Spy Agency Removes Illegal Tracking Files

[David Farber <dave () farber net>]

Begin forwarded message:

From: dss902 <dss902 () gmail com>
Date: December 29, 2005 3:46:48 PM EST
To: dave () farber net
Subject: Spy Agency Removes Illegal Tracking Files

Dear IP'ers,

Hot on the heels of the "Whitehouse Web site is bugged" thread comes
this little nugget from everyone's favorate easdropper, the NSA.

From the NY Times:

----CUT

The National Security Agency's Internet site has been placing files on
visitors' computers that can track their Web surfing activity despite
strict federal rules banning most files of that type.

The files, known as cookies, disappeared after a privacy activist
complained and The Associated Press made inquiries this week. Agency
officials acknowledged yesterday that they had made a mistake.
Nonetheless, the issue raised questions about privacy at the agency,
which is on the defensive over reports of an eavesdropping program.

"Considering the surveillance power the N.S.A. has, cookies are not
exactly a major concern," said Ari Schwartz, associate director at the
Center for Democracy and Technology, a privacy advocacy group in
Washington. "But it does show a general lack of understanding about
privacy rules when they are not even following the government's very
basic rules for Web privacy."

Until Tuesday, the N.S.A. site created two cookie files that do not
expire until 2035. Don Weber, an agency spokesman, said in a statement
yesterday that the use of the so-called persistent cookies resulted
from a recent software upgrade.

----END

The url http://tinyurl.com/b4g3y

Rock on.

dss902
--
...for good, or for awesome...


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