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FBI Carnivore Screwup Destroys E-Mail Evidence 305

Posted by timothy from the now-how-much-will-you-pay dept.
An Anonymous Coward writes: "The FBI apparently used Carivore in an attempt to collect information on Osama bin Laden't network. Unfortunately they screwed up and collected information on "non-covered targets" (*ahem*, isn't this the sort of thing we weren't supposed to worry about...). Then the FBI tech was "so upset" that he destroyed ALL of the collected email, not only the information that was not covered by the warrant. Here is the SF Gate Story and EPIC's press release."
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FBI Carnivore Screwup Destroys E-Mail Evidence More

FBI Carnivore Screwup Destroys E-Mail Evidence

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  • They didn't do a backup of the evidence before somebody could destroy it?
  • it was just osama's pr0n password. he isn't gonna use email anyway, CNN told everyone the government would read osama's mail. come on

    • Re:better than nothing (Score:1, Interesting)

      by Anonymous Coward
      If someone wanted a secret Email box to recieive messages, anyone could just create a hotmail account like "hjh456@hotmail.com" - one for each day's use. There is NO WAY carnivore will capture that.

      Floppy disks with PGP keys are used to decrypt the message.

      These accounts could be setup WEEKS ago, one for each day. They would be un-traceable.

      From one who knows...
      • from one who knows???... an AC... ok first of all its not untracable... know how much a carnivore bo can hold? neither do i but i would bet it a least a couple hndred gigs... so it would be very easy for them to keep a back log of the last coupld months of email...

  • Fbi Document (Score:5, Informative)

    by alphaseven ( 540122 ) on Tuesday May 28, 2002 @08:54PM (#3599183)
    Here's the original FBI memo: http://www.epic.org/privacy/carnivore/fisa.html [epic.org]
  • Now we will here that their own forensic data recovery types will suceed -- but only the /bin/laden data, of course.
  • "Oh, those privacy minded techs who read our email, they destroy it if its not covered by a warrant, we can trust the FBI"

    Yea right.

  • Damn them! (Score:3, Funny)

    by reynolds_john ( 242657 ) on Tuesday May 28, 2002 @08:57PM (#3599200)
    What is a geek to do when he can't rely on his own government to keep secret, accurate, and complete backups of his email!?
  • Gotta be more careful with those rm -rf 's

    • Re:Yeah... (Score:5, Funny)

      by Ieshan ( 409693 ) <ieshan@g[ ]l.com ['mai' in gap]> on Tuesday May 28, 2002 @09:08PM (#3599274) Homepage Journal
      Unfortunately, he must of have forgot the Laden:

      rm -rf /bin/laden

      We all know he just typed:

      rm -rf /bin.
      • That ain't funny! One time, I installed AOL's aim program for linux (back before I knew there was gaim) and gave it a try. Unfortunately it's just a simple tar.gz so I untarred it in my home directory. There was no compilation. It installed everything under /home/alan/usr/local. I decided it sucked (and it does) so I was going to remove it.

        alan@darkstar~$su
        root@darkstar:/home/alan#rm -fr /usr

        DOH!
        • You shouldn't have to su for deleting some stuff inside your own home directory.

          (Unless the files weren't yours, of course.)
        • And on a related note, do not ever EVER attempt to delete all hidden files with the command:

          rm -rf .*

          Login as root and do this in /root, and you've erased your entire harddrive. I'll leave the reason why as an exercise for the reader.

    • Re:Yeah... (Score:2, Funny)

      by Anonymous Coward
      not rm -rf... it runs on NT.. the stuff is probably still in the trash bin, or recycle box, or refuse pile, or Whatever-TF they call it.
  • Is Carnivore still around? I heard they were tracking gaming websites, particularly those that involve terrorists and counter-terrorists. Counterstrike is not only the number one online game right now, but there are many websites revolving around it. For example, NerdTreeHouse [nerdtreehouse.com] is a huge haven for Counterstrike fans and I heard the FBI requested information from them. I'm not sure what happened.
  • I hope they have all the backups of the porn spam that I've been receiving lately. I'm sure I'm missing out on some good deals. Oh, and those "fake" paypal and icq activation emails too!

    why can't they track crap like that down too?

