"Carnivore: How Much Bite Behind the Bark?" Computerworld (08/07/00) Vol. 34, No. 32, P. 73; Harrison, Ann Although the FBI defends its use of the surveillance system Carnivore, saying it only monitors the email communications of suspects named in a court order, critics contend that because the system must monitor all the packets moving through a network to find the ones it is interested in, the privacy of innocent Web users is at risk. Various civil liberties organizations have filed Freedom of Information Act requests, asking for more data about Carnivore, as well as its source code. Although the FBI will most likely remain mum on the subject, it has mentioned that Carnivore is a tailor-made version of a commercial Windows 2000 application, designed to monitor only the Internet communications of those listed in a court order. Despite widespread doubts in high-tech circles about the FBI's claims, some analysts say the agency could be telling the truth, as the data from Carnivore that is analyzed is stored on Iomega removable Jaz disks, which can store 2 GB per disk. Experts say higher-capacity disks would be needed if the FBI were conducting wide-ranging sweeps of data. Regardless, those concerned about Carnivore or Internet monitoring in general can use various services such as Anonymizer.com, HushMail, and Pretty Good Privacy, which offer Internet users encryption services and anonymity. to unsubscribe send mail to [EMAIL PROTECTED] to subscribe send mail to [EMAIL PROTECTED] more good stuff at http://theMezz.com/alerts ___________________________________________________________ T O P I C A The Email You Want. http://www.topica.com/t/16 Newsletters, Tips and Discussions on Your Favorite Topics
