more on Gonzales Pressures ISPs on Data Retention

[David Farber <dave () farber net>]

Begin forwarded message:

From: mis () seiden com
Date: May 27, 2006 9:18:39 AM EDT
To: David Farber <dave () farber net>
Cc: ip () v2 listbox com
Subject: Re: [IP] Gonzales Pressures ISPs on Data Retention

for ip, if you'd like, but please anonymize:

i'm working as an expert on several cases of posession and
distribution of child porn.

one of the cases if of an individual who apparently offered free shell
accounts and web space.  one of his users offered child porn on an IRC
channel to be fetched by ftp from his site.  the key question will be
was he a bona-fide ISP, but also his retained logs of connections
should show he didn't do it.  i sure hope he retained logs.  (in this
case, the connections occurred not long before the postal inspectors
showed up at his house and took away all his servers).

in another case, it is apparent that the accused's aol account was
compromised and used by several third parties (or would that be "third
through nth") over a long time to distribute child porn.  the very
limited IP address history the govt has been able to extract from AOL
is exculpatory but only covers a brief period.  (an unlucky defendant
would have experienced no intrusions during the period which was  
logged).

        but also, somewhat off-topic:
        the govt is relying on the fact that a few of these images were ON HIS
        HARD DRIVE,  and how did they get there, unless he downloaded them or
        solicited them?

        it turns out there's a lovely convenience feature in recent AOL
	clients.  if you view a piece of mail with an image attachment, the  
image
        is downloaded to your hard drive automatically, and it stays there
	EVEN AFTER YOU DELETE the mail.  handy for keeping those bar mitzvah  
pics
        or your newborn cousin.  not so handy if someone sends you child porn
	with no subject line (as these were) and you happen to click on it  
on the
        way to the trashcan.

my main point here is that good logs can be useful in preventing  
wrongful prosecution
by the govt or in raising an adequate defense (and more  difficult  
without them).

particularly these days when child pornographers are sophisticated
enough to not use their own accounts or machines for their activities.
run unpatched software?  choose a weak password?  it could happen to  
you.

isn't it sad when we think about the benefits of surveillance to  
protect us
against our government?  it's not supposed to work this way.



On Sat, May 27, 2006 at 06:57:05AM -0400, David Farber wrote:
> Begin forwarded message:
>
> From: Gregory Hicks <ghicks () well com>
> Date: May 27, 2006 2:40:29 AM EDT
> To: dave () farber net, ip () v2 listbox com
> Cc: ghicks () cadence com
> Subject: Gonzales Pressures ISPs on Data Retention
> Reply-To: Gregory Hicks <ghicks () well com>
>
> Dave:
>
> For IP if you wish.
>
> Not only will this "...help in prosecutions of child pornography..."
> but it will help the Gov't to track what each of us does.  Should I
> worry?  I don't like the idea of ANYONE keeping track of what I do.
> And who knows what future administrations are going to be looking for?
>
> The powers-that-be have stated, more than once, that since we get
> billed for 'some activity' that we really have no expectations of
> privacy for that 'activity' (phone calls, email, internet usage).  And
> that "business records" are available for the asking without court
> oversight.
>
> This quote of Mike Godwin's is really timely:
>
> "I worry about my child and the Internet all the time, even though
> she's too young to have logged on yet.  Here's what I worry about.  I
> worry that 10 or 15 years from now, she will come to me and say  
> 'Daddy,
> where were you when they took freedom of the press away from the
> Internet?'" --Mike Godwin --from the Cryptography list
>
> Anyway, ...
>
> Via C|Net News.
>
> [snip]
>
> U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales and FBI Director Robert Mueller
> on Friday urged telecommunications officials to record their  
> customers'
> Internet activities, CNET News.com has learned.
>
> In a private meeting with industry representatives, Gonzales, Mueller
> and other senior members of the Justice Department said Internet
> service providers should retain subscriber information and network  
> data
> for two years, according to two sources familiar with the discussion
> who spoke on condition of anonymity.
>
> The closed-door meeting at the Justice Department, which Gonzales had
> requested, according to the sources, comes as the idea of legally
> mandated data retention has become popular on Capitol Hill and inside
> the Bush administration. Supporters of the idea say it will help
> prosecutions of child pornography because in many cases, logs are
> deleted during the routine course of business.
>
> [snip]
>
> More here:
> http://news.com.com/2100-1028_3-6077654.html
>
> ---------------------------------------------------------------------
> "I believe there are more instances of the abridgement of the freedoms
> of the people by gradual and silent encroachment of those in power  
> than
> by violent and sudden usurpations."  -- James Madison
>
> "A democracy is a sheep and two wolves deciding on what to have for
> lunch.  Freedom is a well armed sheep contesting the results of the
> decision." - Benjamin Franklin
>
> "The best we can hope for concerning the people at large is that they
> be properly armed." --Alexander Hamilton
>
>
>
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