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Deep packet inspection takes another hit as Phorm execs leave

The future isn't looking too bright for those in the business of Deep Packet Inspection, notably a company called Phorm where leadership has been eroding this month.You'll recall that DPI is the technology that some ISPs were considering to scour a customer's computer for granular information so it could deliver more relevant ads.
Written by Sam Diaz, Inactive

The future isn't looking too bright for those in the business of Deep Packet Inspection, notably a company called Phorm where leadership has been eroding this month.

You'll recall that DPI is the technology that some ISPs were considering to scour a customer's computer for granular information so it could deliver more relevant ads. Yeah, totally inappropriate big brother behavior - at least in the U.S., where lawmakers drilled ISPs about their involvement and the one of the leading companies, Nebuad, has been slapped with a class action lawsuit.

But in the U.K., a company called Phorm got the legal go-ahead from regulators there to proceed with DPI. But that doesn't mean that the company is a smashing success. British Telecom has been testing the technology and is expected to roll out ads to broadband customers next year. But, in the meantime, the financials - dwindling cash and a lack of revenue - have been plaguing the company.

Earlier this month, the company's chairman, chief operating officer and two other board members following differences with CEO Kent Ertugrul, according to Reuters. Now, the U.K.-based CEO Hugo Drayton has announced that he will leave "by mutual agreement" at the end of the year but will continue on as an advisor, according to The Register. The company's CFO, Lynne Millar, has also left.

DSLReports.com notes that the executives who left earlier this month were all U.S.-based and interested in bringing the technology to the states to fill in where Nebuad left off. I suspect they'll be drilled about concerns about privacy and wiretapping laws here, just the way Nebuad was.

Previous coverage: Does Big Brother know where you’ve been surfing? NebuAd, ISPs, named in class action lawsuit

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