Smart techies say CALEA's bad news for VoIP

Some of the smartest techies in the world say that letting the federal government listen in on VoIP calls would seriously compromise security for everyone. A federal judge ruled recently that VoIP carriers are required to follow the Communications Assistance to Law Enforcement Act--also known as CALEA. But a new report, written by Vinton Cerf and Whitfield Duffie, among others, notes that IP networks differ in critical ways from the PSTN and that CALEA was written with the switched network in mind. Making technical accommodations for CALEA, the engineers said, could open doors through which bad guys could walk unobserved.

For more information about CALEA and VoIP Security:
- see this article in PC World