Can my employer "hear" my SKYPE phone calls

[Susan]

Can my employer "hear" my SKYPE phone calls?
Can SKYPE be my answer to the privacy I desperately need?

I have a, shall we just say, long-distance relationship, with a certain
someone in the company who is far away. Due to time-zone and family
matters, I can ONLY call this certain someone during the day. My phone
bills are monitored by a certain domestic someone at home. And, of course,
at work, I couldn't use the telephone as it's not business related.

What about SKYPE?
Can SKYPE be my answer to privacy?

I already plugged in a microphone and headphone and I noticed SKYPE calls
to my friend show up as a phone number of 000012345 so I can converse with
my friend.

But my question is what can my employer "tell" about that connection?
Can they "hear" my SKYPE phone calls if they wanted to?
Do employers typically "listen" to this type of activity?

Please advise me as this is a personal matter all mixed up with work and
the need to remain private.

Thank you very much for your advice
Susan

 

[Herne]

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Can my employer "hear" my SKYPE phone calls? Can SKYPE be my answer to the
privacy I desperately need?

I have a, shall we just say, long-distance relationship, with a certain
someone in the company who is far away. Due to time-zone and family
matters, I can ONLY call this certain someone during the day. My phone
bills are monitored by a certain domestic someone at home. And, of course,
at work, I couldn't use the telephone as it's not business related.

What about SKYPE?
Can SKYPE be my answer to privacy?

Maybe, it depends. As far as your employer being able to 'hear' the
call-contents, the answer in short is "No." Skype calls are end-to-end
encrypted.

However, this does NOT mean that the calls are undetectable. Skype network
packets can be distinguished from other network traffic if you know what
to look for; they can also be blocked at the company firewall.

I already plugged in a microphone and headphone and I noticed SKYPE calls
to my friend show up as a phone number of 000012345 so I can converse with
my friend.

But my question is what can my employer "tell" about that connection? Can
they "hear" my SKYPE phone calls if they wanted to? Do employers typically
"listen" to this type of activity?

Only incompetent and/or lazy sysadmins aren't aware of what happens on their
networks; Skype has been getting a lot of press, and sysadmins are beginning
to take notice. Don't count on your activity going undetected. While they
can't hear the voice content of your calls, they will be able to tell that
you're making some, if your network administrator is at all on the ball.

Are you willing to put your job at risk? Remember--the employer owns the
hardware, the software and pays for the bandwidth. Unauthorized use of
company equipment can be grounds for termination. Even installing
unauthorized software--i.e. Skype--can be grounds enough to get you
turfed out, depending on how anal your employer wishes to be. (In most
places I've worked, you'd be fired on the spot for installing something
on their computers without authorization.)

Please advise me as this is a personal matter all mixed up with work and
the need to remain private.

If you're worried about the phone bills, then go down to the 7/11 and get
yourself a pay-as-you-go cellphone. The newer ones are small and easy-to-hide,
and because they're pay as you go, you don't have any bills to worry about.

Lock the phone in your office drawer if you don't want to risk bringing
it home. Skype right now is free in North America, but only until the end
of this year. If you get a cellphone, you can use it and no one can accuse
you of mis-appropriating your employer's property. The worst they can do
is give you a hard time if you're calling your friend on company time--so
do it on your breaks, lunch hour, and after work. Is saving a few bucks
on phone calls worth risking your employment?

Thank you very much for your advice
Susan

Herne <[email protected]>

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[Htnakirs]

Yes.

 

[POKO]

Can my employer "hear" my SKYPE phone calls?
Can SKYPE be my answer to the privacy I desperately need?

I have a, shall we just say, long-distance relationship, with a certain
someone in the company who is far away. Due to time-zone and family
matters, I can ONLY call this certain someone during the day. My phone
bills are monitored by a certain domestic someone at home. And, of course,
at work, I couldn't use the telephone as it's not business related.

What about SKYPE?
Can SKYPE be my answer to privacy?

I already plugged in a microphone and headphone and I noticed SKYPE calls
to my friend show up as a phone number of 000012345 so I can converse with
my friend.

But my question is what can my employer "tell" about that connection?
Can they "hear" my SKYPE phone calls if they wanted to?
Do employers typically "listen" to this type of activity?

Please advise me as this is a personal matter all mixed up with work and
the need to remain private.

Thank you very much for your advice
Susan

Discuss your problem with your hubby and see what he recommends,

 

[In_Parentheses]

Yes.

Explain please. Skype calls are supposed to be encrypted, so how would your
"Yes" make sense if this is the case? Decryption would take place on the
system the program is running...