  • check THIS out (Score:5, Informative)

    by drDugan ( 219551 ) on Tuesday May 28, 2002 @09:00PM (#3599217) Homepage
    www.time.com/time/covers/1101020603/memo.html

    you've got to read it to believe it.

    • If anyone knows how to email Colleen Rowley (the FBI agent who wrote the letter whose URL appears above), please send her the following URL:

      Make a Bonfire of Your Reputations
      http://www.goingware.com/reputation/ [goingware.com]

      What the heck, I'll just post the speech here, it's not that long:

      When I was asked to make this address I wondered what I had to say to you boys who are graduating. And I think I have one thing to say. If you wish to be useful, never take a course that will silence you. Refuse to learn anything that implies collusion, whether it be a clerkship or a curacy, a legal fee or a post in a university. Retain the power of speech no matter what other power you may lose. If you can take this course, and in so far as you take it, you will bless this country. In so far as you depart from this course, you become dampers, mutes, and hooded executioners.

      As a practical matter, a mere failure to speak out upon occassions where no statement is asked or expect from you, and when the utterance of an uncalled for suspicion is odious, will often hold you to a concurrence in palpable iniquity. Try to raise a voice that will be heard from here to Albany and watch what comes forward to shut off the sound. It is not a German sergeant, nor a Russian officer of the precinct. It is a note from a friend of your father's, offering you a place at his office. This is your warning from the secret police. Why, if you any of young gentleman have a mind to make himself heard a mile off, you must make a bonfire of your reputations, and a close enemy of most men who would wish you well.

      I have seen ten years of young men who rush out into the world with their messages, and when they find how deaf the world is, they think they must save their strength and wait. They believe that after a while they will be able to get up on some little eminence from which they can make themselves heard. "In a few years," reasons one of them, "I shall have gained a standing, and then I shall use my powers for good." Next year comes and with it a strange discovery. The man has lost his horizon of thought, his ambition has evaporated; he has nothing to say. I give you this one rule of conduct. Do what you will, but speak out always. Be shunned, be hated, be ridiculed, be scared, be in doubt, but don't be gagged. The time of trial is always. Now is the appointed time.

      John J. Chapman
      Commencement Address to the Graduating Class of Hobart College, 1900

      I found Chapman's speech quoted in the printed edition of The Cluetrain Manifesto [cluetrain.com], and from the moment I read it, I was unable to rest until I had up on my website at the above URL.

      It's not easy to speak out about what you believe in, but if more people did, the world would be a better place.

      • Here's Colleen Rowley's contact info. The news reports and her letter indicate she works at the Minneapolis FBI field office, so I guess anything sent to the address or fax number listed on their contact page [fbi.gov] should reach her.

        Federal Bureau of Investigation

        111 Washington Avenue South, Suite 1100
        Minneapolis, MN 55401
        Phone: (612) 376-3200 Fax: (612) 376-3249
        Email: minneapolis@fbi.gov [mailto]

        I'm going to write a brief letter with the above speech included and fax it to her later today.

        Mike

  • FBI's "outdated" computer systems? (Score:3, Interesting)

    by visualight ( 468005 ) on Tuesday May 28, 2002 @09:01PM (#3599223) Homepage
    Attorney General John Ashcroft and FBI Director Robert Mueller were expected to outline high-profile changes Wednesday at the FBI's headquarters, including closer ties to the CIA and an overhaul of the FBI's outdated computer systems.

    Does anyone believe for a second that the FBI's computer systems are outdated? Sounds like a spin job to me....

    Later watch the FBI try to attribute their missed tip-offs prior to 9/11 to slow computers. They'll have all kinds of "contributing" factors that'll spread the blame out thin enough so no one loses their job.
    • Reportedly, former FBI director Louis Freeh didn't use email, and as a result the computers weren't upgrade.

      IIRC I heard it on CNN.
    • Yes. They are horribly outdated. They are working on making some very sophisticated systems, but for now they are stuck with some ancient computers. These aren't the kind of computers that can be updated with a quick trip to wal-mart, the FBI requires machines that are capable of storing, retrieving, and search huge amounts of digital data (including documents that have been scanned in, as well as pictures and movies). These don't come cheap, and they don't come easily.
    • I found it a bit odd that the scanned memo someone pointed to here [epic.org] is a print from an Outlook email client. Maybe the "missing" emails will be randomly sent to 50 contacts from their Lookout! address book by one of the email viruses floating around. I didn't figure the FBI would be running such an unsecure messaging platform. Maybe their systems really are "outdated."

