cannabisnews.com: Reno Will Not Suspend Carnivore Use During Review





Reno Will Not Suspend Carnivore Use During Review
Posted by FoM on July 27, 2000 at 17:20:40 PT
By David A. Vise, Washington Post Staff Writer
Source: Washington Post
Attorney General Janet Reno said today she will not suspend use of Carnivore – the FBI's controversial Internet wiretap system – but will closely monitor its use while conducting a thorough review of the powerful tool. Civil liberties groups, Internet service providers and some members of Congress say Carnivore should be shut down because it raises questions about what constitutes a reasonable search and seizure of electronic data. 
While attempting to target possible criminal activity, they say Carnivore also could scan private information about legal activities involving innocent people, leaving their e-mail messages in the hands of law enforcement officials who abuse their authority.Reno said she understands the fears people have about Carnivore and will try to address them through a multi-step review process."I think it's very important for the American people to feel that they are the master of technology, not that technology is mastering them," Reno said at her weekly press briefing. "For us to be able to do that requires that we be able to explain the process and address the issues raised by the industry, privacy experts and others."A group of 27 House Republicans and one Democrat strongly urged Reno today to suspend the use of Carnivore immediately, given the threat they say it poses to privacy."People should feel secure that the federal government is not reading their e-mail, no matter how worthy the objective," said a letter to Reno from House Repuplican majority leader Dick Armey (R.-Texas) and other legislators. "Given the uproar Carnivore has created, ... we urge you to suspend any activity involving the development or use of Carnivore until the serious privacy issues involved have been satisfactorily answered."FBI officials have described Carnivore as a "packet sniffer" that offers great specificity, including the ability to quickly collect just the "to" and "from" information in e-mail messages. They say it can be focused on criminal activity alone and that it is essentially no different than the long-standing ability of federal agents to wiretap telephone conversations.Reno wants a group of experts from the academic community to conduct a detailed review of Carnivore and then report its findings to a panel that includes privacy experts and executives from the computer and telecommunications industries. Privacy advocates and Internet service providers have urged the FBI to release the source code for Carnivore so that they can draw their own conclusions about its capability.Reno said the review she envisions would include an analysis of whether to release the source code. "I think we have got to look at the whole issue and make a determination as to whether the source code can be released, consistent with appropriate law enforcement interests," the attorney general said."I think we will continue to make sure that it is implemented carefully and that there is no abuse in its use, when there are valid law enforcement purposes for it. Clearly we have an issue where people have questions and government has a responsibility to try to answer those questions as much as it can."E-mail: letterstoed washpost.com Feedback: http://washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/edit/letters/letterform.htmNewsHawk: Dan BBy David A. ViseWashington Post Staff WriterThursday, July 27, 2000; 12:51 PM © 2000 The Washington Post Company Related Articles:Search Warrants for Online Data Soar http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread6538.shtmlYour Papers, Please... Carnivore Under Seige http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread6500.shtmlFBI Web Monitoring Debated http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread6476.shtmlCannabisNews Articles On Carnivore:http://cannabisnews.com/thcgi/search.pl?K=carnivore 
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Comment #5 posted by FoM on August 04, 2000 at 20:08:54 PT
Will Crypto Feast on Carnivore? 
By Chris Oakes Web Posted: August 4, 2000 Wired Magazinehttp://www.wired.com/ Do you encrypt your email before you send it? Probably not. Most electronic mail traverses the Internet as unscrambled, easy-to-read packets of text. Should it be intercepted and pieced together by reasonably skilled interlopers, your message is theirs for the reading. Click the link to read the complete article.http://www.wired.com/news/technology/0,1282,37915,00.html
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Comment #4 posted by kaptinemo on July 28, 2000 at 10:15:55 PT:
Trust the FBI? TRUST?
The FBI's penchant for snooping was a hallmark of J. Edgar Hoover. But that penchant didn't die with that venomous old toad:http://www.lexis-nexis.com/cispubs/Catalog/research%20collections/american%20studies/fbi%20studies/FBI%20Wiretaps,%20Bugs,%20and%20Break-Ins.htmCOINTELPRO Revistedhttp://www.lexis-nexis.com/cispubs/Catalog/research%20collections/american%20studies/fbi%20studies/FBI%20Wiretaps,%20Bugs,%20and%20Break-Ins.htmTHE FBIhttp://faculty.ncwc.edu/toconnor/392/spy/fbi.htmIt's 'black bag' bunch are alive and well, and have gone high-tech. But the idea is still the same: busily urinating on the Bill of Rights, just as it did in ol' JEH's day, while loudly braying to the sheep that they are only doing what they do 'for your own good'. Nothing ever changes.
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Comment #3 posted by dddd on July 28, 2000 at 03:02:59 PT
Gimme a freekin break!
 Read the opening paragraph again;"Attorney General Janet Reno said today she will not suspend use of Carnivore – theFBI's controversial Internet wiretap system – but will closely monitor its use whileconducting a thorough review of the powerful tool." The most tragic thing,is that there are people out there who will actually believe this.....GOOD GRIEF!!! Yea,,I'm sure Janet Reno will be able to keep a sharp eye on any misuse.I guess she'll get some of the most trusted people at the fbi,to make sure that no one uses it in an inappropriate manner.....What a SHAM!.....What a jive!......What a ruse!.....an absolute subterfuge...................dddd 
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Comment #2 posted by MikeEEEEE on July 27, 2000 at 17:50:09 PT
Letters
If someone has time please write the Washington Post, this is an obvious attempt at our privacy, I wrote one letter tonight and don't have the time.Thanks
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Comment #1 posted by MikeEEEEE on July 27, 2000 at 17:46:05 PT
Just Think
Remember: Reno ordered a SWAT team into a little boys home.In the following sentence she says: "I think it's very important for the American people to feel that they are the master of technology, not that technology is mastering them," Reno said at her weekly press briefing. "For us to be able to do that requires that we be able to explain the process and address the issues raised by the industry, privacy experts and others."Translated: It means the masters (the master race) needs to control the internet.Here's the foot in the door approach: "I think we will continue to make sure that it is implemented carefully and that there is no abuse in its use,"Translated: We'll continue to do what we want until you stop us.Summary: If the masters can't be trusted with a pen then how could they be trusted with technology?
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