Oh, Boy! MI5 gets to imitate the KGB's SORM system,
and play like the big boys do!
"GTAC - government technical assistance centre" sounds a lot like the
British phrase "assisting the police in their investigations",
which seems to mean something between "being beaten into confessing" and
"ratting on his friends". Once the UK gets widespread use of IP telephony,
this should be even more convenient :-)
The hand-over-your-keys powers are a strong argument for
development and deployment of Perfect Forward Secrecy whenever possible.
How much of the current web server software uses this?
At 07:31 AM 04/30/2000 +0200, Anonymous User wrote:
>MI5 builds new centre to read e-mails on the net
>
>Nicholas Rufford
>
> MI5 is building a new �25m e-mail surveillance centre that will have the
power to monitor all e-mails and internet messages sent and received in
Britain. The government is to require internet service providers, such as
Freeserve and AOL, to have "hardwire" links to the new computer facility so
that messages can be traced across the internet.
>
>The security service and the police will still need Home Office permission
to search for e-mails and internet traffic, but they can apply for general
warrants that would enable them to intercept communications for a company
or an organisation.
>
>The new computer centre, codenamed GTAC - government technical assistance
centre - which will be up and running by the end of the year inside MI5's
London headquarters, has provoked concern among civil liberties groups.
"With this facility, the government can track every website that a person
visits, without a warrant, giving rise to a culture of suspicion by
association," said Caspar Bowden, director of the Foundation for
Information Policy Research.
>
>The government already has powers to tap phone lines linking computers,
but the growth of the internet has made it impossible to read all material.
By requiring service providers to install cables that will download
material to MI5, the government will have the technical capability to read
everything that passes over the internet.
.....
>The new spy centre will decode messages that have been encrypted. Under
new powers due to come into force this summer, police will be able to
require individuals and companies to hand over computer "keys", special
codes that unlock scrambled messages.
>
>There is controversy over how the costs of intercepting internet traffic
should be shared between government and industry. Experts estimate that the
cost to Britain's 400 service providers will be �30m in the first year.
Internet companies say that this is too expensive, especially as many are
making losses.
Thanks!
Bill
Bill Stewart, [EMAIL PROTECTED]
PGP Fingerprint D454 E202 CBC8 40BF 3C85 B884 0ABE 4639