    • Re:FBI's "outdated" computer systems? (Score:5, Insightful)

      by delong ( 125205 ) on Wednesday May 29, 2002 @12:58AM (#3600240)
      Who modded this up as interesting?

      This is the sort of ignorance that should have been completely destroyed by 9/11. Why do you not believe that the FBI has severely outdated machines? Because the typical Slashdotter has an extremely distorted perception of the scope and extent of governmental power and efficacy. When the CIA starts up a venture capital firm to fund technology ideas to jump start itself in playing catch-up with the private sector, that says something. When the NSA goes on 60 Minutes and says "we're friggin way behind," that speaks volumes. The government USED to have the biggest and the best. Today, the private sector, as far as information technology goes, is WAY ahead of the agencies.

      Remember, when Clinton entered office in 93, there WERE NO COMPUTERS in the White House! They still USED TELETYPES. In 93!

      Derek
      • When the NSA goes on 60 Minutes and says "we're friggin way behind," that speaks volumes.

        I don't consider myself a conspiracy theorist, but I seem to remember something pointing to official reports about what development year the CIA was in computer hardware / software. We (the world outside of the US govt) are in something like development year 35, roughly, or were at the time of this report. Basically that means that we have had the equivalant of 35 years worth of development on computers since they became redily available to the public. This doesn't mean it was 35 years ago or something, computer development has supposedly progressed more development years than real years.
        That said, the CIA released at some point they were in development year 87.

        ~Will

  • Not Destroyed? (Score:5, Funny)

    by Myriad ( 89793 ) <myriad@the[ ]d.com ['bso' in gap]> on Tuesday May 28, 2002 @09:01PM (#3599228) Homepage
    A Justice Department official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Tuesday night that the e-mails were not destroyed.

    FBI Agent 1: We have a problem... Carnivore was doing its thing, but we got caught grabbing stuff we shouldn't!

    FBI Agent 2: Hmmm. I know! We claim that some lowly tech in a spat of moral outrage deletes ALL the material as he is so offended that it captured the, uhh, "non-target" mail, but we actually keep all the files and use them as we see fit.

    FBI Agent 1: Perfect!

    FBI Agent 2: (Takes long drag off cigarette)

    • is that post-coital cigarette? from screwing everyone all the time?
  • Hopefully this sort of thing will get more press attention, that way more people see how evil Carnivore really is.
  • Good lord, haven't they ever heard of procmail [procmail.org]:

    :0:
    * ^From:.+al-quaida.org
    terrorist

    Perhaps that's what all the open source debate at
    the Pentagon was really about.
  • Wouldn't this be something if the deleted email also just happened to contain additional FBI memos and/or information related to the pre-9/11 memo that has been circulating around the news.

    "Whoops. Sorry boss, but I destroyed that damning piece of evidence that links our field office to the overlooked memos regarding the WTC tragedy. I hope this doesn't get me in too much trouble...."

  • What's all the fuss about? (Score:3, Insightful)

    by iritant ( 156271 ) <lear.ofcourseimright@com> on Tuesday May 28, 2002 @09:04PM (#3599247) Homepage
    The guy goofed. What's nice to read is that he was upset about collecting information on innocent Americans, and that he deleted it. I would have been more upset if he did something with the information. Could you imagine the slashdot headline for *that*?

  • Maybe they should rename it (Score:5, Funny)

    by Virtex ( 2914 ) on Tuesday May 28, 2002 @09:05PM (#3599252)
    So Carnivore ate its own data? Maybe they should give it a new name. I think Cannibal would work pretty well.

  • Perhaps... (Score:2, Interesting)

    by TibbonZero ( 571809 )
    Perhaps this can be a fighting point for us against the carnavore. This proves that they are collecting the wrong stuff. I would have liked for them to find Bin Laden, and the FBI can go through my Akai mailing list and Spam that I recieve if that will catch him, because I don't really do anything personal that isn't encrypted heavily.

