FBI Pressuring Telecoms To Install Undisclosed Surveillance Technology [View all]

[Purveyor]

US law enforcement is quietly applying pressure on telecommunication companies to install technology that would provide them with user data, a strategy likely to expand government surveillance into areas where users do not know they are being monitored.

Hoping to expand the government’s ability to intercept pictures, text, chat logs, and other data in real time, the Federal Bureau of Investigation has sought to convince online companies to install new, previously undisclosed software known as “port reader,” according to a CNET report.

Port reader is known as a “harvesting program” so all-encompassing that data carriers are “extra-cautious” about its use, said one former government official, who spoke to the technology website on the condition of anonymity.

The program, “an interception device by definition” that could present major privacy risks, has yet to be used on an industry-wide level and is reportedly only installed when an already existing network does not have the technological capability to direct users’ information into the hands of law enforcement.

“In circumstances where a provider is unable to comply with a court order utilizing its own technical solution(s), law enforcement may offer to provide technical assistance to meet the obligation of the court order,” read an FBI statement.

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http://rt.com/usa/fbi-pressuring-telecoms-undisclosed-surveillance-978/