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Truphone: "Danger of VoIP terrorism is exaggerated; telcos must track users"

It's been alleged today  that internet-based communications could be used by terrorists to avoid interception.

The result of this allegation, says Truphone, "is a great deal of effort and expense for the security services."

In a statement released today, the company stated: "Truphone provides a mobile VoIP service, which enables mobile phone calls over the internet. While the addition of 'mobile' may appear to offer an even greater benefit to someone engaged in an illegal activity, Truphone is governed by and complies with the same 'legal intercept' laws as every other telecommunications company."

This means that Truphone validates the identity of every user before they can use the service, and can comply with security service requests quickly and easily in accordance with the law.

James Tagg, CEO of Truphone said: "There are engineers at Truphone with experience of working with Government security agencies, and we are 100% aware of the legal requirements and of our responsibilities. As a result, and unlike some VoIP services, Truphone provides for lawful intercept and also requires validation of identity before usage."

This doesn't appear to give all VoIP a clean bill of health, but it does show that reputable businesses have no need to abandon Internet phone calls, nor pay exaggerated fees for other voice calls, as long as they select a compliant service provider.