Interactive Week 18/10/2001: "Beyond Carnivore: FBI Eyes Packet Taps"

[Caspar Bowden]

http://www.interactiveweek.com/article/0,3658,s%253D605%2526a%253D16678,
00.asp 
Beyond Carnivore: FBI Eyes Packet Taps
 
By  Max Smetannikov 
  
Expect the FBI to expand its Internet wiretapping program, says a source
familiar with the plan. 

Stewart Baker, a partner with law firm Steptoe & Johnson, is a former
general counsel to the National Security Agency. He says the FBI has
spent the last two years developing a new surveillance architecture that
would concentrate Internet traffic in several key locations where all
packets, not just e-mail, could be wiretapped. It is now planning to
begin implementing this architecture using the powers it has under
existing wiretapping laws. 

The FBI has acknowledged a program called Carnivore, which sniffs e-mail
messages, but the new program is more extensive, Baker says. 

"The FBI has been gradually developing a set of guidelines, standards -
call it what you will - a list of what law enforcement wants from packet
data communications systems," Baker said. "And they are in the process
of unveiling that over the next few months to ISPs and router
manufacturers and the like." 

ISPs, Web hosters, vendors and other firms handling critical Internet
infrastructure should expect the FBI trying to schedule meetings to
deliver the details of their offering, and show the document containing
the technical specifications, Baker said. He indicated that details of
what this new surveillance architecture should look like are not clear.
It is also possible the FBI has retained some well-known data
infrastructure consulting firms to develop its new technology. 

The new architecture is different from Carnivore because it would likely
ask for certain types of data communications to be centralized, he said.


"The goal might be to get companies that use packet data to have those
packets go to one place for purposes of wiretap and other intercept
capabilities," Baker said. "It's clear they [the Bureau] have decided
that in the next year or so they are going to make a big push on packet
data and they are going to use whatever leverage they can to get people
to cooperate and to build a set of packet data systems that are more
wiretap friendly than the ones we have today." 

The FBI spokesman overseeing Carnivore and other wiretapping issues
didn't immediately return calls seeking comments. 

Whatever the new initiative ends up looking like, the Internet service
provider community could be more likely to cooperate, shaken up by Sept.
11, said industry executives. But no one has heard of the FBI going
beyond Carnivore at this point. 

"The FBI are trying to get Carnivore with a lot more ISPs," said Patrick
Sweeney, president and chief executive of ServerVault, a Web hosting
firm specializing in secure hosting. 

Reportedly, the FBI is trying to use sections of Title 18, the
wiretapping law, to extend its eavesdropping coverage to e-mail, Sweeney
said. While he was not familiar with the initiative Baker described,
Sweeney said Bureau's interest in tracking data communications is not
shocking, and might go beyond the FBI. 

"There are so many agencies that are working on procedures where they
can make sure than entire comprehensive wireless and wireline tapping
can be put into place if need be," he said.