German police are unable to decipher the encryption used in the Internet telephone software Skype to monitor calls by suspected criminals and terrorists. Skype allows users to make telephone calls over the Internet from their computer to other Skype users free of charge. Law enforcement agencies and intelligence services have used wiretaps since the telephone was invented, but implementing them is much more complex in the modern telecommunications market where the providers are often foreign companies.
Experts say Skype and other Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) calling software are difficult to intercept because they work by breaking up voice data into small packets and switching them along thousands of router paths instead of a constant circuit between two parties, as with a traditional call.
