IBM Seeks Patent On Digital Witch Hunts 136
theodp writes "Should Mark Zuckerberg want to identify a snitching Facebook employee, Elon Musk wish to set a trap for loose-lipped Tesla employees, or Steve Jobs want to 'play Asteroid,' they'll be happy to know that a new IBM 'invention' makes it easier than ever to be paranoid. In a newly-disclosed patent application for Embedding a Unique Serial Number into the Content of an Email for Tracking Information Dispersion (phew!), Big Blue describes how it's automated the creation of Canary Traps with patent-pending software that makes ever-so-slight changes to e-mail wording to allow you to spy on the unsuspecting recipients of your e-mail."
Re:Not new (Score:3, Informative)
What if the 'corporate spy' is the mail server admin? Plucking crap out of the bcc_always queue or so on and so forth.
Having had a TS security clearance for a whole bunch of years myself, I frequently handled pass by hand (codeword) eyes only stuff. This entire 'unique copy to each person' thing only happens when someone is 'already' suspected of working for the other side, or in the movies.
Once you have a TS clearance you are trusted until there are signs present that indicate a review thereof might be necessary - at least this is how it worked in my part of the world anyway. The security branches responsible for investigating leaks were never quick to react - after all, it is a big old chess game, those leaks might also be put to good use before they hit the jail cell.