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ACLU Challenges FBI E-Mail Taps

Feds say 'Carnivore' e-mail snooping is a rare but necessary security measure.

By Ann Harrison, PCWorld   

While the FBI says Carnivore can target the traffic of just one individual, critics say the potential for abuse is high because it's attached to an Internet service provider's network and can analyze all traffic as it passes through.

Carnivore is permitted by a Title III court order that allows the FBI to intercept the contents of electronic communications of a specific person. Investigators can also get a tap-and-trace or pen-register order to collect the "numbers" related to communications to and from the suspect.

But unlike a conventional phone wiretap that gathers just phone numbers, this type of surveillance on the packet-switched Internet allows the gathering of e-mail addresses, e-mail header information, and other data, including Internet provider addresses, dial-up numbers and e-mail logs.

"There isn't any clear law that authorizes tap-and-trace devices to the Internet, and even when they have an order to get the content of the information, there is certainly no law that allows them to attach devices to an ISP's network to filter all communications," says Barry Steinhardt, associate director of the ACLU.

FBI: Surveillance is Rare

Steven Berry, an FBI supervisory special agent, says Carnivore limits viewable messages to only those included in a court order. The bureau says Carnivore has been used in fewer than 100 criminal cases in the past 18 months.

"It is a very surgical tool and offers extreme precision on those communications that are subject to interception," Berry says. "The tool is necessary to meet the stringent requirements of federal wiretapping statutes."

But Susan Landau, a senior staff engineer at Sun Microsystems and co-author of the book "Privacy on the Line: The Politics of Wiretapping and Encryption," says the FBI is trying to apply an old law to new technology that carries more information and has greater potential impact on users.

"What we are relying on is the FBI not saving the information even if it sees it," Landau says.