Data retention question

[Roland Perry]

In article <20140730191727.68ab69e9 at peterson.fenrir.org.uk>, Brian 
Morrison <bdm at fenrir.org.uk> writes
>> But being able to show where emailed death-threats (eg from an estranged
>> ex-partner) were coming from might help.
>
>Isn't that what the headers on the received email do (amongst their
>other uses)?

Only to a certain extent. And if they do reveal which account it was 
sent from, you need the network's help to identify information which 
might eventually trace it back sufficiently.

Of course, the headers can also be forged, which is another common 
technique: Abusers making false reports against their victims, which are 
often hard to debunk if all you have are the headers.
-- 
Roland Perry