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Still blame Bush? Obama to increase government control over your privacy.
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Obama Wants to Wiretap the Internet
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By: Fahmida Y. Rashid
2010-09-27
Article Rating: / 37
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The Obama administration is drafting legislation to expand wiretap authority to intercept all Facebook, BlackBerry and Skype communications.
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The Obama administration is working on a proposal that would make it easier for law enforcement and security officials to eavesdrop on online chatter, including e-mail, instant messaging and social networks, reported The New York Times on Sept. 27.
The proposed legislation will likely come before Congress next year.
The White House-sponsored bill would require all Internet-based communication services to be technically capable of complying with a federal wiretap order. This includes being able to intercept and unscramble encrypted messages, said the Times.
It will give the government the ability to listen in on literally every communication anyone makes online.
While the officials working on the proposal do not yet agree on how to define what constitutes a communications service provider, encrypted e-mail transmitters like the BlackBerry, social networking sites like Facebook and peer-to-peer messaging software like Skype will likely be included. The Obama administration prefers the broadest definition, which would include companies whose servers are operated outside of the United States, such as Canadian-based Research In Motion, maker of BlackBerry smartphones.
"We're not talking expanding authority," Federal Bureau of Investigation General Counsel Valerie Caproni told the Times. "We're talking about preserving our ability to execute our existing authority in order to protect the public safety and national security."
Federal law enforcement and national security officials have been demanding more control over Internet wiretapping, arguing that extremists and criminals are more likely to chat online than using telephones.
The proposal raises serious privacy concerns about users on the Internet, reminiscent of the uproar that followed Bush administration's expansion of the government's wiretapping authority. It could also set an example for other companies to follow, the Times said.
"They basically want to turn back the clock and make Internet services function the way that the telephone system used to function," Vice President of the Center for Democracy and Technology James X Dempsey told the Times.
RIM has been dealing with this issue over the past few months. Several countries, including India and Saudi Arabia, threatened to ban BlackBerry services, claiming the device's e-mail encryption posed a national security risk. RIM agreed to give security officials "lawful access" to data; United States officials would like similar access under the proposed law.
Internet and phone networks are already required to have eavesdropping abilities thanks to a 1994 law called the Communications Assistance to Law Enforcement Act. While extending the wiretap authority to include digital networks and cell phones, and not just copper-wire phone systems, the law does not apply to communications service providers.
Under the current rules, investigators can intercept messages at the network company's switch. If the user is using a service that encrypts the messages between the computer and the servers, investigators have to go to the communications service provider to view the unscrambled content. While some service providers have the capability to intercept these messages, most do not. According to the Times report, many providers wait until they are served with wiretap orders before developing intercept capabilities.
However, some services, like peer-to-peer instant messaging software, encrypt messages between users, so even the provider cannot unscramble them. The proposed legislation will require these programs to be redesigned so that they can be unscrambled.
"They can promise strong encryption. They just need to figure out how they can provide us plain text," said Caproni.
According to the report, officials from the White House, Justice Department, National Security Agency, FBI and other agencies have been working on the proposals, but important elements still have to be worked out.
Where is the liberal outrage NOW?
1912
Share
By: Fahmida Y. Rashid
2010-09-27
Article Rating: / 37
Share This Article
There are 106 user comments on this Security story.
The Obama administration is drafting legislation to expand wiretap authority to intercept all Facebook, BlackBerry and Skype communications.
Rate This Article:
Poor Best
PDF Version
The Obama administration is working on a proposal that would make it easier for law enforcement and security officials to eavesdrop on online chatter, including e-mail, instant messaging and social networks, reported The New York Times on Sept. 27.
The proposed legislation will likely come before Congress next year.
The White House-sponsored bill would require all Internet-based communication services to be technically capable of complying with a federal wiretap order. This includes being able to intercept and unscramble encrypted messages, said the Times.
It will give the government the ability to listen in on literally every communication anyone makes online.
While the officials working on the proposal do not yet agree on how to define what constitutes a communications service provider, encrypted e-mail transmitters like the BlackBerry, social networking sites like Facebook and peer-to-peer messaging software like Skype will likely be included. The Obama administration prefers the broadest definition, which would include companies whose servers are operated outside of the United States, such as Canadian-based Research In Motion, maker of BlackBerry smartphones.