    I wonder if this will be the evidence that they need to make them stop using it.

  • Destroyed? (Score:5, Interesting)

    by mrbuckles ( 201938 ) on Tuesday May 28, 2002 @09:06PM (#3599260)
    The article actually says that the collected information was not destroyed -- citing an unnamed source. One would wonder with the backups a system like that would (should) have that destroying the evidence would be a lengthy job and may not have been done completely.

    The article also notes people who have had their e-mail unintentionally collected are entitled to be informed. Can't wait to see if that happens...
    • I think what that anonymous source meant was that the tech *thought* he destroyed them.

      "The FBI technical person was apparently so upset that he destroyed all the e-mail take, including the take on" the suspect, the memo said.
      A Justice Department official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Tuesday night that the e-mails were not destroyed.

      Ya'll would be surprised what forensics software can do. I've worked with it at the government level. I think what the anon source was getting at is that they have recovered the "destroyed" data.
      It is almost impossible to destroy data. You pretty much have to run over your hdd with your car. Anyone that thinks otherwise is fooling themselves. The forensics software that governments are using is unbelievable. Deleted, Formatted 8 times and written over 20 times? no problem. You're damn right that destroying the data would be a lengthy job. You have to light the fire that will burn the hdd after all. :)
  • I wonder just how much data they captured.

    Of course, if they *really* wanted to, they could do forensics on the drives and reclaim the data. I bet my Amazon order for "Learn Arabic in 48hours" is probably one of the captured transactions:

    Lesson 1:
    Translate:
    "The tightness of the restraints will negate the need for you to slit my throat"
  • how they keep screwing up trying to get this guy.
    its almost like they need him to be a mystery and be alive so they can blame him for things...

  • Re: (Score:1, Offtopic)

    by account_deleted ( 4530225 )
    Comment removed based on user account deletion

  • I have but one question.... (Score:1, Funny)

    by Anonymous Coward
    WHY AM I NOT SURPRISED!!!!
  • An Anonymous Coward writes: "The FBI apparently used Carivore in an attempt to collect information on Osama bin Laden't network.

    Gee, I didn't know Osama was dutch.
  • We only have a surveillance device known as DCS-1000. You civil libertarians are so paranoid. Sheesh.
    • Not to be off topic and totally boneheaded, but I'll go ahead and throw caution to the wind: the slashdot math you refer to is actually correct if you hit the karma cap. For instance, your 50 + 5 -3 = 49 could have gone this way:

      +1 Funny: 50 + 1 = 50

      +1 Funny: 50 + 1 = 50

      +1 Funny: 50 + 1 = 50

      -1 Ovrrt: 50 - 1 = 49

      -1 Overt: 49 - 1 = 48

      -1 Overt: 48 - 1 = 47

      +1 Funny: 47 + 1 = 48

      +1 Funny: 48 + 1 = 49

      And there you have it. Who cares anyway... and if you do care, and your posts are good, you'll be banging your head on the ceiling again in no time. :)

  • hmmm (Score:3, Funny)

    by drDugan ( 219551 ) on Tuesday May 28, 2002 @09:24PM (#3599349) Homepage
    I'll bet I know how they figured out there was a problem:

    [modal window]
    Drive C:/ is Full.
    [/modal window]

    followed quickly with a blue screen of death.

  • If they simply made it open source these kinds of bugs wouldn't happen.
  • I thought we paid the FBI to present an image of infallibility so that people wouldn't think they could get away with committing crimes, dammit.
  • How did they destroy the data? I assume it was stored on HD's (and probably backed up on tape). Did they use a DoD 5220.22-M wipe (or if there is an updated version, use it) on the HD's? Did they grind down the storage media? Or did they drive by a vacant street and toss the it out in the window into a storm drain?

    Derelict
  • Assuming that the emails really were deleted and all the backups were also cleared out, what is to stop them from recovering the data using their forensic data recovery techniques. Comerical teams are amazing at this and I would have to assume the FBI is at least as good. How lost is this data really?

  • I wonder how important this is... (Score:2, Insightful)

    by Anonymous Coward
    As much as I've been following the War on Terrorism, I'm not sure how high this registers on the Need-To-Coverup basis. I suppose we'll find out if/when the Pentagon issues another Emergency Alert to distract the public from how bad an issue it is...

