Deutsche Telekom Secretly Tracked Phone Calls

Dekortage writes "German telephone giant Deutsche Telekom has admitted to secretly tracking the phone calls between board members and journalists, in an effort to identify media leaks about internal affairs. As noted by the German Journalists' Association, 'This company has special access to the records of its customers.... That means it has a special obligation to be trustworthy.' DT denies having eavesdropped; it merely tracked the calls dialed."

The Solution

[imyy4u3]

"Hello."
"Hey, what's up?"
"Well, I'm a board member, and they're tracking our calls now, so I can't call you at (insert newspaper name here)'s HQ from the office anymore, and that's why I'm calling you from a pay phone."
"OK, just meet me at the coffee shop at 7pm tonight."
"Sure."

Problem solved. Idiots.

Re:The Solution

[Lilith's Heart-shape]

It also implies that you can find a working pay phone. Good luck doing that in America.

This just in!

[Ngarrang]

A major corporation providing a necessary public service mis-uses those records for personal reasons! Film at 11!

Okay, is anyone else not surprised to read this? Do any you have actually think that your local telecom ACTUALLY respects your privacy and doesn't do funny things with your data?

Sure, this was only on its own executives. But doing this to faceless subscribers is not a far leap of the imagination.

Re:The Solution

[oodaloop]

Having done phone call analysis for the government, this is hardly a viable solution. Multiple calls from a pay phone would stick out like a sore thumb in this day and age.

The bigger news story from now on

[iminplaya]

will be when you find out your line is not being tapped. At this point, it's best to assume the worst and work as though everything you do is being broadcast on the TV.

Re:Not clear if customer records are affected

[snowraver1]

Funny you mention that, when just the other day there was an article on /. that indicated that almost 50% of US companies routinely monitor outgoing email to make sure that there are no information leaks.

I think that if the company owns the phone, and the employee (by paying them) then all communications are fair game for monitoring.

Now if they were snooping on customers, that would be a WHOLE different story...

It's not just listening in that's the problem

[hyades1]

This isn't about eavesdropping, it's about getting information you have no right to possess. If my girlfriend steals my cell phone and finds out that I've been calling Wendy's House of Spanking Ecstasy on the same days as I subsequently say I was working late, she doesn't need the contents of the call to get seriously pissed off and do some major damage to my professional life.

This is exactly the same kind of thing. The telcom has no right to use its special situation to assume police-like powers and check up on people.

And my mention of Wendy's was just an example, OK? I don't know of any such place and I don't know if it even exists and I've never been there if it does. OK? Got it?