==== Skype Surveillance ====

(via http://www.reddit.com/r/worldnews/comments/1o7zfr/skype_under_investigation_in_luxembourg_over_link/)

  * The NSA was offering billions to anyone who offers a reliable eavesdropping solution for Skype. ((http://www.theregister.co.uk/2009/02/12/nsa_offers_billions_for_skype_pwnage/))
  * Microsoft buys Skype for $8.5 billion, more than twice what Google or Facebook were offering. ((http://mashable.com/2011/05/10/microsoft-skype-poll/))
  * A month later, Microsoft was granted a patent for a "legal intercept" technology designed to be used with VoIP services like Skype, which enables silently copying communications transmitted through them. ((http://appft1.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?Sect1=PTO2&Sect2=HITOFF&u=%2Fnetahtml%2FPTO%2Fsearch-adv.html&r=1&f=G&l=50&d=PG01&p=1&S1=20110153809&OS=20110153809&RS=20110153809))
  * MS moved Skype's supernodes to its own in-house data centers, getting rid of the decentralized P2P architecture of Skype (which was hindering eavesdropping).((http://www.forbes.com/sites/anthonykosner/2012/07/18/did-microsoft-change-the-architecture-of-skype-to-make-it-easier-to-snoop/)) and ((http://skype-open-source.blogspot.ch/2012/05/microsoft-wiretapping-on-skype-now.html))
  * MS continued to state that the move to this new architecture is to ensure stability/reliability of the network. ((http://blogs.skype.com/2012/07/26/what-does-skypes-architecture-do/))
  * However, they continue refusing to comment on whether they eavesdrop on the communications, and their ToS/privacy policy make no guarantees about this. ((http://www.slate.com/blogs/future_tense/2012/07/20/skype_won_t_comment_on_whether_it_can_now_eavesdrop_on_conversations_.html))
  * MS buying Skype for a whooping $8.5 billion, makes it a telecommunications carrier. And under CALEA, "telecommunications carriers and manufacturers of telecommunications equipment are required to modify and design their equipment, facilities, and services to ensure they have built-in surveillance capabilities, allowing federal agencies to monitor all telephone, broadband internet, and VoIP traffic in real-time." ((http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Communications_Assistance_for_Law_Enforcement_Act))



  * Skype developed a backdoor access system for the NSA before the Microsoft acquisition as part of a secret project involving only a dozen people and created by the government.((http://www.reddit.com/r/technology/comments/1gq7x3/skype_developed_a_backdoor_access_system_for_the/))
  * Report: Skype Formed Secret “Project Chess” to Make Chats Available to Government ((http://www.slate.com/blogs/future_tense/2013/06/20/project_chess_report_says_skype_worked_on_secret_project_to_provide_chats.html))

**What should I use then?**

An alternative for your IM/VoIP needs is [[https://jitsi.org/Main/Features|Jitsi]]. It's open source, supports every popular protocol, and out of the box full end-to-end encryption (uses OTR for instant messaging encryption and SRTP and ZRTP for XMPP and SIP encryption).