And, in today's "this will probably be important later" news
According to varfolomeev, FSB, Russian Federation's domestic intelligence agency (and a successor to KGB's domestic operations divisions) is worried that more and more Russians are exchanging information using "foreign" encryption - in other words, Skype and e-mail services such as Gmail and Hotmail. Apparently, FSB officials feel that foreign encryptions impede their ability to collect information, which in turn impedes their ability to keep Russia secure.
From what I understand, FSB officials ultimately decided that banning Skype, Gmail and Hotmail outright wasn't worth the trouble, but they are thinking of ways to regulate services that use non-Russian encyptions. And no, I am not sure what that actually means.
For the record, Livejournal uses "foreign" software to secure users' personal information.
Suffice to say, I will definitely try to keep track of this story as it develops.
Source (Russian only)
From what I understand, FSB officials ultimately decided that banning Skype, Gmail and Hotmail outright wasn't worth the trouble, but they are thinking of ways to regulate services that use non-Russian encyptions. And no, I am not sure what that actually means.
For the record, Livejournal uses "foreign" software to secure users' personal information.
Suffice to say, I will definitely try to keep track of this story as it develops.
Source (Russian only)