Vodophone and other snoops

This weekend marks my last days with Vodophone as an ISP

Vodafone - At Least 6 Governments Have Direct Access to all Phone Calls Without Warrant

Vodafone has revealed that 6 countries require these direct-access wires to be installed on their networks.

SCG News,

6 June, 2014

Vodafone, one of the world's largest telecommunications companies, has decided to break their silence and speak out against warrantless wiretapping on their networks. According to a report released by the company, most countries have laws allowing governments to order the interception of customer communications, however in at least six countries (which they refrain from naming), all telecommunications companies are required to install direct access pipelines which allow governments to listen to or record any call on the network without the knowledge or cooperation of the operators.

However, in a small number of countries the law dictates that specific agencies and authorities must have direct access to an operator’s network, bypassing any form of operational control over lawful interception on the part of the operator. In those countries, Vodafone will not receive any form of demand for lawful interception access as the relevant agencies and authorities already have permanent access to customer communications via their own direct link.

The company stated that refusal to comply with a country's laws is not an option:

Refusal to comply with a country’s laws is not an option. If we do not comply with a lawful demand for assistance, governments can remove our licence to operate, preventing us from providing services to our customers. Our employees who live and work in the country concerned may also be at risk of criminal sanctions, including imprisonment. We therefore have to balance our responsibility to respect our customers’ right to privacy against our legal obligation to respond to the authorities’ lawful demands as well as our duty of care to our employees, recognising throughout our broader responsibilities as a corporate citizen to protect the public and prevent harm.

Related: NSA Chief Pushes For Laws to Silence Journalists - Says Legislation Coming in Weeks

Vodafone also released an incomplete report on the laws governing the interception of communications in 29 countries. The United States was not listed because Vodafone no longer has an operating license there after having terminated their mobile venture with Verizon last year. However, their revelations are strikingly similar to what we learned about how the NSA taps communications within the U.S. during the lawsuit over the AT&T's infamous Room 641A, which was used to route all of AT&T's customer data directly to the NSA.

Related: Reset The Net - The NSA Faces a Tech Insurgency

According to a report by the Wall Street Journal, which went public last year, Verizon participated in this program as well. Neither Verizon nor AT&T responded to the accusations.

Could it be that the exposure from this scandal had something to do with Vodafone jumping ship? Could just be a coincidence, but the timing is interesting.

Related: Obama's Pledge to Curtail NSA Phone Meta Data Collection is Meaningless - Here's Why

While some might use this report to draw heat off of the NSA (look everybody's doing it!), I see a different takeaway message. Telecommunications companies are a major part of the problem, particularly when they comply with demands for direct, unfettered access without informing their customers. That the countries in question have laws prohibiting companies from talking about these programs, is not an excuse. If a corporation was guided by principles rather than the bottom line, then they could refrain from doing business in said countries, and make a public statement explaining why. Even just one statement like that would place massive pressure on the governments in question and the competitor companies which are quietly handing over their customer's data without saying a word. It would also go a long way towards restoring trust in the company that spoke out.

As it stands right now, every major telecommunications and big tech company is suspect, particularly if that company is based in the U.S. Hopefully more will follow Vodafone's tentative step in the right direction, even if it is only to save their bottom line. In the meantime, we should start divesting ourselves as much as possible from companies who don't, and make it as difficult as possible for our communications to be intercepted (#ResetTheNet).