cannabisnews.com: FBI's Carnivore Gets a Thumbs Up FBI's Carnivore Gets a Thumbs Up Posted by FoM on November 22, 2000 at 11:20:12 PT By Andrea L. Foster Source: Chronicle of Higher Education The Illinois Institute of Technology Research Institute has concluded that Carnivore, the e-mail and Internet surveillance system recently adopted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, generally works as its backers say it does. The research institute, a nonprofit affiliate of I.I.T., presented its findings to the Justice Department in a draft report released Tuesday. Critics contested the findings almost immediately. The report largely supports the F.B.I.'s position that Carnivore gathers only mail going to and coming from criminal suspects. The Justice Department selected a university-affiliated organization to review Carnivore in hopes of assuaging critics who argued that the system could intrude on the privacy of innocent people. Harold J. Krent, who is associate dean of I.I.T.'s Chicago-Kent College of Law and who was involved in the review, said Carnivore captures less information than is permitted by court orders, and less than similar surveillance systems that are available commercially. "It is a filter that works largely as advertised," he said. He also said, however, that Carnivore tends to collect too much information when trying to ascertain the origin and destination of e-mail messages. And he said Carnivore needs refining in order to protect people's privacy. Mr. Krent acknowledged that a rogue F.B.I. agent could misuse Carnivore and gather information that he or she is not authorized to collect. In order to detect such abuse, the report urges the F.B.I. to develop an audit trail that would track who uses Carnivore, for what purpose, and when. The Justice Department posted parts of the draft review on its Web site Tuesday, but withheld the institute's recommendations and information about Carnivore's settings. "I don't think that these findings give Carnivore the clean bill of health the reviewers claim," said David L. Sobel, general counsel for the Electronic Privacy Information Center, a research group that promotes privacy and civil liberties. "If one of the findings is that the F.B.I. can accidentally gather more than it's legally authorized to, that goes to the heart of the privacy concerns that have been raised about the system." The American Civil Liberties Union said the report should be viewed with great skepticism. "This report is, at best, a fuzzy snapshot of Carnivore, and it will be obsolete in two months when the F.B.I. comes out with the next version of Carnivore," said Barry Steinhardt, associate director of the A.C.L.U. Complete Title: FBI's Carnivore Gets a Thumbs Up from Illinois Institute's Research ArmSource: Chronicle of Higher Education, The (US)Author: Andrea L. FosterPublished: Wednesday, November 22, 2000Copyright: 2000 by The Chronicle of Higher EducationContact: editor chronicle.comWebsite: http://chronicle.com/A.C.L.U.http://www.aclu.org/CannabisNews Articles - Carnivorehttp://cannabisnews.com/thcgi/search.pl?K=carnivore END SNIP --> Snipped Home Comment Email Register Recent Comments Help Comment #8 posted by FoM on November 22, 2000 at 18:26:59 PT Where the comments go Hi dddd, MikeEEEEE had made an accidential double post then posted and asked me to fix it. I removed his extra post and his request for me to fix it. When you see spaces in numbers like this thread that is what I did. I never remove a persons comments but if they double post I remove the extra one or ones. I have fixed links if I can. Sometimes I can and sometimes I just can't but I'll try if it is a simple problem that I am familiar with fixing and if not I leave it alone.Have a Happy Thanksgiving Too! I am going to cook and eat lots of food tomorrow! Peace, FoM! [ Post Comment ] Comment #7 posted by dddd on November 22, 2000 at 17:54:51 PT I agree Yes FoM.I have always assumed that they could find anyone.This seems a bit spooky though,because now they are able to do it "legally"... Have a good thanksgiving.....ddddP.S.What happened to comments 3 & 4? [ Post Comment ] Comment #6 posted by FoM on November 22, 2000 at 17:07:01 PT My 2 cents Hi dddd,Yes they can track anyone it seems. All they need to do is use the words criminal suspect. I guess I have always felt that anyone could be found if they want to find someone. I think they have so many actual crimes going on online that they aren't interested in people trying to change laws that don't work. Free speech we still have. I believe they will go after child pornographers and pedophiles. If they worry about people like us then they aren't really keeping their eyes out for real criminals.Peace, FoM! [ Post Comment ] Comment #5 posted by dddd on November 22, 2000 at 16:32:37 PT suspects? "The report largely supports the F.B.I.'s position that Carnivore gathers only mail going to andcoming from criminal suspects." Who is it that defines or decides who "criminal suspects" are?Theoreticly,anyone could be labeled a "criminal suspect".So in other words,they can snoop into anyones mail they want.This is an outrage!"Mr. Krent acknowledged that a rogue F.B.I. agent could misuse Carnivore and gather information that he or she is notauthorized to collect. In order to detect such abuse, the report urges the F.B.I. to develop an audit trail that would track whouses Carnivore, for what purpose, and when. " Oh,how reassuring,they "urge"the fbi to keep track of who and why they are snooping. This is the beginning of the end of the internets free speech.Everyone who posts messages here could be "suspects",and therefore legally monitored in all incoming and outgoing mail,and websurfing. This is the beginning of the end.I knew it was too good to last.If the fbi can get away with this,it wont be long before all law enforcement will be allowed to snoop on "suspects........dddd [ Post Comment ] Comment #2 posted by MikeEEEEE on November 22, 2000 at 13:38:04 PT Big Bother military officer guy, kids are the poster child for big bother. It used to be Uncle Sam, but he retired, he's now living on Social Security and trying to afford scraps of food; oh sure, he once believed he was being taken care of. Now big bother finds the kiddies more likable, more to the liking of the public mentality. Idea: 1. Make the population fear for their kids. 2. Inject propaganda messages into the public while they're in a state of fear or confusion. Solution: Wake up -- something Big Bother fears. [ Post Comment ] Comment #1 posted by military officer guy on November 22, 2000 at 13:16:55 PT big brother at it's best... what have we come to..?this is unreal...it's all in the name of saving our kids... [ Post Comment ] Post Comment Name: Optional Password: E-Mail: Subject: Comment: [Please refrain from using profanity in your message] Link URL: Link Title: