[Am-info] FBI On Carnivore: My Bad

[Fred A. Miller]

FBI On Carnivore: My Bad

The FBI says an honest mistake led to its capturing of E-mail
that the bureau wasn't authorized to intercept. The Electronic
Privacy Information Center, a civil-liberties research
organization, obtained FBI documents that it says show
how in March 2000 the Carnivore Internet-surveillance system
collected the E-mail of people without a judge's approval, a
violation of federal wiretap law.

The action happened while agents were eavesdropping legally on
another suspect, according to Epic, which used to the Freedom of
Information Act to get access to the documents. An April 5, 2000,
E-mail message sent to Spike Bowman, associate general counsel
for National Security Affairs, recounts how the Carnivore "did
not work correctly," according to Epic.

An FBI spokesman says miscommunication between an ISP and the FBI
about how to configure an Internet link led to the problem. The
mistake was discovered and resolved in days, the spokesman says.
He adds, "It was an honest mistake." - Eric Chabrow

For more on Carnivore, read:
Hungry For Your E-Mail
http://update.informationweek.com/cgi-bin4/flo?y=eHWV0Bce7K0V20BdTe0AF

-- 
Fred A. Miller
Systems Administrator
Cornell Univ. Press Services
fm@cupserv.org, www.cupserv.org
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