Virgin Media to spy on its customers?

Posted on 26 Jan 2010 at 13:43

Internet service provider Virgin Media is trialling technology which could be used to spy on its customers, according to report in The Times.

Virgin Media is currently using Detica's CView software, a deep packet inspection (DPI) tool, to determine exactly how much of the data being transferred over its broadband network are movies, music and software transferred without the copyright holder's consent over peer-to-peer networks.

Virgin claims the CView software can tell the difference between infringing and non-infringing material, but it isn't currently tracking customer's IP addresses to determine who is trading what, although this can be done. Such tracking could be illegal under current British law, but could become legal if the Government's proposals to crack down on file trading becomes law.

Similar DPI technology from Nokia and Siemens is currently being used by the Iranian government to eavesdrop on internet communications inside its borders, according to a report in The Wall Street Journal.

Author: Alan Lu

Get more reviews, tutorials and in-depth advice, every month with Computer Shopper.
Click here to try 3 issues for £1

< Previous News : General Next >

User comments