Vodafone certifies corporate snooping software

Big brother is listening

Posted in Mobile, 12th September 2007 10:54 GMT

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Compliant Voice has received Vodafone Certification for its voice-recording application, which can catch calls made from mobiles and commit them to the memory of an intercepting server.

Unlike more surreptitious versions, Compliant Voice is aimed at corporations who want to keep recordings of every phone call made by employees, even when workers are using their mobiles.

The software, which runs on Symbian, Windows Mobile and Blackberry-based handsets, routes all outgoing calls through a voice-proxy, which does the recording. Incoming calls are made to a new number connected to the proxy, which forwards the call. Alternatively, the software on the handset can bounce incoming calls to the proxy, which connects back, while listening in.

Many companies routinely record all calls, and some are required to by law. It would seem that the scope of such recordings is set to expand: "New financial regulations (MiFID and FSA) on 1st November 2007 mean financial institutions will have to record more calls, including mobiles," according to Compliant Phones, which would seem to open up a business opportunity.

Companies routinely already keep a copy of every email sent, and every instant message exchanged, but with the cost of storage decreasing, it's only a matter of time before databases full of audio files are equally common: so best stick to video conferencing if you don't want your words to come back to haunt you.

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