U.S. Tries to Make It Easier to Wiretap the Internet

[kpete]

Source: New York Times

U.S. Pushes to Ease Technical Obstacles to Wiretapping
By CHARLIE SAVAGE
Published: October 18, 2010


WASHINGTON — Law enforcement and counterterrorism officials, citing lapses in compliance with surveillance orders, are pushing to overhaul a federal law that requires phone and broadband carriers to ensure that their networks can be wiretapped, federal officials say.

The officials say tougher legislation is needed because some telecommunications companies in recent years have begun new services and made system upgrades that create technical obstacles to surveillance. They want to increase legal incentives and penalties aimed at pushing carriers like Verizon, AT&T, and Comcast to ensure that any network changes will not disrupt their ability to conduct wiretaps.

An Obama administration task force that includes officials from the Justice and Commerce Departments, the F.B.I. and other agencies recently began working on draft legislation to strengthen and expand a 1994 law requiring carriers to make sure their systems can be wiretapped. There is not yet agreement over the details, according to officials familiar with the deliberations, but they said the administration intends to submit a package to Congress next year.

To bolster their case, security agencies are citing two previously undisclosed episodes in which major carriers were stymied for weeks or even months when they tried to comply with court-approved wiretap orders in criminal or terrorism investigations, the officials said.

Read more: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/19/us/19wiretap.html?_r=2&ref=todayspaper

[bemildred]

1. This is about encryption. nt

[Hawkeye-X]

2. Suggested reading: Digital Fortress by Dan Brown

Well it isn't probably real, but it's darn entertaining in the cryptology world!

[msongs]

3. yt another perpetuation of the W Bush presidency nt

[snooper2]

5. how is that?

nt

[snooper2]

4. author of this article is pretty ignorant of this subject...

but besides that..

The two issues outlined in the article were the faults of the carriers, going for weeks and months without the ability to comply with the order is asinine. And if it was due to an upgrade even more ignorant. That's why shit is tested in the lab...And they were at fault under the current law, and there are penalities if they government would want to impose them. Will be interesting to see what the verbiage looks like for any new law.