    Seriously, it's a pattern. The U.S. just took out a village by accident? Probably didn't hear much about it because everybody's talking about Tora Bora (ever wonder how everybody knows about that location and yet nobody knows what's been accomplished there?) The U.S. bombs 4 Canadians into smithereens? Two days later, a 13-state warning is issued saying that banking outlets are targetted. (Of course, Ashcroft denies that people should avoid banking that day...) Bush actually had information on the attacks before Sept 11th? Whoops, can't talk about that now, because the BIGGEST TERRORIST WARNING EVER where this time they're targeting the STATUE OF LIBERTY!!!!!

    Last time I saw, Statue of Liberty's still standing. But that's okay. It makes me feel better knowing that whenever we start thinking for ourselves, the Pentagon's there to put everything back into perspective...

    Got war? [mnftiu.cc]

    • Re:I wonder how important this is... (Score:1)

      by Anonymous Coward
      Ya on the local news it was a sickening picture for memorial day weekend. Governor Pataki is smiling bragging about how effective the facial recongnition technology is. "See i just walked by this spot at normal pace and it took 10 pictures of me from different angles and made a 3d model of my face!" Yay bravo... What a place to introduce this technology. Debuting this technology at the statue of liberty is rather like a slap in the face.
  • I'm certain that "destroyed" in this case means they threw it in the "nuker" (big magnetic device) and therefore data recovery is impossible.

  • One would think that they'd have tested the software BEFORE it was installed. That is how it's supposed be done, right?
  • It looks like Carnivore has finally proven to be worth it.

    Don't get me wrong, I was right there with every other slashbot. "Abridgement of libery!" I cried, and more besides.

    But that freedom isn't worth a dime in today's world without the security to keep it.

    Something to consider.
  • I wonder why the person that submitted this chose to do this as "Anonymous Coward"
    ;-)

  • The author of "Carnivore"... (Score:3, Informative)

    by newerbob ( 577746 ) on Tuesday May 28, 2002 @10:16PM (#3599555) Homepage
    ... Patrick Naughton [freeservers.com] is a complete IDIOT. (Another reference to his work is here [landfield.com]


    I was forced to work for this pervert for a few months . Everyone knew he was bad news, even before he entered a guilty plea for possession of child pornography [wired.com] including photos of infants.


    Why are we letting pedophiles write software to catch criminals?


    This guy is NO GENIUS! After all, he thought there really were young girls in an IRC chat room called "Dads & Daughters Sex" and he got caught!


    Patrick was supposed to be an Internet Expert, yet he didn't even PGP his kiddie porn!


    The Walt Disney Company lost $1Billion dollars investing in Patrick Naughton's company (his college roommate and best friend still works for Disney!). Now the FBI lost hard-earned evidence investing in Naughton's technology.


    -Disney paid the price for Naughton's stupidity.


    The FBI paid the price for Naughton's stupidity.


    And THE AMERICAN PUBLIC did, too! By standing still while "pretty boy" Patrick was able to plea bargain by writing crappy software for the FBI, he got out of jail sooner and he's free to endanger more young girls, maybe even your son or daughter!

  • Well, we Jeffersonians are not suprized a bit. Nor are we suprized that the Hamiltonians are suprized either LOL!

    Wooly Mammoths and Sally Hemmings indeed!
  • You can't handle the TRUTH!

    They were using the GXP series harddisks for more than 8 hours at a time!

    Peace. Love. Linux. Head Crash.
  • "computer forensic technician" often equals "ex-cop who 'learned computers'"

    Not to bash law enforcement, but those among them who aren't completely ignorant of technology often know just enough to be dangerous.

  • Upset Agent (Score:3, Insightful)

    by Roarkk ( 303058 ) on Tuesday May 28, 2002 @10:46PM (#3599685) Homepage Journal

    The best part of this article is the fact that an FBI agent was upset at collecting email that wasn't supposed to be collected.

    Whether they have backups, whether they collected the information or not, it points out the fact that individuals in the FBI are concerned about privacy issues as much as many of us are.

