The shame file: five evil uses of IT

Nokia technology tracks Iranian dissidents

Protests in Iran

In the wake of Iran's June presidential election, telecommunications services provider Nokia Siemens Networks (NSN) was accused of providing the Iranian Government with technology to monitor and censor dissidents.

The lawful Intercept capability allows Iran's national telecommunications operator, TCI, to monitor local voice calls on its fixed and mobile networks.

Telecommunications networks are legally required to provide lawful interception in many countries besides Iran, including the US and the EU. In Australia, lawful intercept is governed by the Telecommunications (Interception) Act 1979, which makes it illegal to intercept telecommunications unless under the authority of a law-enforcement warrant.

But Iran's use of such technology may have gone beyond Western standards. Human rights and immigration lawyer Lily Mazaheri told The Washington Post in April that one of her clients was arrested because copies of their instant messages were obtained by the Ministry of Intelligence.

Iran has confirmed more than 4000 arrests and at least 27 deaths in the protests. Protesters are said to be abused in prison. Meanwhile, websites and news media are censored. 

NSN says that its lawful Intercept technology adheres to European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI) and 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) standards.

The company admits to providing Iran with a monitoring facility that enabled law enforcement officers to access the network's lawful intercept capability last year. But it is said to be limited to monitoring only defined phone numbers, and not allow the scanning of network traffic or internet surveillance.

"Nokia Siemens Networks and other companies have delivered mobile networks to Iran over a period of years, long before the recent political developments," the company says in a statement.

"We are, of course, aware of reports from Iran and condemn any abuse of communication technologies that may have taken place."

The company declined to provide further comment for this story.

Read on for four more 'evil uses of IT."