"We're not talking expanding authority," Federal Bureau of Investigation General Counsel Valerie Caproni told the Times. "We're talking about preserving our ability to execute our existing authority in order to protect the public safety and national security."
Federal law enforcement and national security officials have been demanding more control over Internet wiretapping, arguing that extremists and criminals are more likely to chat online than using telephones.
The proposal raises serious privacy concerns about users on the Internet, reminiscent of the uproar that followed Bush administration's expansion of the government's wiretapping authority. It could also set an example for other companies to follow, the Times said.
"They basically want to turn back the clock and make Internet services function the way that the telephone system used to function," Vice President of the Center for Democracy and Technology James X Dempsey told the Times.
RIM has been dealing with this issue over the past few months. Several countries, including India and Saudi Arabia, threatened to ban BlackBerry services, claiming the device's e-mail encryption posed a national security risk. RIM agreed to give security officials "lawful access" to data; United States officials would like similar access under the proposed law.
Internet and phone networks are already required to have eavesdropping abilities thanks to a 1994 law called the Communications Assistance to Law Enforcement Act. While extending the wiretap authority to include digital networks and cell phones, and not just copper-wire phone systems, the law does not apply to communications service providers.
Under the current rules, investigators can intercept messages at the network company's switch. If the user is using a service that encrypts the messages between the computer and the servers, investigators have to go to the communications service provider to view the unscrambled content. While some service providers have the capability to intercept these messages, most do not. According to the Times report, many providers wait until they are served with wiretap orders before developing intercept capabilities.
However, some services, like peer-to-peer instant messaging software, encrypt messages between users, so even the provider cannot unscramble them. The proposed legislation will require these programs to be redesigned so that they can be unscrambled.
"They can promise strong encryption. They just need to figure out how they can provide us plain text," said Caproni.
According to the report, officials from the White House, Justice Department, National Security Agency, FBI and other agencies have been working on the proposals, but important elements still have to be worked out.
Where is the liberal outrage NOW?
Since in this proposal they actually have to get a wiretap order, I am not outraged.
As long as there is due process I am okay with it.
As long as there is due process I am okay with it.
You trust the government?:shock:
We the people need to watch the government,not the other way around.
You also responded too fast,so you did not have time to read the article and watch the video.
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I didn't watch the video (I rarely do), but I did read the article.
And no, I do not fully trust the government - which is why I want them to have to get a warrant and let me know about such things instead of having blanket powers and preventing information providers from telling me about it.
And no, I do not fully trust the government - which is why I want them to have to get a warrant and let me know about such things instead of having blanket powers and preventing information providers from telling me about it.
You truly believe the FBI is trustworthy? Unfortunately,they have their own set of rules they play by and have the track record to back it up.
If this were Bush,the mainstream media would be salivating like pitbulls......
1) I want them to have to get a warrant. Flaws in the system aside, I believe this is a vital step in checks and balances AND leaving a paper trail.
2) If they get a warrant, I want the internet service provider to be able to give them the information.
2) If they get a warrant, I want the internet service provider to be able to give them the information.
If this were the Bush administration, you'd never hear about it and there would be no warrants.
What is the difference? With a warrant, they can bust into my home and confiscate every scrap of paper, my laptop, freeze my bank accounts, rifle through my trash and set up a listening device in my car.
I'm going to worry about them wiretapping my Skype account with a warrant??? I don't think so. I know technology, and don't trust cell phones or any ip-based communication system to be secure.
What is the difference? With a warrant, they can bust into my home and confiscate every scrap of paper, my laptop, freeze my bank accounts, rifle through my trash and set up a listening device in my car.
I'm going to worry about them wiretapping my Skype account with a warrant??? I don't think so. I know technology, and don't trust cell phones or any ip-based communication system to be secure.
yeah, we probably need to be more concerned with the tech-savvy hoodlum who wants to steal our identity...as long as the law enforcement people have a warrant, then the checks and balances are in place.
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Report: US Would Make Internet Wiretaps Easier : NPR
No issue here either. This is about setting up the ability to access information if need be. If you're a law abiding citizen, this is a non-issue. The current version of the Patriot Act is setup this way as well.
I like my privacy, but I also don't want to be blown up while I'm grocery shopping or out on a date or flying to S.F..