    • Or he was just concerned about what would happen to the carnivore program if anyone outside the buerau would find out (such as if any of the mails saved by mistake where submitted to a court together with the rest), or he just realized that they didn't need the mistakenly saved e-mails and was just going to delete them to avoid cluttering up the system. Etc. etc.

      You have no basis to say that the FBI agent actually upset - it's not a fact, it is a claim that's been through multiple steps of obfuscation already. You also have no basis to say that if he was upset that is was because he was concerned about privacy issues and not something else (like the possibility of losing his job if something went wrong).

      To be really cynical and paranoid: This could have been done on purpose to be used as an argument for allowing Carnivore: "But look, when we did a mistake we deleted ALL the mail, even legitimately intercepted ones just to be sure we didn't violate anyones privacy". Is that likely? Perhaps not, but it's possible, and the article simply isn't enough to rule it out completely.

  • "The FBI technical person was apparently so upset
    that he destroyed all the e-mail take, including the take on" the suspect, the memo said.
    temper temper FBI Guy.


    The Justice Department's Office of Intelligence and Policy Review was furious after learning the evidence captured by the e-mail wiretap system was destroyed because of the glitch, the memo states.
    temper temper Justice Dept.


    Henry Perritt, who led a team authorized by the FBI to review the surveillance system, said he was surprised the technician deleted the e-mails.
    Wha? something wrong in the "system"?!


    "The collection is supposed to be retained for judicial review," Perritt said. "If an agent simply deleted a whole bunch of files without the court instructing, that's not the way it's supposed to work."

    Really? didn't these guys assure us that everything works fine with carnivore? And that we could trust them not to use it improperly?

    Now we have hothead FBI techies misdeploying a software package that has the potential to break the laws they are trying to enforce with the help of the "furious" Dept. of Justice to oversee their work?

    Somehow I get the feeling I'm gonna be watched by mad men.

  • The Washington Post's got a story up too: Article [washingtonpost.com]

  • A violation of federal wiretap law? (Score:5, Insightful)

    by Radical Rad ( 138892 ) on Tuesday May 28, 2002 @11:44PM (#3599950) Homepage
    The surveillance system captured not only the electronic communications of the court-authorized target, "but also picked up E-Mails on non-covered" individuals, a violation of federal wiretap law.

    Amendment IV of the U.S. Constitution: The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.

    Notice that the Constitution does not say that illegal searches may be performed as long as any resulting evidence is not used against the persons being illegally searched. It says that it shall not happen. This interception of mail was not just a violation of federal wiretap law, it was a violation of the Bill of Rights. We are supposedly fighting a "war on terrorism" to protect our way of life, but that way of life is rooted in our Constitution. The only way to win the hearts and minds of the rest of the world is to stick to our principles and abide by the highest law of the land which is the U.S. Constitution.

    • Notice that the Constitution does not say that illegal searches may be performed as long as any resulting evidence is not used against the persons being illegally searched. It says that it shall not happen.


      The first issue, of course, is whether the searches in question were actually illegal. That in turn hinges on whether or not the searches are, in the words of the 4th, "unreasonable".

      I'm not claiming that it's a good idea or that the gov't is necessarility justified in what they did, but the fact that you find it distasteful does not necessarily make it unconstitutional or illegal.
      • The first issue, of course, is whether the searches in question were actually illegal. That in turn hinges on whether or not the searches are, in the words of the 4th, "unreasonable". I'm not claiming that it's a good idea or that the gov't is necessarility justified in what they did, but the fact that you find it distasteful does not necessarily make it unconstitutional or illegal.

        I can see from your comment and others that many people are reading "unreasonable" as something which is debatable. It is important that people understand the the terms "reason" and "cause" have specific legal meanings and they are synonyms in this context. Saying that NO searches will take place WITHOUT reason is the same as saying that searches will ONLY take place WITH reason, which is exactly what they say in the following clause when they specify that a narrowly defined warrant MUST be issued first and a warrant can ONLY be issued when the evidence shows that a crime has PROBABLY been committed.

        I know you weren't trolling. I wish I had replied sooner so that more people might have seen this because it seems that quite a few people are misinterpreting based on "conversational" English. And this is an incredibly important point today judging by the way things have been headed lately.

