the world out there

Phil Zimmermann is back with a neat little application allowing to encrypt VOIP conversations Zfone. it's still in beta, but worth trying. the idea is good, the tool seems to be working reliable and is easy to use. Phil Zimmermann is also the guy who invented PGP, a software to encrypt e-mails. also highly recommended, since there is no reason to send e-mails open for everyone else to read like a letter without an envelope.

Report on the existence of a global system for the interception of private and commercial communications (ECHELON interception system) European Commission Final Report on Echelon. This report also covers the effectiveness of e-mail encryption systems like PGP. This report is interesting, because it confirms some of the assumptions that the US government is trying to control global electronic communication.