Internet-based calls among politcos rise

Hyderabad: Due to the fear of phone tapping or call recording, Over The Top (OTT) platforms like WhatsApp, Skype and other internet-based services are increasingly becoming popular with politicians, officials and citizens as they cannot be tapped or recorded. 

WhatsApp calling is not unique; Skype, Facetime, Viber and many other services have been providing the same service. But as elections are approaching, political leaders are apprehensive about their calls being recorded if they use regular call services. 

In September, a phone recording, purportedly of former deputy chief minister T. Rajaiah, speaking to a woman in an flirtiaous manner about his relationships with other women had gone viral. The infamous cash-for-vote recording also rang alarm bells among politicians.

A TRS leader on condition of anonymity said, “This is election season where leaders tend to share a lot of information. Leaders from other political parties also contact us over the phone. It is due to the fear of recordings being leaked that we prefer WhatsApp calls, where there is no recording option. This is comfortable for both parties as these are testing times, when any conversation can go public and act against you. Added to that, call tapping can be averted.”

Services like WhatsApp are end-to-end encrypted, which means nobody 

can listen to conversations. Recording conversations is also very difficult. 

According to WhatsApp website “Just like your messages, Whatsapp calls are end-to-end encrypted so WhatsApp and third parties can’t listen to them. The signed protocol was designed by Open Whisper Systems to prevent third parties from having plaintext access to messages or calls. Even if encryption keys from a user’s device are physically compromised, they cannot be used to go back in time to decrypt previously transmitted messages.” 

Experts in these matters say, however, any call can be tapped even if it’s in encrypted mode. 

A Criminal Investigation Department (CID) officer said, “Any call can be tapped but in case of OTT, third party cannot listen to it in real time. They have to send it to the concerned agency like WhatsApp, who will decrypt it and revert, which is time-consuming.” 

Encryption is only for transmission; at origin and terminal, it is not encrypted. 

COAI director-general, Rajan S. Mathews, said that, “OTT is cryptic and hard for law enforcement to decrypt. Law enforcement is working with these companies to get the ability to access messages or calls when it is of national interest.”