Senate votes to permit warrantless Net-wiretaps, Carnivore use

[Steven M. Bellovin]

In message <5.0.2.1.0.20010914161852.00a9cbf0 at mail.well.com>, Declan McCullagh 
writes:
>May be relevant, given the new focus in DC on restricting privacy and crypto..
>.
>
>Text of the Hatch-Feinstein "Combating Terrorism Act of 2001":
>http://www.politechbot.com/docs/cta.091401.html
>
>Discussion of the CTA:
>http://www.fas.org/sgp/congress/2001/s091301.html
>
>-Declan
>
>********
>
>http://www.wired.com/news/politics/0,1283,46852,00.html
>
>    Senate OKs FBI Net Spying
>    By Declan McCullagh (declan at wired.com)
>    12:55 p.m. Sep. 14, 2001 PDT
>
>    WASHINGTON -- FBI agents soon may be able to spy on Internet users
>    legally without a court order.
>
>    On Thursday evening, two days after the worst terrorist attack in U.S.
>    history, the Senate approved the "Combating Terrorism Act of 2001,"
>    which enhances police wiretap powers and permits monitoring in more
>    situations.
>
>    The measure, proposed by Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) and Dianne Feinstein
>    (D-California), says any U.S. attorney or state attorney general can
>    order the installation of the FBI's Carnivore surveillance system.
>    Previously, there were stiffer restrictions on Carnivore and other
>    Internet surveillance techniques.

This is seriously misleading.  Although there are a fair number of 
objectionable items in the bill (the worst of which are likely 
unconstitutional, though you'd have to explain protocol layering to a 
judge to make that point clear), the bill is concerned with pen 
registers and trap-and-trace devices.  It does not legalize 
"warrantless wiretaps".  And yes, Carnivore can be used more freely 
under this bill, but only in its pen register mode.

There's a lot to worry about; we do ourselves a disservice by attacking 
the wrong things.



		--Steve Bellovin, http://www.research.att.com/~smb
				  http://www.wilyhacker.com





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