  • If you aren't concerned that others may be reading may email, please take a moment to read my article:

    You would be suprised how easy it is to get access to the data you transmit over the Internet, and how many people are in a position to easily access it.

    When you're done with that, consider also reading Is This the America I Love? [goingware.com]

    Thank you for your attention.

    • A helpful reader named Jon Doyle wrote in to tell me I had a big HTML error in Why You Should use Encryption [goingware.com] that caused half the page to be one big link. I hadn't noticed that because it didn't occur in the browsers I'd tried it with.

      I ran it through the W3C HTML validator [w3.org] and found quite a few problems with the HTML, and have fixed them. The page now validates as HTML 4.01 transitional.

      Also I have long had a bad link to a page called "Email Encryption Made Simple", and several people have written in over the last couple years to give me an updated URL, but I never got around to fixing it. Now the link works.

      Finally, I urge the use of PGP on the page. But Network Associates no longer supports PGP. I thought it would be helpful to mention GNU Privacy Guard, which is actually what I use these days. I added links to it and will try to elaborate on it in the discussion sometime in the next week or so.

  • Princess FBI: These privacy advocate terrorists are destroying us. This is our most despirate hour. Help me OsamaBin Ladoni, you're my only hope.

    There, OsamaBin Ladoni wields the Death Jet, a Jet with the power to destroy an entire building.

    Will OsamaBin be able to rescue the FBI from the clutches of those Terrorist Privacy Advocate Infidels?!?!? Will Saddam learn that yuppie ex-president Ronald Reagan is his father? Will Arafat appear on the show Friends as rumored? Stay tuned.

  • How did it happen? (Score:2, Interesting)

    by ClickNMix ( 218488 )
    All the issues about privacy with the FBI and the likes aside. I'm pretty worried about the fact that someone, even an FBI tech can delete the contents of a sniff.

    Sure, there are -probably- back-ups. But then if the tech makes those backups, whats to say he didnt delete them as well?

    Personally, it sounds more like a case of someone trying to abuse a tool they have access to (Tech sneeks a look at other peoples emails) and then messing up covering their tracks.

    Then he avoids getting attacked by putting a moral spin on it, and comming out a hero. (maybe)

  • Another Computing First?? (Score:3, Funny)

    by Catiline ( 186878 ) <akrumbach@gmail.com> on Wednesday May 29, 2002 @08:44AM (#3601300) Homepage Journal
    Hmm... I read this story and thought...
    Is this the first time that a piece of software was defended when it did its' job-- but not what they told people-- by claiming "That's a bug, not a feature"?

    Then I noticed my tinfoil hat was maladjusted. So I guess they really did goof, Carnivore is just a powerful (if maladjusted) tool for law enforcement, and my fears to the contrary are just their attempts to discredit my typical insights into their foul ways with an insidiously sublte use of their orbital mind control rays.
  • When privacy stories come up involving the government's right to peek into citizens' lives, there are always some people who state, "If you're not doing anything wrong, then what do you have to worry about?"

    Well, this is clearly one thing we should worry about. What happens when the government, which is composed of fallible humans, goofs in its actions and accidentally destroys the citizens' property? Now no one could say that "that wouldn't happen."
  • As a member of the IITRI team that evaluated the Carnivore system, I'd like to point out that the dates of these memos indicate that the mistakes happened while using an earlier version of Carnivore than the one that we evaluated. I'm not trying to downplay the dangers of a device like Carnivore, but simply to point out that the FBI was aware of problems with their device, and was making modifications to it. One of the caveats of the independent review was that our review would only apply to a specific version of Carnivore, as we could not possibly know how changes made after we reviewed it would fix problems, or possibly introduce new ones. The version of the system we reviewed was not baselined until just before the review began.

    As a recap of our report, we pointed out that the accuracy of Carnivore collection was highly dependent on the correct setup of the filtering rules. We also pointed out that it was quite easy to make a mistake setting up those rules which would cause an over collection. The memos which were released do not indicate whether the overcollection was due to a filter setup mistake or some other bug that may have existed in a version prior to the one that we tested.

    As stated earlier, I am not trying to defend Carnivore, but you must put these documents into context with the time period in which they were produced.
  • Personally I'd prefer the caps lock key to be illegal rather then the delete key.

    And don't do a "Tab"!

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