Surprise, Surprise: Vodafone Reveals Secret Government Wiretaps

From The Telegraph:
Government agencies are able to listen to phone conversations live and even track the location of citizens without warrants using secret cables connected directly to network equipment, admits Vodafone today.
The company said that secret wires have been connected to its network and those belonging to competitors, giving government agencies the ability to tap in to phone and broadband traffic. In many countries this is mandatory for all telecoms companies, it said.
Vodafone is today publishing its first Law Enforcement Disclosure Report which will describe exactly how the governments it deals with are eavesdropping on citizens. It is calling for an end to the use of “direct access” eavesdropping and transparency on the number of warrants issued giving access to private data.
Of course, anyone who has been paying attention knows that this is not really news, since it has been known for years that governments have been secretly tapping the telephony  backbone.  What is new in the present instance is that the company itself has revealed the illegal wiretaps rather than continue to engage in a conspiracy against its own users aided and abetted by criminal governments.  If this is news to you, you might consider looking into AT&T Room 641A.

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