741 lines
37 KiB
Plaintext
741 lines
37 KiB
Plaintext
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Computer underground Digest Sun Apr 12, 1992 Volume 4 : Issue 17
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Editors: Jim Thomas and Gordon Meyer (TK0JUT2@NIU.BITNET)
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Associate Editor: Etaion Shrdlu, Jr.
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Arcmeisters: Brendan Kehoe and Bob Kusumoto
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CONTENTS, #4.17 (Apr 12, 1992)
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File 1--Panel Discussion on Computer Crime & First Amendment
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File 2--Bogus News Release - Computers and Children
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File 3-- Addendum to "News Release - Computers and Children"
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File 4--"Hacker "Profiles" May Curb Computer Frauds"
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File 5--CPSR FOIAs FBI
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File 6--FBI Wants to Tap Phone Firms to Eavesdrop (Reprint)
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File 7--Electr.CivLib - model candidate's statement & ideas
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File 8--JIM WARREN nominated to the Consumers Union Board of Dirs
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File 9--MONDO 2000 poem
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Issues of CuD can be found in the Usenet alt.society.cu-digest news
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group, on CompuServe in DL0 and DL4 of the IBMBBS SIG, DL1 of LAWSIG,
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and DL0 and DL12 of TELECOM, on Genie, on the PC-EXEC BBS at (414)
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789-4210, and by anonymous ftp from ftp.eff.org (192.88.144.4),
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chsun1.spc.uchicago.edu, and ftp.ee.mu.oz.au. To use the U. of
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Chicago email server, send mail with the subject "help" (without the
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quotes) to archive-server@chsun1.spc.uchicago.edu.
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European distributor: ComNet in Luxembourg BBS (++352) 466893.
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COMPUTER UNDERGROUND DIGEST is an open forum dedicated to sharing
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information among computerists and to the presentation and debate of
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diverse views. CuD material may be reprinted as long as the source
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is cited. Some authors do copyright their material, and they should
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be contacted for reprint permission. It is assumed that non-personal
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mail to the moderators may be reprinted unless otherwise specified.
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Readers are encouraged to submit reasoned articles relating to
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computer culture and communication. Articles are preferred to short
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responses. Please avoid quoting previous posts unless absolutely
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necessary.
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DISCLAIMER: The views represented herein do not necessarily represent
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the views of the moderators. Digest contributors assume all
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responsibility for ensuring that articles submitted do not
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violate copyright protections.
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----------------------------------------------------------------------
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Date: Mon, 06 Apr 92 10:18:49 EST
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From: "John F. McMullen (at Marist)" <KNXD%MARISTB.BITNET@CUNYVM.CUNY.EDU>
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Subject: Panel Discussion on Computer Crime & First Amendment
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There will be a 2-hour panel discussion on "Computer Crime & First
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Amendment Concerns" at 10:30AM on Sunday, April 12th at the 17th
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annual Trenton Computer Festival (TCF'92). I will moderate the panel
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which will be composed of Donald Delaney, New York State Police Senior
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Investigator responsible for computer crime and telecommunications
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fraud; Mike Godwin, in-house counsel, Electronic Frontier Foundation
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(EFF); Emmanuel Goldstein, editor & publisher - "2600:The Hacker
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Quarterly; and Phiber Optik, well-know hacker (previously arrested by
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Delaney).
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TCF is the oldest computer festival/show in the world, preceding even
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the legendary "West Coast Computer Faire". It is held on Saturday &
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Sunday, April 11 & 12th at Mercer County College, outside of Trenton,
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NJ It will contain over 170 commercial exhibits, the largest computer
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flea market on the East Coast (8 acres) and 2 days of seminars, talks
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and panel discussions. The keynote speaker (Saturday - 3:00PM) is Paul
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Grayson, CEO of Micrografx.
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The New York Amateur Computer Club (NYACC), on of the festival's
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co-sponsors, is providing bus service from New York City to and from
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TCF. A bus leaves 11th Street and 6th Avenue at 8:00AM on Saturday and
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8:30 on Sunday (The Sunday bus originates in Long Island). For
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details, call Lewis Tanner (212 928-0577 between 7&9PM).
