103 lines
5.8 KiB
Markdown
103 lines
5.8 KiB
Markdown
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# Re: Who Does Skype Let Spy?
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Today, [Bruce Schneier brought attention to privacy concerns surrounding
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Skype][0], a very popular ([over 600 million users][1]) VoIP service that has
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since been acquired by Microsoft. In particular, [users are concerned over what
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entities may be able to gain access to their "private" conversations][1]
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through the service---Microsoft has refused to answer those kinds of questions.
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While the specific example of Skype is indeed concerning, it raises a more
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general issue that I wish to discuss: The role of free software and SaaS
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(software as a service).
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[0]: http://www.schneier.com/blog/archives/2013/01/who_does_skype.html
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[1]: http://www.skypeopenletter.com/
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<!-- more -->
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To [quote Schneier][0]:
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> We have no choice but to trust Microsoft. Microsoft has reasons to be
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> trustworthy, but they also have reasons to betray our trust in favor of other
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> interests. And all we can do is ask them nicely to tell us first.
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Schneier continues to admit, in similar words, that [we are but "vassals" to
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these entities and that they are our serfs][2]. His essays regarding the [power of
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corporations and governments over their users][3] echo the words of Lawrence
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Lessig in his [predictions of a "perfectly regulated" future made possible by
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the Internet][4]. While Lessig (despite what his critics have stated in the
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past) seems to have been correct in many regards, we need not jump into the
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perspective of an Orwellian dystopia where we are but "vassals" to the
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Party.[^5] Indeed, this is only the case---at least at present---if you choose to
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participate in the use of services such as Skype, as ubiquitous as they may be.
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Skype is a useful demonstration of the unfortunate situation that many users
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place themselves in by trusting their private data to Microsoft. Skype itself is
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proprietary---we cannot inspect its source code (easily) in order to ensure that
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it is respecting our privacy. (Indeed, as a user on [the HackerNews
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discussion][6] pointed out, [Skype has installed undesirable software in the
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past][7].) If Skype were [free software][8], we would be able to inspect its
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source code and modify it to suit our needs, ensuring that the software did only
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what we wanted it to do---ensuring that Microsoft was not in control of us.
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However, even if Skype were free software, there is another issue at work that
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is often overlooked by users: Software as a Service (SaaS). When you make use of
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services that are hosted on remote servers (often called "cloud"
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services)---such as with Skype, Facebook, Twitter, Flickr, Instagram, iTunes,
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iCloud and many other popular services---you are blindly entrusting your data to
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them. Even if the Skype software were free (as in freedom), for example, [we
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still cannot know what their servers are doing with the data we provide to
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them][9]. Even if Skype's source code was plainly visible, the servers act as a
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black box. Do they monitor your calls? [Does Facebook abuse your data?][10] How is
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that data stored---[what happens][1] in the event of a data breach, or in the event
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of a warrant/subpoena?
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The only way to be safe from these providers is to [reject these services
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entirely and use your own software on your own PC][9], or use software that will
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connect directly to your intended recipient without going through a 3rd
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party. (Never mind your ISP; that is a separate issue entirely.) If you must
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use a 3rd party service, ensure that you can adequately encrypt your
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communications (e.g. using GPG to encrypt e-mail communications)---something
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that may not necessarily be easy/possible to do, especially if the software is
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proprietary and works against you.
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The EFF has published [useful information on protecting yourself against
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surveillance][11], covering topics such as encryption and anonymization.
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If we are to resist the worlds that [Lessig][4] and [Schneier][3] describe, then we
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must [stand up for our right to privacy and demand action][12]. [Who will have
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your back][13] when we're on the brink of ["perfect regulation"][4]; who will
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stand up for your rights and work *with* you---not against you---to preserve
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your liberties? Without this push, services like Skype empower governments and
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other entities to work toward perfect regulation---to continuously spy on
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everything that we do. With everyone putting their every thought and movement on
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services like Facebook, [Twitter][14] and Skype, the Orwellian Thought Police have
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the ability to manifest in a form that not even Orwell could have
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imagined---unless it is stopped.
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To help [preserve your ever-dwindling rights online][15], consider becoming a
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member of or participating in the campaigns of the [Free Software
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Foundation][16], [Electronic Frontier Foundation][17], the [American Civil
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Liberties Union][18] or any other organizations dedicated toward free society.
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(Disclaimer: I am a member of the Free Software Foundation.)
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[2]: http://www.schneier.com/essay-406.html
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[3]: http://www.schneier.com/essay-409.html
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[4]: http://codev2.cc/
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[6]: http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=5139801
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[7]: http://blogs.skype.com/garage/2011/05/easybits_update_disabled_for_s.html
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[8]: http://www.gnu.org/philosophy/free-sw.html
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[9]: http://www.gnu.org/philosophy/who-does-that-server-really-serve.html
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[10]: https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2013/01/facebook-graph-search-privacy-control-you-still-dont-have
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[11]: https://ssd.eff.org
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[12]: https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2013/01/its-time-transparency-reports-become-new-normal
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[13]: https://www.eff.org/pages/when-government-comes-knocking-who-has-your-back
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[14]: https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2013/01/google-twitters-new-transparency-report-shows-increase-government-demands-sheds
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[15]: https://action.eff.org/o/9042/p/dia/action/public/?action_KEY=8750
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[16]: http://www.fsf.org/register_form?referrer=5804
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[17]: https://supporters.eff.org/donate
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[18]: https://www.aclu.org/donate/join-renew-give
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[^5]: Orwell, George. Nineteen Eighty-Four. ISBN 978-0-452-28423-4.
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