Security News > 2001 > October > House's anti-terror bill requires judge to monitor FBI's use of e-mail surveillance system

Forwarded from: Marjorie Simmons http://www.nandotimes.com/technology/v-text/story/156954p-1484013c.html By D. IAN HOPPER, Associated Press WASHINGTON (October 25, 2001 01:15 p.m. EDT The anti-terror bill passed Wednesday by the House will require a judge to monitor the FBI's use of an e-mail surveillance system that has raised concerns about privacy. The requirement was inserted into the legislation by House Majority Leader Dick Armey and cheered civil liberties groups, which have misgivings about the many new powers the bill gives to law enforcers to confront alleged terrorists. The e-mail system once known as Carnivore is a device installed at an Internet company to capture e-mails sent or received by a criminal suspect. Opponents complain because the FBI won't explain how the device works and worry that the broad net it casts may intercept information belonging to people who are not targets of investigators. "The concern about Carnivore has been its ability to collect too much information," said David Sobel, general counsel of the Electronic Privacy Information Center. "So it really is critical to have some means of overseeing how the technique is actually used." The legislative clause inserted by Armey will require investigators to tell a judge every detail about a Carnivore installation, including who installs and has access to it, its configuration and everything it collects. That report would be given to the judge no more than 30 days after the expiration of a wiretap order. It would be kept secret but could be used as a basis for the judge to consider whether the police over- stepped their authority. "This language will reassure the public that these new powers will not be misused," Armey said. Armey, R-Texas, has been a staunch critic of Carnivore, now called DCS 1000. His spokesman, Richard Diamond, said Armey told Rep. James Sensenbrenner, R-Wis., to ensure the language stayed in the final version of the legislation. The Justice Department did not object, Diamond said. "It's nothing that would impede the main goal, which is to get the bad guys," Diamond said. "It's not a hurdle to any investigation if they're following the rules." Federal agents say they need Carnivore and other tools to catch criminals who use the Internet to communicate and do business. Authorities have used Carnivore-type tools more than 25 times in all types of criminal cases, to catch fugitives, drug dealers, extortionists and suspected foreign intelligence agents. The investigation into the Sept. 11 attacks also has moved online, as agents track down e-mail addresses and Web sites used by the airline hijackers who destroyed the World Trade Center and damaged the Pentagon. Critics still are trying to get information about Carnivore. EPIC has filed a lawsuit to get more documents from the FBI, and some Internet providers refuse to use it. Some of the wiretapping and electronic surveillance portions of the terrorism legislation, which largely expands such powers, expire at the end of 2005, a compromise made by the Bush administration. The Carnivore reporting requirement is permanent, however. "Right now they can install it simply on the basis of a claim that it's related to an ongoing investigation. The judges have no discretion," American Civil Liberties Union associate director Barry Steinhardt said. "To the extent in which it brings a judge into the equation at all, it's useful," he said. __________________ Marjorie Simmons, Esq. lawyer () carpereslegalis com http://www.carpereslegalis.com - ISN is currently hosted by Attrition.org To unsubscribe email majordomo () attrition org with 'unsubscribe isn' in the BODY of the mail.

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