[118036] in Cypherpunks
Stealth Software Rankles Privacy Advocates
daemon@ATHENA.MIT.EDU (Anonymous)
Fri Sep 17 22:21:02 1999
Date: Sat, 18 Sep 1999 03:56:58 +0200 (CEST)
Message-Id: <199909180156.DAA02633@mail.replay.com>
From: Anonymous <nobody@replay.com>
To: cypherpunks@toad.com
Reply-To: Anonymous <nobody@replay.com>
Stealth Software Rankles Privacy Advocates
By Stuart Glascock, TechWeb
Sep 17, 1999 (2:19 PM)
URL: http://www.techweb.com/wire/story/TWB19990917S0014
A super stealthy software covertly monitors all keyboard and application activity, then invisibly e-mails a detailed report to the employees' boss. While it bolsters IT's ability to monitor workplace computer usage, it troubles privacy advocates. The newly upgraded software, Investigator 2.0 from WinWhatWhere, runs silently, unseen by the end-user as it gathers exacting details on every keystroke touched, every menu item clicked, all the entries into a chat room, every instant message sent and all e-commerce transactions.
"You get shocking detail," said Richard Eaton, president of WinWhatWhere, in Kennewick, Wash.
In one client case, a large grocery store chain suspected an employee was wrongfully taking information. Management installed the software and discovered the suspect employee was saving accounting information onto a diskette. In other cases, employees have been busted for taking client lists and sales leads.
WinWhatWhere Customers have included sensitive government agencies, private investigators, a trucking company, a tool and die company, a penitentiary, a dentist, and several libraries. Specific customers have included the U.S. State Department, the U.S. Mint in Denver, Exxon, Delta Airlines, Ernst & Young, the U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs, and Lockheed Martin.
"People buying it the most are people in corporations who need it because they suspect something is going on in a department, so they put on a computer for a small amount of time," Eaton said.
"Employers who practice this kind of monitoring don't have a clue as to what they are getting into." -- Lou Maltby ACLU
While it may sound Orwellian, electronic monitoring can serve a purpose, said Jan Kallberg, chief operating officer of CyberDefense, a New York company specializing in protecting corporate digital assets.
"It can be a good thing if the rules are set and everybody knows the policies, then it eliminates the risk that someone gets blamed who is without any guilt," he said.
It is not surprising that major employers are concerned about employee computer use, but monitoring all their keystrokes is frightening, said Lou Maltby, ACLU director of employment rights.
"Employers who practice this kind of monitoring don't have a clue as to what they are getting into," Maltby said. "People now turn to the Web for all kinds of information, including information about the most sensitive personal issues imaginable. If you are a member of [Alcoholics Anonymous], 20 years ago, you went to a meeting. Today, you are just as likely to talk to your support group over the Web. The same is true for incest survivors and people who are HIV positive. If you want to pry into your employees' deepest, darkest secrets, there couldn't be a better way."
Workplace electronic monitoring calls out for new privacy legislation, Maltby said, adding it is illegal for employers to listen in on an employee's telephone call to a spouse. But the same conversation over e-mail could be read and posted on a bulletin board. No legislation to address the issue is currently pending.
Privacy concerns aside, most corporations need protection, and not just from people who are hacking into their network, but from people working inside the firewall, Eaton said.
"If it is used incorrectly it is horrible," Eaton said." If you put it on with no suspicion or reason, that's wrong. But if you suspect something is going on your equipment, you have every right to do this."
Pricing runs from $99 for a single user to $5,500 for site licensing.
