How the Greek cellphone network was tapped.

[bear]

On Sat, 21 Jul 2007, Steven M. Bellovin wrote:

>Not as I read the statute (and of course I'm not a lawyer).  Have a
>look at 18 USC 2512
>(http://www4.law.cornell.edu/uscode/html/uscode18/usc_sec_18_00002512----000-.html)

>	any person who intentionally ...
>
>	manufactures, assembles, possesses, or sells any electronic,
>	mechanical, or other device, knowing or having reason to know
>that the design of such device renders it primarily useful for the
>	purpose of the surreptitious interception of wire, oral, or
>	electronic communications, and that such device or any component
>	thereof has been or will be sent through the mail or transported
>	in interstate or foreign commerce;
>
>	...
>
>So simple possession of a surreptitious interception device is illegal,
>with exceptions for things like sale to law enforcement or
>communications companies.

Hm.  Okay, we're looking at the same law, and I am not a lawyer
either; but I read "knowing or having reason to know ... that such
device or any component thereof has been or will be sent through the
mail or transported in interstate or foreign commerce" as a limiting
clause on what would otherwise be an unconstitutional law.

In the case of someone who manufactures and posesses such a device,
but never sends it or its components through the mail nor transports
it in interstate or foreign commerce, I don't think this law gets
broken.  Despite intimidation tactics that do their best to try to
spread the opposite impression, this is explicitly *not* forbidden by
this law.

And the statute on using such a device, IIRC, also has a limitation,
in that it bans using such devices *surreptitiously* - which I think
permits non-surreptitious use such as demonstrations.

Still, it's a case of two reasonably educated people being able to
look at the same statute and draw different conclusions: Sooner or
later it will have to be decided in a trial to see who can pay the
best lawyers^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H see which
interpretation of the statute best serves justice.

				Bear

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