Thursday, August 30, 2007

Wiretapping News

Wired has a long story on How the FBI Wiretap Net Operates. "The FBI has quietly built a sophisticated, point-and-click surveillance system that performs instant wiretaps on almost any communications device, according to nearly a thousand pages of restricted documents newly released under the Freedom of Information Act."

So I don't think this program is recording every call made, but it seems the FBI can just type into a computer in their office and record any calls (voice, sms, etc.) to any number they want. This is probably how a lot of people think wiretaps work but until recently there's been a lot more to the process (and here another opportunity to plug HBO's The Wire). The problem seems to be, and there isn't enough info to know this, that there are few internal checks to prevent the system from being abused by an insider (or an attacker that becomes an insider) let alone an agency that decides to investigate stuff without warrants.

Speaking of wiretapping, Slate has some interesting (and 10 pages long) speculation about the NSA's abilities and the FISA laws. Page 5 is particularly good.

You doubt this is important. Here's the true story of two men caught in an FBI sting who were convicted of "supporting terrorism by agreeing to help launder money" for a fake assassination attempt. They may have been the subject of illegal NSA wiretaps and this came up in the trial. "The case involves secret arguments by the government, and more astonishingly, secret opinions by the judge that only government prosecutors were allowed to read." Imagine going to jail for 15 years and not having the right to hear part of the decision that put you there.

Secret government spying. Secret court rulings. Is this the US?

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