Interesting article on the register about Microsoft being fined for not being able to intercept skype calls back in 2012. Microsofts appeal failed and the fine stands.
The reason that Microsoft was unable to intercept the skype calls for the law enforcement agencies as skype in those days was a peer-to-peer model where Microsoft itself was not involved in the communication once the communication started.
It also explains why since then Microsoft has redesigned the Skype product so all communication data must now flow through Microsoft owned servers; it can only be to now allow it to intercept/record skype conversations when required by law enforcement to avoid further fines, or whenever it feels like it as companies tend to change terms and conditions as needed to suit themselves these days.
There can be no other reason other than the ability to intercept the calls that would require the redesign made to pass all traffic through microsoft servers, as it obviously adds extra network hops and results in degraded performance, even assuming all network components passed through in the additional network hops are not impacting throughput from the effect of other telco monitoring.
While I’m sure the call contents are supposedly encrypted it is now ideally positioned for the day when the US govt makes backdoors manatory.
But it is a free service for most people, and nobody is forcing people to use skype. If anybody uses a service (even a paid one) by a US company interception and recording plus adds should be accepted as a fact of life. Just don’t use any of them for anything confidential.
