It’s hard to believe that a man at the forefront of Israel’s technological development could make a beginner’s mistake in technology. This morning, Israeli daily “Ma’ariv” reported that the hiding place of Comverse Technology Inc. (Nasdaq: CMVT) founder and former chairman and CEO Kobi Alexander had been located through a brief one-minute Skype conversation. How did this happen?
First, this was not an ordinary telephone call, but an Internet call. The Internet, like telephone lines, has a single value identification for each end-user computer. This is the IP address, which is like a telephone number no two are alike. Presumably, the private investigator monitoring Internet activity from Alexander’s home also monitored information entering the Alexander residence’s IP address. Using existing means, a person can monitor this information and see everything happening on the line as clear as if he were tapping an ordinary phone line.
Skype, through which Alexander was reportedly found, is IP software that enables voice communications (new versions also support video calls) over the Internet at no cost. The software has become hugely popular in recent years, and won a large and loyal clientele. Almost certainly, Alexander made calls via Skype, and the private investigator heard an identified his voice. At this point, the technological work to locate the physical location of the caller’s IP address begins, assuming, of course that he did not reveal his location in the brief conversation itself.
IP addresses are provided as a series of addresses to each Internet services provider (ISP) (such as Internet Gold Ltd., Bezeq International Ltd., Golden Lines Ltd., and so on). The ISP provides each subscriber with a personal address. When the private investigator identified the caller’s IP address, all he had to do was copy the address into one of the many websites that provide the details of ISPs. Usually, a mass of information can be found in a detailed report provided by these websites. Included in the mass of technical data is its name and physical address: country, town and street. Bingo - Sri Lanka.
The private investigator’s work is almost over at this point. The search for Alexander was now reduced from the entire planet to the ISP’s area of coverage. Simple investigative legwork could now bring the private investigator to Alexander’s hiding place. If the private investigator has connections with the Sri Lankan ISP, he can also save a few hours of observation and searches, and receive on a silver platter the address of the location from which Alexander’s calls were made.
The second scenario appears more likely. Sri Lanka has a population of 20 million and low Internet penetration rate: only 300,000 residents are online. For the sake of comparison, over one million of Israel’s seven million people have Internet access.
To find an IP address in Sri Lanka, go to DNSstuff WHOIS results for 202.51.144.72. Please note that the information includes the ISP’s telephone number and contact persons.
Alexander’s second mistake
If Alexander is actually in Sri Lanka, he made a serious mistake in fleeing there, because it has an extradition treaty with the US. The extradition treaty was signed in 1931 between the US and the UK, when Sri Lanka was the British colony of Ceylon. The crimes of which Alexander is accused are apparently extraditable offenses under the treaty.
Alexander can naturally appeal extradition proceedings in Sri Lanka, as Zeev Rosenstein recently (and unsuccessfully) tried to do in Israel. Adv. Meir Rosen, a partner in the Balter, Guth, Aloni & Co. law firm and former Ministry of Foreign Affairs legal advisor, believes that Alexander’s US lawyers will open negotiations with the US district attorney for a combined plea bargain and extradition agreement. Rosen said that, since extradition proceedings and a court case in the US could last a long time and cost dearly, US district attorneys sometimes prefer a comprehensive settlement.
Rosen said that, if the extradition treaty does not apply to Alexander for any reason, the US could reach a one-time reciprocal extradition agreement with the Sri Lankan authorities, under which the US would extradite someone to Sri Lanka in the future. Another possibility is that Sri Lanka will expel Alexander to the closest country willing to accept him, in which case he can only hope that the new host country does not have an extradition treaty with the US.
Rosen added that in the event that Alexander does serve jail time, it is generally served in the country deemed his primary residence.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes.co.il - on August 24, 2006
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