-Caveat Lector-
Report: DOJ wants to bug PCs
Feds seek to arm crime fighters with new powers to break into private
premises and disable PC security.
By Reuters
August 20, 1999 4:42 AM PT
WASHINGTON -- The Justice Department is seeking new powers to break into
private premises and disable security precautions on personal computers as a
prelude to a wiretap or further search, the Washington Post reported on
Friday.
The department wanted to make it easier for law enforcement authorities to
get search warrants that would let them monitor suspects' computerized
records after break-ins, said the paper, citing documents and interviews
with Clinton administration officials.
"In a request set to go to Capitol Hill, Justice officials will ask
lawmakers to authorize covert action in response to the growing use of
software programs that encrypt, or scramble, computer files," the report
said. Such encryption makes computers inaccessible to anyone who lacks a
special code or "key."
Justice officials worry that such software "is increasingly used as a means
to facilitate criminal activity, such as drug trafficking, terrorism,
white-collar crime and the distribution of child pornography," the Post
quoted an Aug. 4 memo by the department as saying.
Under the proposed "Cyberspace Electronic Security Act," investigators armed
with a sealed warrant could comb computers for passwords and install devices
that override encryption programs, the Post reported, citing the Justice
memo.
To pull information from a targeted computer, agents would still be required
to get additional authorization from a court, the paper said.
Justice officials were not immediately available for comment. The proposal
is the latest in a years-long tug-of-war between the government and computer
users who want to protect their privacy by encrypting documents.
While Justice officials said their plan was consistent with constitutional
principles, the idea alarmed civil libertarians and privacy advocates.
"They have taken the cyberspace issue and are using it as justification for
invading the home," said Jack Dempsey of the Center for Democracy and
Technology , an advocacy group in Washington that tracks privacy issues.
Stiff opposition expected
David Sobel, general counsel of the Electronic Privacy Information Center in
Washington, said in an e-mail early Friday that the proposal "strikes at the
heart of the Bill of Rights."
Surreptitious physical entries are relatively rare under existing
surveillance laws. Such entries are made only to install hidden microphones,
an investigative technique approved only 50 times by federal and state
judges last year.
According to Sobel, "extending this extraordinary power to cases involving
computer files would make police break-ins far more common than they are
today."
The proposal followed unsuccessful efforts by FBI Director Louis Freeh and
other Justice officials to secure laws requiring built-in "back doors" so
investigators could pierce powerful encryption programs said to be a boon to
criminals.
--
"Those who want to hear the voice of pagan gods in wind or thunder, who
want to see the fairies dance in the moonlight, who can believe that
faith can move mountains, can follow the thread on the pages of this
book. It is a fragile thread; it cannot bear the weight of facts and
dates"
-Kate Seredy, "The White Stag"
ICQ: 9815080 Operator Taliesin_2 of #SacredNemeton on IRC PaganPaths
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