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------------------------------
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Date: Mon, 30 Mar 92 09:29:10 EST
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From: 34AEJ7D@CMUVM.BITNET
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Subject: Bogus News Release - Computers and Children
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The "News Release" in the latest CUD looks entirely bogus to me.
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It is unlikely that ANY group would release a legitimate
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news release anonymously,e.g., even terrorist groups like the ALF,
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PLO and IRA issue their news releases under thier own banner. Anything
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less defeats the entire purpose and propaganda objective of making such
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a "release" at all.
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So what is the purpose of this release? Perhaps it is a "prank"
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perpetrated by someone who gained access to someone else's account
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carelessly left logged in. Perhaps it is an attempt at harassment of
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the person mentioned at the bottom of the release, akin to the "send
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Mr. X 10 copies of the encyclopedia" tactic some Usenetters favor when
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miffed. Or perhaps it is a lead in to a pitch for a donation to a
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"cause".
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Whatever the case, as published it is highly suspect, IMHO.
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------------------------------
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Date: Wed, 8 Apr 92 22:31:01 CST
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From: Jim Thomas <jthomas@well.sf.ca.us>
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Subject: Addendum to "News Release - Computers and Children"
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In mid-March, Ron Hults, of the Fresno (Calif.) police Public
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Information Office, released a press release announcing a news
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conference to be held on March 19. The above poster, as have many
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others, found the press release, which dramatized a BBS link to
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pedophilia and other extreme activity, sufficiently incredible to
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doubt its authenticity. The press release indicated that it was the
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product of the Fresno Police Department's PIO. The release generated
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passionate discussion on comp.org.eff.talk as a reflection of "the
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ignorance of law enforcement." In this case, however, Fresno police
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seem to themselves have become victims of their own writer's
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sensationalism.
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Detective Frank Clark, who held the news conference advertised by the
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release, intended only to present a summary of the possible forms of
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computer abuse to which children are vulnerable. These ranged across
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the gamut of activities, from the most benign to the most extreme.
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Detective Clark indicated that the extreme sex offenses to which the
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release referred constituted about 3 minutes of a 45 minute
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presentation. The PIO office, as well as the media covering the news
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conference, focused on the extreme sex-related incidents and ignored
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the rest. Detective Clark indicated that his purpose was to remind
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parents of the importance of familiarizing themselves with their
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children's computer activity. He also used the conference to raise the
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issue of computer courtesy and ethics, and to identify local resources
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(schools, classes, and other forums) available for obtaining further
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information about computer use. The release and subsequent coverage
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downplayed this.
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He did not write the release and was unable to review the final text.
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He was quite unhappy with it, and recognizes (and apologized for) the
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offense it caused some people. He was quite explicit that, while
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opposing the use of computers to prey on others, he nonetheless shares
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many of the concerns about protection of civil and Constitutional
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rights.
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The problem with the Fresno PIO press release, as with similar media
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coverage, is the tendency of writers to find the dramatic angle and
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ignore the real issues. Perhaps we should all begin to more
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aggressively contact publishers and other media personnel to educate
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them on the issues when we find such gross distortion.
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------------------------------
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From: Net Wrider <nwrider@uanonymous.uunet.uu.net>
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Date: Thu, 9 Apr 1992 9:00:25 EDT
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Subject: "Hacker "Profiles" May Curb Computer Frauds"
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Hacker 'Profiles' May Curb Computer Frauds
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Source: THE INDEPENDENT March 21, 1992, Saturday (p. 6)
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By SUSAN WATTS, Technology Correspondent
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THE Federal Bureau of Investigation is dealing with computer hackers
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as it would rapists and murderers - by building "profiles" of their
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actions.
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Its computer researchers have discovered that, in the same way that
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other offenders often favour the same weapons, materials or times of
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day to perpetrate their crimes, hackers prefer to use trusted
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routines to enter computer systems, and follow familiar paths once
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inside. These patterns can prove a rich source of information for
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detectives.
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The FBI is developing a modified version of detection software from
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SRI International - an American technology research organization.
