FCC Issues Rule Allowing FBI to Dictate Wiretap-Friendly Design for Internet ServicesTech Mandates Force Companies to Build Backdoors into Broadband, VoIP Washington, DC - Today the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) issued a release announcing its new rule expanding the reach of the Communications Assistance to Law Enforcement Act (CALEA). The ruling is a reinterpretation of the scope of CALEA and will force Internet broadband providers and certain Voice-over-IP (VoIP) providers to build backdoors into their networks that make it easier for law enforcement to wiretap them. The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) has argued against this expansion of CALEA in several rounds of comments to the FCC on its proposed rule. CALEA, a law passed in the early 1990s, mandated that all telephone providers build tappability into their networks, but expressly ruled out information services like broadband. Under the new ruling from the FCC, this tappability now extends to Internet broadband providers as well. Practically, what this means is that the government will be asking broadband providers - as well as companies that manufacture devices used for broadband communications to build insecure backdoors into their networks, imperiling the privacy and security of citizens on the Internet. It also hobbles technical innovation by forcing companies involved in broadband to redesign their products to meet government requirements. "Expanding CALEA to the Internet is contrary to the statute and is a fundamentally flawed public policy," said Kurt Opsahl, EFF staff attorney. "This misguided tech mandate endangers the privacy of innocent people, stifles innovation, and risks the functionality of the Internet as a forum for free and open _expression_." At the same time, the Department of Justice (DOJ) is asking airlines to build similar backdoors into the phone and data networks on airplanes. EFF and the Center for Democracy and Technology (CDT) submitted joint comments to the FCC arguing against the DOJ's unprecedented and sweeping new technology design mandates and anticipatory wiretapping system. The FCC's new proposal to expand CALEA to airline broadband illustrates the fallacy of law enforcement's rationale for its CALEA request. The DOJ takes the position that broadband has "substantially replaced" the local telephone exchange, but this claim is reduced to the point of absurdity aboard an airplane and opens the door for CALEA to cover just about anything.
More about CALEA: http://www.eff.org/Privacy/Surveillance/CALEA/ Washington Post: "Groups Slam FCC on Internet Phone Tap Rule": http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/08/10/AR2005081001626.html Wired: "Critics Slam Net Wiretapping Rule": http://www.wired.com/news/privacy/0,1848,68483,00.html GovExec.Com: "Justice Department Effort to Eavesdrop on Airline Passengers Challenged": http://www.govexec.com/dailyfed/0805/080405c1.htm ~~~ Make Online Anonymity EasyAnnouncing the Tor Graphical User Interface Competition San Francisco - Now information designers can make it easier for people to protect themselves online. The developers of Tor, a software tool for communicating anonymously online, today announced the Tor graphical user interface (GUI) competition. Entrants will create a usable and aesthetically pleasing GUI for the Tor program, which will allow people to install and configure Tor easily and monitor the software's performance while it's running. "Security depends on knowing what's working correctly and what isn't," said Roger Dingledine, Tor project leader. "A good interface tells users what's going on so they can make smart decisions." Tor, which is currently being developed with support from the Electronic Frontier Foundation, helps anonymize web browsing and publishing, instant messaging, IRC, SSH, and other applications that use the TCP protocol. Tor also provides a platform on which software developers can build new applications with built-in anonymity, safety, and privacy features. The competition has two phases. First, there will be a design competition where entrants can submit mock-up sketches of good interfaces. Second, there will be a competition to create working implementations of good interfaces. People are encouraged to submit to either phase or both phases. Winning entries will be open source, exhibit strong graphic design, and include an intuitive and simple interface. Students, freelancers, and professionals at all levels are encouraged to enter. Everyone who enters will get a free Tor t-shirt, and the best sketches and working implementations will be published on the Tor website. The competition winners will be announced at the 2006 SOUPS conference.
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