 

[DevilsPGD]

In message <[email protected]> "In_Parentheses"

Explain please. Skype calls are supposed to be encrypted, so how would your
"Yes" make sense if this is the case? Decryption would take place on the
system the program is running...

If I were an IT admin and noticed unexplained traffic, I might be
tempted to monitor the traffic.

If it is, in fact, encrypted (I believe Skype is, but I'm not a user so
I don't know or care), I'd simply monitor the PC itself.

If it looked like VoIP traffic, installing something to monitor the
microphone and speakers and check the times when I saw the unexplained
traffic would quickly identify whether it's VoIP or not.

 

[Susan]

If I were an IT admin and noticed unexplained traffic, I might be
tempted to monitor the traffic.

If it is, in fact, encrypted (I believe Skype is, but I'm not a user so
I don't know or care), I'd simply monitor the PC itself.

If it looked like VoIP traffic, installing something to monitor the
microphone and speakers and check the times when I saw the unexplained
traffic would quickly identify whether it's VoIP or not.

Oh good. I think you are saying my SKYPE calls are protected because they
use some kind of security between the two SKYPE programs.

Does that mean that even if my employer saved all the VOIP communication
between the two of us, that they would not have the "security key" to
actually listen to the words we spoke?

Is that what you are saying?
Susan

 

[pagesofdave]

Susan wrote:

I have a, shall we just say, long-distance relationship, with a certain
someone in the company who is far away. Due to time-zone and family
matters, I can ONLY call this certain someone during the day. My phone
bills are monitored by a certain domestic someone at home. And, of course,
at work, I couldn't use the telephone as it's not business related.

Please advise me as this is a personal matter all mixed up with work and
the need to remain private.

Thank you very much for your advice
Susan

If you're going to talk about hiding an affair while at work don't use
the same email address you use to post a job bulletin with.

Two click in Google Groups yields a lot of information and someone
could decide to impose their moral code on you and give Livingston
Enterprises a call.

Years ago I had two co-workers caught doing something just like this.
The IT people said it was "nothing big" to monitor their machines once
they noticed a lot of traffic.

Do what the terrorists do. Go to Target and buy a prepaid cell phone
with cash.

 

[Gary R. Schmidt]

Oh good. I think you are saying my SKYPE calls are protected because they
use some kind of security between the two SKYPE programs.

Does that mean that even if my employer saved all the VOIP communication
between the two of us, that they would not have the "security key" to
actually listen to the words we spoke?

Is that what you are saying?

He may well be saying that, but a mob in China, IIRC, recently broke the
Skype encryption, so it's not secure anymore.

Also, as a BOFH and PABX tech, I have been required to track usage of
both the 'net and the 'phone. The 'net is just like the 'phone, at
work, you often get to use it for a limited amount of personal stuff,
but not freely. If a user starts chewing up "too much" bandwidth/making
"too many" or "too long" calls, I would know about it, and so would that
staffers manager.

You'd be better off paying cash (untraceable) for a pre-paid mobile SIM
card (untraceable), and stashing that in your desk, changing it over in
your mobile when you wanted a chat.

Cheers,
Gary B-)

 

[TwistyCreek]

If your employer is the nsa, yes, they can hear everything.

If your " long distance friend " is hezbollah, yes, the nsa can hear
everything.

If you have any association whatever with radical liberal groups, yes,
the nsa, homeland, interpol, cia, everybody can hear everything.

Any questions?

Kenny G.

 

[Jonathan Roberts]

Do what the terrorists do. Go to Target and buy a prepaid cell phone
with cash.

LOL, this could be the funniest thing I have seen in a while. Sad but
true...

 

[Susan]

Oh my. Is this the summary.

1. The employer can "see" SKYPE calls but not "hear" them.
2. Unless they "tap" your sound card (is that hard or easy on a network?).
3. The SKYPE encryption has been broken.
4. It's safer to buy a cell phone and sim card.

I didn't think about the cell phone idea.
Are you saying I can get a phone with TWO sim cards. One for my normal use
and one for my, shall we say, personal issues?

If I switch from one sim card to the next, does that guarrantee me being
anonymous? That is, if a certain someone at home were to flip through the
cell phone with the "home" sim card in, would he be able to see the calls
made from the "personal" sim card?

I'm so confused but I do revere your advice,
Susan

 

[TwistyCreek]

Yes you are.

Kenny G.

 

[Tim Smith]

Please advise me as this is a personal matter all mixed up with work and
the need to remain private.

Get a prepaid cell phone and use that.

 

[Tim Smith]

Does that mean that even if my employer saved all the VOIP communication
between the two of us, that they would not have the "security key" to
actually listen to the words we spoke?

They don't need the key. They have this:

"Tell us who these calls were to, and what they were about, or you
are fired"

That works as good as having the key.

