This little story over at El Reg reminds me on an anecdote from a few years back. Anyhow, the lead-in first:
The Mirror reports that a BT insider who had access to the shows' voting database fed the results to a betting syndicate before they were made public to viewers on the live TV shows. The gang then placed bets at betting exchange Betfair.com on the outcome of the voting netting a fortune.
So your communications are only as secure as the least trustworthy and most corruptible person in the telco data centre. And they want to keep Skype out of the enterprise because of (in)security concerns?!
Well, in about 1999, during my database consultant years, I was over visiting the Oracle headquarters at Redwood Shores, CA. My hotel was a few miles down the highway overlooking the airport. (I once got a great view of a Lufthansa 747 aborting its landing presumably due to the runway not being clear ahead. Vroom!) Rather than get a rental car when jetlagged like crazy, I was taking taxis. So I called the front desk and got a taxi booked for the next morning.
Up rolls a big old white Lincoln Town Car taxi with a woman diver. "Mr Geddes?" "Yes."
Off we head. She hands me her business card, and tells me to call directly to book further journeys.
That evening I call the taxi company direct to get back to my hotel. I really don't care who picks me up -- just that the first available taxi comes. "But Mr Geddes -- you didn't turn up this morning when we came to collect you!"
"What -- yes I did!"
"Was it a woman who collected you by name name of Blahdy Blah?"
"Yes."
Now, here's what was happening. A pirate taxi driver was listening in on dispatch orders from the taxi company, and sneaking in and snatching customers from them. So we agreed to get a little revenge in.
I call the pirate taxi driver, and make a reservation for the next morning.
Up she rolls to the front of the hotel. "Hiya -- nice morning!", I say.
And I get straight into the white Town Car. Not hers, but the one now pulled up behind. Driven by the owner of the legit taxi company. Who waves at her. And she screams a load of abuse back!
The moral of the story? No communication is too trival to encrypt.
UPDATE: Just to avoid possible confusion, it was the radio transmissions from the dispatcher that she was listening in to, not PSTN calls to order the taxis.
UPDATE: That's because the PSTN is totally secure. No, really it is. (Thanks, Lee).
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