From: J. R. Molloy (jr@shasta.com)
Date: Wed Aug 25 1999 - 11:02:48 MDT
It sounds like you have acquired valuable experience, Phil, vis a vis the
sociological aspects of (real) emergent SI.
As for digitalvillage.org, the following repost from the virtropy list may
interest you:
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Forget the conspiracy movies. It's happening in real life now. The Clinton
Administration wants the right to break into your home and install a
"listening device" on your computer. Of course, they promise not to abuse
the privilege. (Right. Sure. Uh-huh.) Forget the Melissa virus. Forget Y2K.
This may be the scariest computer threat of the year.
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Now *You* Are an Enemy of the State!
DOJ Seeks Right to Spy on Your Computer
By Jesse Berst
In "Enemy of the State," actor Will Smith plays an ordinary lawyer
accidentally caught in a murder conspiracy. His life is destroyed when
government agents track and trace him using cutting edge electronics.
Now the government wants permission to do such things for real.
According to the Washington Post, the U.S. Department of Justice wants the
right to break into your home and (without your knowledge) disable the
security precautions on your computer. Then it can track and trace
everything you do. Click for more.
Right now, the effort exists as draft legislation for a "Cyberspace
Electronic Security Act." In essence, it extends the concept of hidden
listening devices (a legal but rarely used surveillance technique) to
computers.
There's no question we need a strong, capable Justice Department. And
there's no question computers have made it easier for criminals to elude law
enforcement. If we don't find ways to protect society against computer-aided
crime, we're all in trouble.
On the other hand, giving the government the right to spy on ordinary
citizens is a terrifying thought. We'd have to be convinced that every
single government official is a sincere, ethical individual who would never
step over the boundaries, no matter what the temptation.
I don't know your opinion of politicians and bureaucrats, but -- from the
President on down -- withstanding temptation doesn't seem to be their strong
suit.
As much as I want to see drug traffickers caught... child pornographers put
away... white collar criminals brought to justice... I can't bring myself to
support this idea. Trade groups and civil libertarians are already raising a
ruckus. Click for more. I'm on their side, this time.
If the government succeeds, by this time next year you may not need to vote
in polls. Or send letters to the editor. The government may already have
your email. May already know what you're thinking. Whether you like it or
not.
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For text of the DOJ proposal:
http://www.cdt.org/crypto/CESA/
------------------------------------
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -- 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.
Remember the last PCs monitoring attempt?
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."
DOJ can't spend on surveillance net
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.
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