... far and wide!! Bard
by Declan McCullagh > 6:00 p.m. 19.Jan.2000 PST > WASHINGTON -- Visions of stealthy black helicopters landing on your lawn > and disgorging Nomex-clad troops to steal your PGP keys aren't just for > conspiracy theorists. > > The Clinton administration wants to be able to send federal agents armed > with search warrants into homes to copy encryption keys and implant > secret back doors onto computers. > > "When criminals like drug dealers and terrorists use encryption to > conceal their communications, law enforcement must be able to respond in a > manner that will not thwart an investigation or tip off a suspect," > Attorney General Janet Reno and Deputy Defense Secretary John Hamre > wrote in a seven-page letter to Congress. > > The idea first surfaced in mid-1999, when the Justice Department > proposed legislation that allowed them to obtain surreptitious warrants > and "postpone" notifying the person whose property they entered for 30 days. > > The Justice Department's thinking was that if a suspect was using > data-scrambling encryption products, the FBI's G-men might need to enter > the suspect's home and install software to tap into and decipher > scrambled communications. > > After vocal objections from civil liberties groups, the administration > backed away from the controversial plan. The final draft of the > Cyberspace Electronic Security Act (CESA) submitted to Congress had > removed the secret-search portions. > > But the White House now appears to think it doesn't need new legislation > to enter a suspect's computer. > The letter from Reno and Hamre to House Majority Leader Dick Armey says > that, in the future, the Feds will use "general authorities" when asking > judges to authorize so-called black bag jobs. Commerce Secretary William > Daley also signed the letter. > > They say that law enforcement should have the ability to "search for > keys" without immediately notifying a suspect. > > According to legal experts, all current search warrants -- with the > exception of the related category of wiretaps -- require police to > inform the person his property was entered. > > Privacy groups say Americans should be alarmed. > "It sounds like they're returning to the provision in CESA that they > backed away from," says Barry Steinhardt, associate director of the > American Civil Liberties Union. > > "The basic principle is that people who are the subject of searches > should have notice and the opportunity to challenge the search. This is > particularly dangerous since it will be difficult to guarantee that > evidence hasn't been tampered with," said Steinhardt. "What they are > proposing to do is alter computer files. It's quite a chilling > proposal." > > "What they're saying is that they want to eliminate that Fourth > Amendment requirement or limit it so much to make it meaningless," said > Dave Banisar, co-author of the Electronic Privacy Papers. The Fourth > Amendment prohibits the government from conducting "unreasonable" > searches and seizures. > > The Clinton administration cabinet officials wrote the letter this month > in their latest exchange with Majority Leader Armey. Although dated 7 > January, Armey's office said they received it on Wednesday. > > In Armey's letter to Reno on 27 September, the Texas Republican wrote: > "Questions remain about the Administration's commitment to personal > privacy.... While I understand that this [secret search] provision has > been dropped from the most recent draft, the fact that it was ever > proposed at all raises concerns in Congress." > In its reply, the administration wrote, "You specifically ask whether > law enforcement has the authority to search for keys without notifying > the subject. > > Although some courts have permitted the government to conduct a search, in > analogous circumstances, without notifying the target at the time of the > search, these same courts have held, and we agree, that in a > criminal investigation the government must ultimately provide meaningful > notice to the target of the search." > > The letter further urges Congress to pass CESA and defends Fidnet, a > plan to monitor online intrusions into federal computers. > "Fidnet is entirely aimed at improving the security of government > computer systems.... We strongly support its development. Federal > computer networks are a favorite target of computer hackers," they say. > > Last summer reports said that the system would monitor not just federal > computers, but other Internet traffic -- a claim that the FBI assistant > general counsel denied as recently as during a panel discussion last > week. -- Join the Militia of Montana Email Alert List by writing to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] with "SUBSCRIBE" in the Subject Line! For the latest in great survival, preparedness and politically incorrect materials visit our Online Catalog at: http://www.montana.com/militiaofmontana/catalog.htm Some great deals are to be had! Or, send $2.00 to the address below for a copy of our 40+ page Preparedness Catalog. Militia of Montana P.O. Box 1486, Noxon, MT 59853 Tel: 406-847-2735 n Fax: 406-847-2246 Remove yourself from this list by writing to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] and type "UNSUBSCRIBE" in the subject line.
