Swiss Authorities VoIP Surveillance Trojan Software Exposed

A software engineer who created Trojans for the Swiss authorities to intercept Voice-over-IP (VoIP) phone calls has published the source code to his programs in order to draw attention to the surveillance threat posed by such software. As reported by Techworld in October 2006, Ruben Unteregger's ex-employer, ERA IT Solutions, tasked him with writing a 'white' Trojan capable of intercepting, recording and uploading Skype and other VoIP calls - software subsequently used by the Swiss Department of the Environment, Transport, Energy and Communications (UVEK).

The technique of recording voice calls as MP3 files in situ neatly sidestepped Skype's main anti-wiretapping feature, namely its use of strong, proprietary encryption. However, it did first require that the program had to somehow find its way on to the monitored individual's PC using Trojan-like software subterfuge.

The link for this article located at Network World is no longer available.