[116758] in Cypherpunks
U.S. To Seek Computer Covert Action Powers
daemon@ATHENA.MIT.EDU (Brian Engle)
Fri Aug 20 09:34:22 1999
From: "Brian Engle" <bengle@fti-net.com>
To: <cypherpunks@toad.com>
Date: Fri, 20 Aug 1999 09:08:52 -0400
Message-ID: <000201beeb0d$27742d60$3217e426@alaska.fti-net.com>
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Reply-To: "Brian Engle" <bengle@fti-net.com>
http://news.excite.com/news/r/990820/00/news-technology-covert
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Justice Department is seeking new powers to break
into suspects' homes or offices 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 for such so-called black bag
jobs, 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."
Brian Engle
bengle@fti-net.com
