Do YOU have FBI spyware on your machine?
 

Ooooh I like the part where it says Internet users have no expectation of privacy...therefore they can be monitored and searched at all times...

From: http://www.wired.com/politics/law/ne...07/fbi_spyware

FBI agents trying to track the source of e-mailed bomb threats against a Washington high school last month sent the suspect a secret surveillance program designed to surreptitiously monitor him and report back to a government server, according to an FBI affidavit obtained by Wired News.

The court filing offers the first public glimpse into the bureau's long-suspected spyware capability, in which the FBI adopts techniques more common to online criminals.

The software was sent to the owner of an anonymous MySpace profile linked to bomb threats against Timberline High School near Seattle. The code led the FBI to 15-year-old Josh Glazebrook, a student at the school, who on Monday pleaded guilty to making bomb threats, identity theft and felony harassment.

In an affidavit seeking a search warrant to use the software, filed last month in U.S. District Court in the Western District of Washington, FBI agent Norman Sanders describes the software as a "computer and internet protocol address verifier," or CIPAV

Sanders wrote that the spyware program gathers a wide range of information, including the computer's IP address; MAC address; open ports; a list of running programs; the operating system type, version and serial number; preferred internet browser and version; the computer's registered owner and registered company name; the current logged-in user name and the last-visited URL.

The CIPAV then settles into a silent "pen register" mode, in which it lurks on the target computer and monitors its internet use, logging the IP address of every computer to which the machine connects for up to 60 days.

Under a ruling this month by the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, such surveillance -- which does not capture the content of the communications -- can be conducted without a wiretap warrant, because internet users have no "reasonable expectation of privacy" in the data when using the internet.

According to the affidavit, the CIPAV sends all the data it collects to a central FBI server located somewhere in eastern Virginia. The server's precise location wasn't specified, but previous FBI internet surveillance technology -- notably its Carnivore packet-sniffing hardware -- was developed and run out of the bureau's technology laboratory at the FBI Academy in Quantico, Virginia.

The FBI's national office referred an inquiry about the CIPAV to a spokeswoman for the FBI Laboratory in Quantico, who declined to comment on the technology.

The FBI has been known to use PC-spying technology since at least 1999, when a court ruled the bureau could break into reputed mobster Nicodemo Scarfo's office to plant a covert keystroke logger on his computer. But it wasn't until 2001 that the FBI's plans to use hacker-style computer-intrusion techniques emerged in a report by MSNBC.com. The report described an FBI program called "Magic Lantern" that uses deceptive e-mail attachments and operating-system vulnerabilities to infiltrate a target system.

Very interesting read. Thanks.

big brother is watching

long time no see

Yes, and... if you can hack into THAT server... wow... :)

And 2+2 = 5

Only in America

Sounds to me like there is a lot more to the story than they are telling.

Fight The Power!


Nice read.

Back around patriot act time, there were reports of how the internet was legally/officially defined as "public". Kind of creepy, but thats what we deal with in the US.

It would suck to have spyware from anyone logging keystrokes or IP's or whatever. I'd only hope that it was as detectable as any other since the end user would have no way to know who put it there.

My impression of the FBI is positive overall.

Freedom isn't free, and if you are making bomb threats, you deserve the heavy hammer of the law.

That can't be legal

Winner for the most retarded post ever :2 cents:

Crazy. If you're not doing anything wrong then I guess it's no big deal, not to mention if it keeps Virginia Tech from happening again then so be it.

They say they're not reading the actual communications but how likely is that? I'm not buying that one.

OMFG, Is this legal? :/

big fbi is watching

wonder if the RCMP have access to that.

Dude no matter how fucked up the things your govenment does your impression will always be positive. This we all know.

that's fucked :-/

it's funny that they say that there is no expectation of privacy on the internet. That is the biggest piece of bullshit I have ever heard. If I'm not mistaken, regular mail is secure and safe and private and if it is read or tampered with that person can be charged and be sent to jail, yet email does not fall under the same category? Further, many use internet banking and use their credit card online, not to mention the fact that most debit and credit card machines now rely on the internet for processing. So to say it is not secure and private betrays the publics trust.

It is my opinion that the whole reason the internet has become so popular is because of the privacy that is available if you know how to protect yourself. I understand that they think they are helping society by spying on dangerous individuals, but people need to realize that this is an extremely slippery slope. It will not be long until the wrong person has the information or worse yet, the FBI starts spying on everyone. I don't think it is too far fetched to assume that we will at some point all be targeted because we work in the adult industry.

Ever wonder how they caught those fertilizer bombers back east?

While you were watching bulldozers clear the human remains from the grounds of Auschwitz, I remember your comments clearly - "My impression of the Third Reich and our illustrious Leader is positive overall".

You are easily impressed....

how do i get it off my PC!!!!!!!!!! or detect it???????/

I think you would have to sniff your own outgoing data...and do it for some time to even find out if you are infected.

I would think the Feds have a special deal with Microsoft going to make sure it's pretty well undetectable.

Held down by the man again

email or nntp is not the internet


Regular internet - http (hyper text transfer protocal) is not secure,

credit card companies and banks use https, (Hypertext Transfer Protocol over Secure Socket Layer)

most email is NNTP (network news transfer protocall) totally different ballgame, techniacally not the internet,

No, USSR was first! The modern America is just a Soviet wannabe :2 cents: You have the same shit there as we had in Russia during 1917..1991. Congrats to all the winners :thumbsup

yeah whatever...

http://digg.com/security/Court_Rules...To_From_Fields
http://digg.com/security/U_S_Data_Mi...Terrorist_Hunt
http://digg.com/security/FBI_Secret_...e_Bomb_Threats

Fuck the FBI (terrorists)

No expectation of privacy?

Ok then

A) How come website have PRIVACY POLICIES. If it doesn't matter then they wouldn't even need them.

B) why do people have their wi-fi connections secured?

C) why do people use anti-SPYware programs

if there isn't any expectation of privacy.

If I'm using a computer in the public library, then no I don't expect privacy. when I'm inmy own home. YES I do. So fuck you FBI and Bush. And I'm sure you're reading this, so suck my dick.

nothing is free these days

Wow... While I shouldn't expect any privacy for a lot of what they were after, the part of theft when snap shotting my installed programs and serial numbers is pretty hard to swallow. There I do expect privacy and would find that charge to the bitter end or the Supreme Court... Which ever comes first.