FC: FBI reportedly wants Badtrans worm's pilfered data --Rotten.com

[Declan McCullagh <declan () well com>]

http://www.dailyrotten.com/articles/archive/189387.html

   December 17, 2001 
   FBI wants access to worm's pilfered data
   
   A ROTTEN.COM EXCLUSIVE
   
   The FBI is asking for access to a massive database that contains the
   private communications and passwords of the victims of the Badtrans
   Internet worm. Badtrans spreads through security flaws in Microsoft
   mail software and transmits everything the victim types. Since
   November 24, Badtrans has violated the privacy of millions of Internet
   users, and now the FBI wants to take part in the spying.
   
   Victims of Badtrans are infected when they receive an email containing
   the worm in an attachment and either run the program by clicking on
   it, or use an email reader like Microsoft Outlook which may
   automatically run it without user intervention. Once executed, the
   worm replicates by sending copies of itself to all other email
   addresses found on the host's machine, and installs a keystroke-logger
   capable of stealing passwords including those used for telnet, email,
   ftp, and the web. Also captured is anything else the user may be
   typing, including personal documents or private emails.

   [...]
   
   Last week the FBI contacted the owner of MonkeyBrains, Rudy Rucker,
   Jr., and requested a cloned copy of the password database and
   keylogged data. The database includes only information stolen from the
   victims of the virus, not information about the perpetrator. The FBI
   wants indiscriminant access to the illegally extracted passwords and
   keystrokes of over two million people without so much as a warrant.
   Even with a warrant they would have to specify exactly what
   information they are after, on whom, and what they expect to find.
   Instead, they want it all and for no justifiable reason.

   [...]



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