ABCNEWS By Jack Smith M E N L O P A R K, Calif., May 16 — There’s a new technology that’s adding fuel to the already fierce debate over privacy on the Internet. It’s a piece of software called NetRadar that can spy on groups who are using the Internet to exchange information and to organize. The software will be used primarily by Fortune 500 companies and local police. It will enable them to gather information on groups such as hackers, protestors and disgruntled employees. The tool works by scanning public areas on the Internet — chat rooms, bulletin boards and commercial databases used in Web marketing — and picking out key words and phrases. It then makes sense of this information by drawing inferences and displaying it in a way that’s easy to understand. ... Last week, at the Internet Defense Summit in Menlo Park, Calif., NetRadar gave a demonstration to Sen. Fred Thompson, R-Tenn., who oversees computer-security issues as the chairman of the Senate Committee on Governmental Affairs. Also there were over 100 executives from various Web-driven companies who met with industry and government security experts to discuss and create a blueprint for security on the Internet. ... Thompson acknowledged that the software raises some questions about privacy on the Net. “I suppose the more proficient the technology, the more you are going to have privacy, Big Brother issues come about,” Thompson said. “It’s real important that we make the point that we’re only using public sources, and we have to decide what the trade-offs are. Is it worth the privacy trade-offs in order to be able to apprehend the people more easily?” NetRadar is very similar to technology now used by the government to obtain information on terrorists around the world. And just last month, the FBI said it was considering using similar technology to gather data on virtually any American. “It means that you can never be sure how much information might be gathered, almost on a whim, about you,” says Stewart Baker, former National Security Agency General Counsel. http://more.abcnews.go.com/onair/CloserLook/wnt_000516_CL_netsecurity.html __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Send instant messages & get email alerts with Yahoo! Messenger. http://im.yahoo.com/ <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, misdirections 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, CTRL gives 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://home.ease.lsoft.com/archives/CTRL.html <A HREF="http://home.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
