Experts ask Microsoft to come clean on Skype

January 25, 2013 17:18

Just how secure are Skype conversations?

'Privacy advocates are calling on Microsoft to disclose whether -- and how often -- governments are snooping on Skype users, a move that comes as the software giant integrates the popular video and voice messaging program with its Office productivity suite,' reports huffingtonpost.com.

On Thursday, groups including the Electronic Frontier Foundation and Reporters Without Borders released an open letter asking Microsoft to disclose if law enforcement agencies can eavesdrop on conversations on Skype, the video chat service that boasts of 250 milion users every month.

You can read the open letter here.

A decade ago Skype was the chosen mode of communication owing to its tough encryption and hard to crack peer-to-peer networks, but online hackers suspect this changed after Microsoft bought the service in 2011 for $8.5 billion, reports huffingtonpost.com.

It quotes a letter from Microsoft that reads as , "We are reviewing the letter. Microsoft has an ongoing commitment to collaborate with advocates, industry partners and governments worldwide to develop solutions and promote effective public policies that help protect people's online safety and privacy."

Skype, however, functions as a semi-autonomous entity within Microsoft, and even functions out of Silicon Valley, and not its Redmond, Washington, headquarters.

Read the full article here.

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