Syrian rebels use Skype and satellite phones to get around internet outage

A recent outage left many in Syria without access to the internet, but that didn’t stop Syrian rebels from communicating over Skype. As the New York Times reports, due to previous outages, the rebels had stocked up on equipment like satellite phones in order to stay connected. They then used the satellite connection to get on Skype — a tool that’s become increasingly popular among the activists in recent months — in order to send information about attacks to fellow activists overseas. In fact, Skype has become such an integral part of the rebels’ toolset that it’s even used to relay information about the movement of government forces. “Through Skype you know how the army moves or can stop it,” activist Jad al-Yamani said. Though, as the Times points out, the combination of Skype and satellite phone service may also leave the rebels more open to government surveillance.