-Caveat Lector- 08/07/2001 FBI wants PC surveillance method kept quiet www.usatoday.com/life/cyber/tech/2001-08-07-fbi-surveillance-trial.htm NEWARK, N.J. (AP) - The Justice Department claims that revealing details about how it bugged the computer of an accused bookie could threaten national security. Disclosing material about the "key logger system" the FBI installed on the computer of Nicodemo S. Scarfo Jr. would hurt ongoing investigations of foreign intelligence agents and endanger the lives of U.S. agents, according to court documents filed by the government. The Justice Department claims the system must remain secret to keep hostile intelligence officers from employing "counter-surveillance tactics to thwart law enforcement." The case is being watched by privacy experts concerned over the government use of spy technology. Lawyers for Scarfo, the son of a jailed mob boss, say they need the information to determine if the intrusion violated his constitutional rights. If it did, none of the evidence from the computer could be used at his trial. U.S. District Judge Nicholas H. Politan has not said when he would rule on the motion. At a hearing last week, the judge said the matter should not delay the Sept. 11 trial date for Scarfo, 36, and Frank Paolercio, 32, who are accused of loansharking and running a gambling racket. Scarfo's father, Nicodemo "Little Nicky" Scarfo, is serving a life term for running the Philadelphia-Atlantic City mob in the 1980s. Politan has barred attorneys in the case from talking to reporters. In an affidavit filed Friday, Donald Kerr, the assistant director of the FBI lab, said that "there are only a limited number of effective techniques available to the FBI to cope with encrypted data, one of which is the 'key logger system."' If criminals learn how the logger works, they can circumvent it, he said. Scarfo used software called PGP - Pretty Good Privacy - to encode gambling records, authorities maintain. PGP is a strong, free encryption program that can be used for e-mail or individual files. FBI agents installed the key logger system on Scarfo's computer after getting a search warrant allowing them to break into his Essex County business and look for a password that would unlock files they believed contained records of the illegal enterprise. The system, which recorded every keystroke, eventually captured the password they needed. A three-count indictment was returned in June 2000 against Scarfo and Paolercio. <A HREF="http://www.ctrl.org/";>www.ctrl.org</A> DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER ========== CTRL is a discussion & informational exchange list. Proselytizing propagandic screeds are unwelcomed. Substance—not soap-boxing—please! These are sordid matters and 'conspiracy theory'—with its many half-truths, mis- directions and outright frauds—is used politically by different groups with major and minor effects spread throughout the spectrum of time and thought. That being said, CTRLgives no endorsement to the validity of posts, and always suggests to readers; be wary of what you read. CTRL gives no credence to Holocaust denial and nazi's need not apply. Let us please be civil and as always, Caveat Lector. ======================================================================== Archives Available at: http://peach.ease.lsoft.com/archives/ctrl.html <A HREF="http://peach.ease.lsoft.com/archives/ctrl.html";>Archives of [EMAIL PROTECTED]</A> http:[EMAIL PROTECTED]/ <A HREF="http:[EMAIL PROTECTED]/";>ctrl</A> ======================================================================== To subscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SUBSCRIBE CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] To UNsubscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SIGNOFF CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] Om