 

[Huss]

Can my employer "hear" my SKYPE phone calls?

Can he stand outside your office door?

Can SKYPE be my answer to the privacy I desperately need?

No. You've been given good advice WRT prepay mobile phones and I'd take
that if I were you. It's not worth the risk. Maybe giving your husband
the push would be a good start.

(Rest snipped)
--
Huss

They come together like the Coroner's Inquest, to sit upon the murdered
reputations of the week.

William Congreve

 

[Gary R. Schmidt]

Oh my. Is this the summary.

1. The employer can "see" SKYPE calls but not "hear" them.

The employer can easily "see" them, and with some effort "hear" them.

2. Unless they "tap" your sound card (is that hard or easy on a network?). Easy.

3. The SKYPE encryption has been broken. Yes.

4. It's safer to buy a cell phone and sim card. Yes.

I didn't think about the cell phone idea.
Are you saying I can get a phone with TWO sim cards. One for my normal use
and one for my, shall we say, personal issues?

If I switch from one sim card to the next, does that guarrantee me being
anonymous? That is, if a certain someone at home were to flip through the
cell phone with the "home" sim card in, would he be able to see the calls
made from the "personal" sim card?

I'm so confused but I do revere your advice,

Unless you set the 'phone to do things. everything is stored _only_ on
the SIM card. Of course, if you leave the 'phone laying around and
someone is suspicious it is possible that they might change the settings
on the 'phone, so it's probably better to do as one of the other posters
suggested, buy a 'phone just for this and stash it at work, or somewhere
else that is "secure".

Cheers,
Gary B-)

 

[Susan]

If you have a cell phone with a SIM card (Verizon, for one, uses
technology that doesn't use SIM cards), go to a cell phone store - one
where the employees know what they're doing - and ask them to show you
how to swap SIM cards in your phone. You can get adapters to use 2
cards in one phone, but they're not common in the US yet.

Thanks everyone.
I have one more question.

If I use a cell phone with a pre-paid sim card that keeps the records in
the sim card, then I would guess that the permanent records at the phone
company would indicate exactly which phone used that card (probably by the
serial number of the phone?).

Assuming the permanent records tie the sim card to the telephone by
telephone serial number, if we remove the first sim card and put a second
sim card into that same telephone, wouldn't that second sim card also be
recorded as having been used by that telephone serial number?

My point is, wouldn't someone knowing the first telephone number from the
first sim card then allow them to find the records of ALL phone calls made
from all sim cards ever put in that phone since the phone has only one
serial number?

Isn't the telephone serial number a weak (identifiable) link that negates
the "privacy" afforded by the second pre-paid sim card?

Does this question make sense?
Susan

 

[Anonymous]

If your employer is the nsa, yes, they can hear everything.

If your " long distance friend " is hezbollah, yes, the nsa can hear
everything.

If you have any association whatever with radical liberal groups, yes,
the nsa, homeland, interpol, cia, everybody can hear everything.

Any questions?

Kenny G.
---

In

Can my employer "hear" my SKYPE phone calls?
Can SKYPE be my answer to the privacy I desperately need?

I have a, shall we just say, long-distance relationship, with a certain
someone in the company who is far away. Due to time-zone and family
matters, I can ONLY call this certain someone during the day. My phone
bills are monitored by a certain domestic someone at home. And, of course,
at work, I couldn't use the telephone as it's not business related.

What about SKYPE?
Can SKYPE be my answer to privacy?

I already plugged in a microphone and headphone and I noticed SKYPE calls
to my friend show up as a phone number of 000012345 so I can converse with
my friend.

But my question is what can my employer "tell" about that connection?
Can they "hear" my SKYPE phone calls if they wanted to?
Do employers typically "listen" to this type of activity?

Please advise me as this is a personal matter all mixed up with work and
the need to remain private.

Thank you very much for your advice
Susan

-=-
This message was sent via two or more anonymous remailing services.

 

[Gary R. Schmidt]

Susan wrote:

[SNIP]

Isn't the telephone serial number a weak (identifiable) link that negates
the "privacy" afforded by the second pre-paid sim card?

Does this question make sense?

Yes, the question makes sense, the link is the IMEI, in GSM 'phones anyway.

The fix is to use SIM cards from _different_ companies. For example,
here in Oz, get the 'phone and the initial SIM card from, say, Optus,
then get a pre-paid SIM from Vodafone.

As far as anyone knows, your mobile service is supplied by Optus, only
_you_ (and Vodafone) know about the other SIM.

Yes, a court could order a search on all the 'phone companies call
databases and identify all calls made to/from your handset, but if that
happens you're already in trouble.

Cheers,
Gary B-)