypke's website: 'Skype uses AES (Advanced Encryption Standard), also known as Rijndael, which is used by U.S. Government organizations to protect sensitive, information. Skype uses 256-bit encryption, which has a total of 1.1 x 1077 possible keys, in order to actively encrypt the data in each Skype call or instant message. Skype uses 1024 bit RSA to negotiate symmetric AES keys. User public keys are certified by the Skype server at login using 1536 or 2048-bit RSA certificates.' Scott Granneman debates that since Skype is owned by eBay and is closed source, we have no way of verifying this claim. Further, from the article: 'At the CyberCrime 2003 conference, Joseph E. Sullivan, Director of Compliance and Law Enforcement Relations for eBay, had this to say to a group of law enforcement officials: 'I know from investigating eBay fraud cases that eBay has probably the most generous policy of any internet company when it comes to sharing information.' This raises interesting questions about how Skype and eBay together will try to avert cyber criminals from using security flaws in either system to their advantage.'"
Isn't that the way ... (Score:5, Insightful)
[since it] is closed source, we have no way of verifying this claim
isn't that the way with all closed source software?
one word : audit (Score:3, Insightful)
Is there even a coherent thought here? (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:Is there even a coherent thought here? (Score:3, Insightful)
(Let's leave spyware out of my poor simple analogy)
Rub those elbows (Score:5, Insightful)
Another words we help you guys out in law enforcement alot when we shouldn't so please don't step in and bother us when you should. Its a win, win we can both screw the little people at the same time.
Re:Is there even a coherent thought here? (Score:5, Insightful)
Company A says they encrypt -- good for privacy. If anyone had data collected, it will be encrypted and thus a bit more meaningless. We cannot verify if Company A is telling the truth. Maybe there's encryption, maybe there's not. Not good for absolute privacy.
Company B readily shares information with others. Not good for privacy at all.
Company B purchases Company A -- so B, with its reputation to piss away your privacy now has a product that may or may not protect your privacy.
With the way B has conducted business, it may be implied that A isn't trustworthy, regardless of wheter they do encryption or not...simply because at the hands of B, your data isn't sacred.
Almost like a Microsoft buying Claria or something.
Re:one word : audit (Score:3, Insightful)
That requires you to trust the independent security firm. Maybe you do, maybe not. Depends how thick the tinfoil is; if you have several layers then you're able to check open software for yourself. If you have just one layer then you might consider agreement among several other trusted individuals to be good enough. If you don't know what I'm talking about then probably you'd probably be happy to take ebay's word for it anyway, and it doesn't matter.
The point is that a closed review by a closed company for closed software, you're unlikely to get any additional trust from me.Great, who cares? (Score:3, Insightful)
If you depend on a communications provider to keep you data secure, espically from law enforcement, you are pretty naive. If you need to keep people out, you need to set up your own end-to-end encryption. Only then can you be sure (or at least reasonably sure) that no one is listening in. You should assume that the phone company, your ISP, their ISP, etc all can and do monitor what you do. If it is something that is important they don't see, encrypt it. Don't have them encrypt it, YOU encrypt it.
Now please don't mistake me for saying that they should monitor you, or should be allowed to, I'm not. What I'm saying is if you are doing something that is sensitive enough that if they found out it would be problematic (like financial information or something) then encrypt it.
Whenever I access servers at work, I do it via SSH, or some other similar encrypted method. Why? Well it would be a problem if someone at the ISP got the root password, they could do a lot of damage and we might never even know. They shouldn't be monitoring me like that, but it is too important to trust them with, I take it in my own hands.
1024 bit is inadequate (Score:5, Insightful)
eBay has pretty bad security actually (Score:4, Insightful)
I'd trust eBay with security [and PayPal with fairness] about as far as I can throw it.
Re:Isn't that the way ... (Score:3, Insightful)
Anyway, you can bet that the moment a 'person of interest' holds a skype conversation after eBay is at the helm, that the crypto strength will become an 'issue'.