How secure are Internet phone calls

网络电话安全吗?(2/2)

How Secure Are Internet Phone Calls?

Unlimited calling over the Internet is a dream come true … or is it?

Who is listening in?

Yet security experts say that if people want to listen to your Internet telephone conversations, they can. In fact, a simple web search produced a site offering a program to do just that. The program is designed to break into networks, capture the packets of data containing the conversation, and then reconstruct them into an audio file.

But the experts also point out that while it’s possible for hackers to record conversations, it’s unlikely that such attacks will occur randomly. Attacks are more likely to occur on office networks than home networks and are likely to involve conversations that will give hackers information they can sell.

Protection when the call is over

So what happens to Internet voice conversations once they’re finished? Like any data, an Internet phone call can be saved. And there generally aren’t any guidelines about who has a right to save what information.

Yahoo’s Instant Messaging service does not save conversations, nor does Skype’s, according to spokespeople. “Privacy is very important to our users,” Yahoo’s Karlsten said. “We also have preventative measures we’ve implemented … detecting sending patterns and habits associated with spammers.”

Google would not release information about the security of its Google Talk application. But the terms of service for the program states: “Google may access or disclose your personal information, including the content of your communications, if Google is required to do so in order to comply with any valid legal process or governmental request.”

Rouland admitted that rules around Internet phone calls are just starting to be developed, but the security concerns shouldn’t scare people off from Internet phone calling entirely. “VoIP is a great application and we expect it to revolutionize the telephone systems today,” he said. But right now, “We’re in a little bit of the Wild West.”

Specialized Terms

Wild West (n) 蛮荒西部，指拓荒时期的美国西部  the western United States during its frontier period

Vocabulary Focus

Reconstruct (v) to build something again that was broken into parts

Preventative (adj) to make something known publicly

Implement (v) put (sth) into effect; carry out

Disclose (v) to make something known publicly

Revolutionize (v) to completely change something so that it is much better

Discussion Question

Think it twice, which approach should be legislated for, Skype’s or Google’s?

Extra Exercise

1. Translate the following sentence into Chinese, ‘Google may access or disclose your personal information, including the content of your communications, if Google is required to do so in order to comply with any valid legal process or governmental request.’

2. According to the recording, what’s correct name for video camera, which is used for chatting?

文 本 下 载          参加讨论组        查看节目单        视频下载        学习方法

880G英语资料高速下载两个月精通口译