Re: Fridays are always good for shock headlines...

[Gadi Evron <ge () linuxbox org>]

On Sat, 8 Jul 2006, Fergie wrote:
> Nothing new here, but just an FYI -- I figured some of you might
> want to be aware new pressures being exerted in the CALEA arena.
>
> Via C|Net.
>
> [snip]
>
> The FBI has drafted sweeping legislation that would require Internet
> service providers to create wiretapping hubs for police surveillance
> and force makers of networking gear to build in backdoors for
> eavesdropping, CNET News.com has learned. 
>
> [snip]
>
> More:
> http://news.com.com/2100-1028_3-6091942.html

It be far from me to suggest this isn't done as some kind of usual
conspiracy G-Man US thing, but as already discussed, these facilities make
sense to ISP's, and in my opinion, also to law enforcement:
Whether it is to avoid the inconvinience or potential damages to the ISP,
to make actionable intelligence viable quickly or to abuse the legality of
wiretaps, these make sense.

Potential abuse means a lot of things, and it certainly dictates prudence 
and vigilence by citizens and the Gov. That said, I think this may really 
be a win-win for both the LEO's and the ISP's.

Than again, if an ISP is approached once every 20 years, I hope the FBI
will be covering the costs. Someone always says they do?

        Gadi.

> - ferg
>
> p.s. When did the FBI start drafting legislation? ;-)
>
> --
> "Fergie", a.k.a. Paul Ferguson
>  Engineering Architecture for the Internet
>  fergdawg(at)netzero.net
>  ferg's tech blog: http://fergdawg.blogspot.com/