[116752] in Cypherpunks
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daemon@ATHENA.MIT.EDU (Anonymous)
Fri Aug 20 04:48:11 1999
Date: 20 Aug 1999 08:20:01 -0000
Message-ID: <19990820082001.29171.qmail@uni.nowhere.to>
From: Anonymous <notme@nowhere.to>
To: cypherpunks@toad.com
Reply-To: Anonymous <notme@nowhere.to>
U.S. To Seek Neew Computer Surveillance Power
http://dailynews.yahoo.com/h/nm/19990820/ts/technology_covert_2.html
WASHINGTON (Reuters) [8.20.99] - The Justice Department is seeking new
powers to break into private premises and disable security precautions on
personal computers as a prelude to a wiretap or further search, the
Washington Post reported Friday.
The department wanted to make it easier for law enforcement authorities to
get search warrants that would let them monitor suspects' computerized
records after break-ins, said the paper, citing documents and interviews
with Clinton administration officials.
``In a request set to go to Capitol Hill, Justice officials will ask
lawmakers to authorize covert action in response to the growing use of
software programs that encrypt, or scramble, computer files,'' the report
said. Such encryption makes computers inaccessible to anyone who lacks a
special code or ''key.''
Justice officials worry that such software ``is increasingly used as a
means to facilitate criminal activity, such as drug trafficking,
terrorism, white-collar crime and the distribution of child pornography,''
the Post quoted an Aug. 4 memo by the department as saying.
Under the proposed ``Cyberspace Electronic Security Act,'' investigators
armed with a sealed warrant could comb computers for passwords and install
devices that override encryption programs, the Post reported, citing the
Justice memo.
To pull information from a targeted computer, agents would still be
required to get additional authorization from a court, the paper said.
Justice officials were not immediately available for comment. The proposal
is the latest in a years-long tug-of-war between the government and
computer users who want to protect their privacy by encrypting documents.
