This has long been a concern of Business Continuity, and is included in many scenarios and trainings...
For those that are concerned by this scenario (especially if it is a new idea to you) I'd strongly encourage you to find and join a local business continuity group... For Georgia (and the Southeast) I belong to the Southeastern Continuity Planners' Association (www.scpa.us) but there are many others, and also good information at the Disaster Recovery Instititute's site drii.org ... -----Original Message----- From: Angus Scott-Fleming [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Tuesday, April 29, 2008 10:16 AM To: NT System Admin Issues Subject: New DR scenario: computers seized by FBI This is a scary scenario -- losing access to your small-company computers totally inadvertently: ------- Included Stuff Follows ------- PC World - Business Center: Knock, Knock, It's the FBI Mark Gibbs, Network World Saturday, April 26, 2008 4:00 PM PDT Just imagine if one day in the near future the FBI comes to your enterprise with warrants that allow them to seize and remove any computer- related equipment, utility bills, telephone bills, any addressed correspondence sent through the U.S. mail, video gear, camera equipment, checkbooks, bank statements and credit card statements. The first question you'd ask is, "Who has done what?" You're going to be presume your CEO has been involved in some outrageous stock manipulation, or maybe your CFO has been cooking the books. But no, the agent in charge says: "Someone here clicked on a Web link and we're going to find out who did it." A link?! Clicking on a link can now be a federal offense?! Was it a link to the truth about JFK's assassination (which we all know the CIA was responsible for . . . or was it the Moonies?). Was the link going to launch an ICBM at the Kremlin? Nope, it was a link to a nonexistent cache of kiddie porn that was created specifically by the FBI to attract pedophiles. As is often said at moments like these, I am not making this up; this is exactly what happened to a doctoral student at Temple University who was also a history professor at La Salle University named Roderick Vosburgh. FBI agents knocked on Vosburgh's door early one evening and proceeded to throw him to the ground before cuffing him. Sounds a little heavy-handed, but who knows, he could have been armed with a RAZR for all they knew. ... Now, this is interesting for a number of reasons that should worry all of us in the IT industry. First, there's the issue of intent. It turns out that by simply accessing one of these links you are de facto, presumed guilty by your IP address being the proximate cause. ... The second issue concerns browser add-ons that attempt to pre-cache the content of links on a page. These add-ons are to improve perceived performance, but imagine that you run a Web search and wind up on a page that links to one of these FBI honeypots: Your browser will access the link and, unless you are masking what you do through something like the Tor network, the Feds will get your IP address. Before you know what's going on, there will be a knock on your door, you'll be hurled to the ground, cuffed, Mirandized, and all of your computer gear, financial records and leftover Chinese food will be en route to the local FBI office. But what if an employee's browser pre-caches the contents of one of these FBI links, or the employee actually clicks on it? Can you imagine the chaos and insanity that would result from the FBI paying your company a visit? Work would grind to a halt, PCs and other gear would be impounded, records taken and your business would be dead in the water. Of course, sizes matters. The risk for, say, Proctor and Gamble is rather less than for the likes of Plastic Sidings 'r Us, but every company in between should be concerned. ... --------- Included Stuff Ends --------- Full article with comments here: http://www.pcworld.com/businesscenter/article/145174/knock_knock_its_the_f bi.html or here if the above wraps unusably: http://preview.tinyurl.com/6ol6up ~ Upgrade to Next Generation Antispam/Antivirus with Ninja! ~ ~ <http://www.sunbelt-software.com/SunbeltMessagingNinja.cfm> ~ No virus found in this incoming message. Checked by AVG. Version: 7.5.524 / Virus Database: 269.23.6/1403 - Release Date: 4/29/2008 7:26 AM No virus found in this outgoing message. Checked by AVG. Version: 7.5.524 / Virus Database: 269.23.6/1403 - Release Date: 4/29/2008 7:26 AM ~ Upgrade to Next Generation Antispam/Antivirus with Ninja! ~ ~ <http://www.sunbelt-software.com/SunbeltMessagingNinja.cfm> ~