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Teresa Lunt, a senior computer scientist at SRI, said hackers would
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think twice about breaking into systems if they knew computer
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security specialists were building a profile of them. At the very
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least, they would have to constantly change their hacking methods. Ms
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Lunt, who is is seeking partners in Britain to help develop a
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commercial version of the software, believes hackers share with
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psychotic criminals a desire to leave their hallmark.
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"Every hacker goes through a process peculiar to themselves that is
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almost a signature to their work," she said. "The FBI has printed out
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long lists of the commands hackers use when they break in. Hackers
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are surprisingly consistent in the commands and options they use. They
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will often go through the same routines. Once they are in they will
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have a quick look around the network to see who else is logged on,
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then they might try to find a list of passwords."
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SRI"s software, the development of which is sponsored by the US
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Defense Department, is "intelligent" - it sits on a network of
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computers and watches how it is used. The software employs
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statistical analysis to determine what constitutes normal usage of the
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network, and sets off a warning if an individual or the network
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behaves abnormally.
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A more sophisticated version of the program can adapt itself daily to
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accommodate deviations in the "normal" behaviour of people on the
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network. It might, for example, keep track of the number of temporary
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files created, or how often people collect data from an outside source
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or send out information.
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The program could even spot quirks in behaviour that companies were
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not expecting to find.
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The idea is that organizations that rely on sensitive information,
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such as banks or government departments, will be able to spot
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anomalies via their computers. They might pick up money being
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laundered through accounts, if a small company or individual carries
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out an unusually large transaction.
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------------------------------
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From: David Sobel <dsobel@WASHOFC.CPSR.ORG>
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Date: Tue, 7 Apr 1992 15:37:37 EDT
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Subject: CPSR FOIAs FBI
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CPSR FOIAs FBI
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In response to the FBI's recent proposal that digital communications
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networks be configured so as to more easily facilitate electronic
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surveillance, Computer Professionals for Social Responsibility (CPSR)
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has filed a request under the
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Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) seeking:
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copies of all records regarding the Bureau's
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decision to seek new legislative authority for wire
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surveillance in the digital communications network.
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And following published reports that the FBI is developing a "hacker
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profile," CPSR has also requested:
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copies of all records regarding the Bureau's
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creation of a "profile" of computer "hackers" or
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others who seek unauthorized access to computer
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systems. This request includes, but is not limited
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to, information concerning the FBI's relationship with
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SRI International and its use of SRI software.
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We will post the results of these requests ... but it could be a while.
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David Sobel
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CPSR Legal Counsel
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dsobel@washofc.cpsr.org
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------------------------------
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Date: Sun, 12 Apr 92 14:52:02 CDT
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From: <wt.70317@linknet.uunet.uu.net>
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Subject: FBI Wants to Tap Phone Firms to Eavesdrop (Reprint)
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"FBI Wants to Tap Phone Firms for New Eavesdropping Devices"
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Source: Chicago Tribune, April 12, 1992 (Sect. 7: 9b)
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NEW YORK (Reuters)--The FBI wants the nations telephone companies to
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stop rolling out advanced digital phone systems that stymie the
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agency's practice of listening in on criminal conversations.
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At stake is the future of the wiretap, one of the bureau's most
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effective investigative tools, which is getting harder to engineer as
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phone systems grow more complex.
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The Federal Bureau of Investigation says modern telephone networks,
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which rely on digital and fiber-optic systems, are making it difficult
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to eavesdrop on phone calls in criminal investigations.
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So the bureau has drafted legislation that would require phone
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companies to stop deploying digital technology until they can come up
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with a way for the bureau to preserve the wiretap.
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For regional and long-distance phone companies that have spent
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billions of dollars to upgrade systems and galvanize the U.S. lead in
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telecommunications, the FBI proposals are late at best and
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anti-competitive at worst.
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"It is late...this stuff is already out there," said Ken Pitt, a chief
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spokesman for Bell Atlantic Corp., one of seven regional telephone
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companies, known as the Baby Bells, formed by the breakup of American
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Telephone & Telegraph Co.
