FC: More on DOJ quietly drafts Domestic Security Enhancement Act

[Declan McCullagh <declan () well com>]

Kevin Poulsen has written about this over at Security Focus:
http://online.securityfocus.com/news/2296

Previous Politech message:
http://www.politechbot.com/p-04428.html

Here's the old SAFE Act (note very similar language):
http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d105:h.r.00695:

-Declan

---

From: "Ilya Haykinson" <ilyah () netapt com>
To: <declan () well com>
Subject: RE: DOJ quietly drafts USA Patriot II, includes anti-crypto section
Date: Fri, 7 Feb 2003 20:12:20 -0800

Declan,

Technically, the FastTrack network (KaZaA, Grokster) uses extreme
obfuscation and and perhaps even outright encryption in their messages
-- so much that RIAA's leaked memo from immediately before their lawsuit
against KaZaA folks made a note of the fact that the protocol still
remained a mystery to them.

(
see http://www.dotcomscoop.com/article.php?sid=39 -- here's an excerpt:

The FastTrack network designates (perhaps automatically) certain peers -
more powerful computers with high-band-width connections - as
"supernodes." [because of the system's encrypted communication, we are
unable to determine how supernodes are designated].
)

-ilya

---

Date: Fri, 7 Feb 2003 21:27:45 -0800
From: Stanton McCandlish <mech () cryptorights org>
Subject: Text & analysis of "PATRIOT Act II" (quicker download)

Full text of draft bill with DoJ "analysis" (spin):
http://www.well.com/~mech/temp/PATRIOT-II-draft.pdf  [12.3MB]
also a short DoJ statement about it:
http://www.well.com/~mech/temp/PATRIOT-II-DoJ.pdf  [230KB]
NB: These are not permanent URLs; the relevant orgs like EFF and EPIC
will surely archive these at permanent online locations pretty shortly.

Bill text originally available from:
http://www.publicintegrity.org/dtaweb/downloads/Story_01_020703_Doc_1.pdf
However, this download site is unbelievably slow, so I've archived a copy
at my WELL account for now (not a speed demon, but mech better than the
publicintegrity.org site).
_____________________________________________________________________
  Stanton McCandlish                     Chief Communications Officer
  +1.415.334.5533 #1                  CryptoRights Foundation (501c3)
                                      Securing Human Rights Worldwide
  http://www.cryptorights.org/join/


---

From: Emily <milys () trib com>
To: declan () well com
Subject: Re: FC: DOJ quietly drafts USA Patriot II, includes anti-crypto 
section
Date: Fri, 7 Feb 2003 20:07:45 -0800

On Friday 07 February 2003 06:53 pm, Declan McCullagh wrote:

> Question: When encryption is omnipresent in everything from wireless
> networks to hard drives to SSH clients, might the basic effect of such a
> law be to boost potential maximum prison terms by five years?

... exactly the way people now receive five-year sentence "enhancements" for
"using" firearms in a commission of a crime -- including firearms that are
locked in a trunk in another room, or closed in the glove compartment of a
nearby automobile.

Ruthless prosecutors will stop at nothing when they want to get you. Or when
they want to make themselves appear "tough on crime."

Normally I wouldn't worry too much about a bill that hasn't even been
introduced yet. But given that this one was written by John Ashcroft and
given that the Bush administration is expert at using "emergency" and
terrorism as a tool for getting whatever they want from Congress ... I'd be
scared ... very scared.

Thanks for doing such a good job of keeping Politech list members informed --
even though the news is usually bad.

Emily

---

Date: Sat, 8 Feb 2003 00:26:50 -0500
From: Dave Emery <die () die com>
To: Declan McCullagh <declan () well com>
Subject: Re: FC: DOJ quietly drafts USA Patriot II, includes anti-crypto 
section


> That's just one section of a 120-page bill. The rest is worth reading.
>
> -Declan

        That is the understatement of the week.   Wow... will we
have a constitution left ?

--
        Dave Emery N1PRE,  die () die com  DIE Consulting, Weston, Mass.
PGP fingerprint = 2047/4D7B08D1 DE 6E E1 CC 1F 1D 96 E2  5D 27 BD B0 24 88 
C3 18




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