Experts: Fed's Push for More Wiretapping a Recipe for Security Disaster

[marmar]

Published on Friday, May 17, 2013 by Common Dreams

Experts: Fed's Push for More Wiretapping a Recipe for Security Disaster
A group of 20 security experts warns against FBI's proposal for "sweeping overhaul of surveillance laws"

- Andrea Germanos, staff writer


A group of security experts have issued a report on Friday warning that the FBI's wiretapping expansion proposal is "unwise, ineffective" and "poses serious security risks."

As the New York Times' Charlie Savage reported, the FBI plan would entail a "sweeping overhaul of surveillance laws that would make it easier to wiretap people who communicate using the Internet rather than by traditional phone services."

Specifically, "The proposal would extend technical design mandates for 'wiretap readiness' to peer-to-peer communications tools," Joseph Lorenzo Hall of the Center for Democracy & Technology (CDT) writes. The reports adds that it "could encompass a wide range of pro ducts and services, from instant messaging and chat to Skype to Google Hangouts to Xbox Live. It could include services offered through a variety of means, from stand-alone services to features built into web browser software and social networking sites."

And, the Washington Post reported,

Under the draft proposal, a court could levy a series of escalating fines, starting at tens of thousands of dollars, on firms that fail to comply with wiretap orders, according to persons who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss internal deliberations. A company that does not comply with an order within a certain period would face an automatic judicial inquiry, which could lead to fines. After 90 days, fines that remain unpaid would double daily.

In their report, "CALEA II: Risks of Wiretap Modifications to Endpoints," the 20 experts warn that "A wiretap design mandate on communications tools is, plainly put, an opportunity for increased exploitation." ................(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2013/05/17

[woo me with science]

1. Had enough yet, America? nt

[clarice]

2. A very bad plan IMHO.nt

[Downwinder]

3. Time to wiretap the Government. True transparency.

Last edited Fri May 17, 2013, 03:21 PM - Edit history (1)

[bemildred]

4. Backdoors get hacked and misused.

This is less security, not more.