DEA key logger used to eavesdrop in real time on alleged drug manufacturers [priv]

[Declan McCullagh <declan () well com>]

I've posted excerpts from the DEA PDFs at the link below and could post 
the PDFs themselves if there's sufficient interest. Previous Politech 
message, from way back in December 2000:
http://www.politechbot.com/p-01545.html

-Declan

----

http://news.com.com/8301-10784_3-9741357-7.html

Feds use key logger to thwart PGP, Hushmail
July 10, 2007 4:45 AM PDT

A recent court case provides a rare glimpse into how some federal agents 
deal with encryption: by breaking into a suspect's home or office, 
implanting keystroke-logging software, and spying on what happens from afar.

An agent with the Drug Enforcement Administration persuaded a federal 
judge to authorize him to sneak into an Escondido, Calif., office 
believed to be a front for manufacturing the drug MDMA, or Ecstasy. The 
DEA received permission to copy the hard drives' contents and inject a 
keystroke logger into the computers.

That was necessary, according to DEA Agent Greg Coffey, because the 
suspects were using PGP and the encrypted Web e-mail service 
Hushmail.com. Coffey asserted that the DEA needed "real-time and 
meaningful access" to "monitor the keystrokes" for PGP and Hushmail 
passphrases.

[...]
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