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AT&T and the Baby Bells, as represented by the U.S. Telephone
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Association, oppose the draft bill as written.
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Researcher Douglas Conn, associate director of Columbia University's
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Institute for Tele-Information, said the dispute could threaten the
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U.S. position in global communications.
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"It is a very, very touch and difficult issue. On the one side is the
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very real concern of the FBI. On the other are the telephone companies
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and organizations that support using an advanced telecommunications
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network to compete internationally," Conn said.
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But the FBI is pressing forward.
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FBI Director William Sessions recently wrote a column for the New York
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Times about the potential threat to the effectiveness of law
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enforcement.
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"Wiretapping is one of the most effective means of combating drug
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trafficking, organized crime, kidnaping and corruption in government,"
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Sessions wrote in the column, which was published last month.
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"The Federal Bureau of Investigation does not want the new digital
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technology that is spreading across America to impair this crucial
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law-enforcement technique."
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The FBI says it uses telephone wiretaps in just 1 percent of its
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investigations and only with a court warrant. But those cases tend to
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be major ones involving organized crime and drug traffickers.
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By law, telephone companies are required to assist the FBI in
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court-approved wiretapping.
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But company officials say they are baffled that the FBI, long known for
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inventing ingenious investigative tools, expects them to develop the
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wiretap technology.
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The Federal Communications Commission, which regulates
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telecommunications, is also worried about the proposed legislation.
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"Our most overriding concern is the potential negative impact this
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could have on the development of the telecommunications
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infrastructure," said James Spurlock, a top FCC official.
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"There are real public policy questions here."
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FCC Chairman Alfred Sikes wants U.S. phone companies to speed up their
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use of digital systems and fiber optics to compete with technologies
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surfacing in Japan, France and Germany.
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Regional phone companies are on the threshold of deploying digital
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equipment in the local service loops that take in residential
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customers, the same leg of the service that the FBI uses in
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wiretapping.
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But with the coming installation of Integrated Services Digital
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Network systems into homes and residences, conventional wiretapping
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devices may produce little more than an incomprehensible jumble of
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sound.
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James Kallstrom, chief of the FBI's engineering and technical services
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division, says the bureau proposal would mean only one more
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requirement among hundreds that phone companies write into their
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systems.
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"We are looking for them to take in our requirements as they take in
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hundreds of other requirements when they design these things," he
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said.
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"The have hundreds of internal design requirements to account for
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billing and routing and new services. This would be another."
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Kallstrom also disputed the argument that the FBI's proposals would
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impede technological development or impose big costs, saying changes
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could be designed into software or manufactured into switches.
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Officials from BellSouth Corp., Bell Atlantic, Nynex Corp., among
|
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other Baby Bells, as well as telecommunications companies American
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Telephone & Telegraph Co. and GTE Corp., have met with FBI technicians
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at an FBI training center to hammer out the problem.
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"These meetings are better refining the issue" and easing some of the
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adversity, said BellSouth spokesman Bill McCloskey. But the session
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resolved little.
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------------------------------
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Date: Thu, 9 Apr 92 21:17:54 PDT
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From: jwarren@AUTODESK.COM(Jim Warren)
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Subject: POSSIBLE INTEREST: Electr.CivLib - model candidate's statement & ideas
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
Hi,
|
|||
|
This concerns practical efforts to assure that traditional
|
|||
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constitutional rights and protections remain clearly guaranteed, even in
|
|||
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the context of modern technology -- in the "Information Age" and across
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the "Electronic Frontier."
|
|||
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|
|||
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For this 1992 election-year, the following offers possible models for
|
|||
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do-it-yourself citizen-based political action. Please "copy, post and
|
|||
|
circulate" this 3-part document wherever and to whomever you wish. Please
|
|||
|
feel free to modify Parts 2 and 3 however you wish -- over your own signature.
|
|||
|
After all, freedom always *has* been a
|
|||
|
do-it-yourself project.
|
|||
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|
|||
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This introduction is PART-1 of three parts.
|
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PART-2 provides a model cover-letter & facts you might use:
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1. First, it *briefly* mentions the electronic civil liberties issues.
