(Via Milinet)
August 1, 2000
Details of E-Mail Spy System Sought
Filed at 11:13 p.m. EDT
By The Associated Press
WASHINGTON (AP) -- A privacy group asked a federal judge Tuesday
to order the
release of details concerning the government's ``Carnivore''
e-mail
surveillance system.
The Washington-based Electronic Privacy Information Center
accused the FBI of
not moving fast enough to act on the group's Freedom of
Information Act
request for the information.
EPIC asked on July 12 that the information, including the inner
workings of
Carnivore, be fast-tracked through a portion of FOIA that allows
for
``expedited processing,'' a 10-day time limit for responding to
requests. The
Justice Department has not responded, EPIC said.
``If there was ever a request that qualified for expedited
treatment, this is
it,'' said EPIC general counsel David L. Sobel. ``It's hard to
believe that
the Justice Department is unable to recognize the high level of
public
concern that Carnivore has generated.''
On July 14, the American Civil Liberties Union filed a similar
request to the
FBI for Carnivore's details.
An FBI spokesman contacted Tuesday had not yet heard of EPIC's
request for
judicial action and could not comment. But at a congressional
hearing last
month, FBI officials objected to the idea of making Carnivore
public on
grounds it allow people to undermine the system.
Two lawmakers have since introduced bills aimed at FBI
surveillance of e-mail
and telephone wiretaps.
Carnivore is the term used for the entire system, a computer
running the
Microsoft Windows NT operating system and software that scans
and captures
``packets,'' the standard unit of Internet traffic, as they
travel through an
internet service provider's network. The FBI can install a
Carnivore unit at
an ISP's network station and configure it to capture only e-mail
going to or
from the person under investigation.
At the hearing last month, FBI officials said Carnivore has been
used 25
times, including 16 times this year. None of those cases has yet
gone to
trial, so the FBI has not disclosed detailed information about
them.
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