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IP: FBI "Carnivore" email interception system
From: Dave Farber <farber () cis upenn edu>
Date: Tue, 11 Jul 2000 09:16:23 -0700
From: David Lesher <wb8foz () nrk com> Subject: FBI "Carnivore" email interception system To: farber () cis upenn edu (David Farber) Date: Tue, 11 Jul 2000 10:34:02 -0400 (EDT) Reply-To: wb8foz () nrk com X-Mailer: ELM [version 2.5 PL1] IP Submission: FBI's System to Covertly Search E-Mail Raises Legal Issues, Privacy Concerns By NEIL KING JR. and TED BRIDIS Staff Reporters of THE WALL STREET JOURNAL WASHINGTON -- The U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation is using a superfast system called Carnivore to covertly search e-mails for messages from criminal suspects. Essentially a personal computer stuffed with specialized software, Carnivore represents a new twist in the federal government's fight to sustain its snooping powers in the Internet age. But in employing the system, which can scan millions of e-mails a second, the FBI has upset privacy advocates and some in the computer industry. Experts say the system opens a thicket of unresolved legal issues and privacy concerns. ........... The system also troubles some Internet service providers, who are loath to see outside software plugged into their systems. In many cases, the FBI keeps the secret Carnivore computer system in a locked cage on the provider's premises, with agents making daily visits to retrieve the data captured from the provider's network. But legal challenges to the use of Carnivore are few, and judges' rulings remain sealed because of the secretive nature of the investigations. Looks like Gilmore is right; we need to encrypt even routine email. Side questions: What happens when there is no space to install same? Or the data hotel wants outragous rents?
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- IP: FBI "Carnivore" email interception system Dave Farber (Jul 11)