Fears raised of Iranian-style surveillance in the US

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By JOSEPH FITSANAKIS | intelNews.org |
Nokia Siemens Networks has denied allegations, published in The Wall Street Journal and reported by intelNews, that it helped the Iranian government acquire what experts describe as “one of the world’s most sophisticated mechanisms” for spying on Iranian telecommunications users. But critics remain unconvinced and are raising concerns about the use of similar intrusive capabilities by Internet service providers (ISPs) in the US. The Open Internet Coalition, a consortium of online business and consumer groups, has sent letters [.pdf] to US Congress members urging them to consider regulating the use of deep packet inspection technology. In addition to blocking or monitoring target communications, deep packet inspection enables ISPs and monitoring agencies to trace and alter the content of messages exchanged between users. In 2008, Charter Communications had to cancel plans to instal deep packet inspection technology on its networks, after advocacy groups and lawmakers raised privacy concerns. But US ISPs maintain that they could use the technology to fish out spam and messages containing malware. Late last month, US consumer groups called for a boycott of Nokia and Siemens, whose Nokia Siemens Networks collaboration is allegedly a key supplier of Iran’s extensive surveillance system.