|
|||
|
2. Its next part is intended to get the attention of a candidate and/or
|
|||
|
their campaign staff by illustrating cheap, effective net communications.
|
|||
|
3. The next part illustrates that a great number of people (candidate-
|
|||
|
translation: "voters") are involved.
|
|||
|
4. *Very important*: It outlines our ability to communicate with masses
|
|||
|
of people/voters -- at little or no cost.
|
|||
|
5. Equally important -- it requests *specific commitment to act* from a
|
|||
|
candidate.
|
|||
|
6. It offers a matching commitment to publicize their position.
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
PART-3 is a model candidate's statement committing to specific action.
|
|||
|
Note: All successful politicians have mastered the art of *sounding* like
|
|||
|
they are supportive of the hundreds or thousands of causes and pleas that
|
|||
|
are urged upon them. Good-sounding, vaguely-supportive statements are worth
|
|||
|
virtually nothing. Anything less than their issuing a public position
|
|||
|
statement committing to explicit action must be considered as meaningless.
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
Election season is the one time when we have our best chance at
|
|||
|
efficient and effective citizen action. All it takes is time and effort.
|
|||
|
(And, I walk it like I talk it -- I have forwarded customized versions of
|
|||
|
the cover-letter and model-statement to several state and federal candidates
|
|||
|
-- all of whom are seeking re-election or election to higher office.)
|
|||
|
I would be happy to help others working on these issues, time permitting.
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
The more people who send this cover letter and model statement to
|
|||
|
candidates -- and phone campaign headquarters and ask questions at
|
|||
|
candidates' forums; the more sensitized they will become to this
|
|||
|
constituency and these fundamental issues of a free society.
|
|||
|
Speak and write, now; speak and write, often.
|
|||
|
"The price of freedom ..."
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
--Jim Warren, Electronic Civil Liberties Initiative,
|
|||
|
345 Swett Road, Woodside CA 94062; fax/415-851-2814
|
|||
|
email/ jwarren@well.sf.ca.us
|
|||
|
[ For identification purposes only: organizer/chair of First Conference on
|
|||
|
Computers, Freedom & Privacy (1991), first-year recipient of Electronic
|
|||
|
Frontier Foundation Pioneer Award (1992), MicroTimes contributing editor &
|
|||
|
columnist, Autodesk Board of Directors member, founding of InfoWorld,
|
|||
|
founding editor of Dr. Dobb's Journal, past chair of ACM, SIGMICRO and
|
|||
|
SIGPLAN chapters, etc., blah blah blah. ]
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
=============== PART-2, MODEL COVER-LETTER TO CANDIDATE(S) ================
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
Dear [candidate],
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
A growing percentage of the 12-16 million people who are "online" --
|
|||
|
using networked computers -- are expressing increasing concern about
|
|||
|
protecting traditional civil liberties and personal privacy in the
|
|||
|
"Information Age." (People are "coming online" at a rate much faster than
|
|||
|
the explosive growth of personal computing in the past fifteen years.)
|
|||
|
As they use networked computers for electronic-mail, teleconferencing,
|
|||
|
information exchange and personal records, they are reporting increasing
|
|||
|
threats to electronic "speech," "press," "assembly" and personal privacy.
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
Electronic messages can have massive, persuasive impact.
|
|||
|
For instance: In 1990, a single notice sent out across computer nets
|
|||
|
prompted 30,000 complaints about Lotus Corporation's plans to sell personal
|
|||
|
data on 20-million consumers. Lotus quickly withdrew their "Marketplace"
|
|||
|
product before sales ever began.
|
|||
|
Or: In Spring, 1991, a single message sent into the computer nets
|
|||
|
prompted thousands of complaints to Senators Biden and DeConcini. It
|
|||
|
concerned legislation they had introduced, reportedly requested by the FBI
|
|||
|
via Senator Thurmond, that would have crippled secure voice and data
|
|||
|
communications for U.S. citizens and business. The Senators withdrew the
|
|||
|
proposal with three weeks of the net-circulated note.
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
Who and how many are interested?
|
|||
|
Almost all users are adults. Most are well-educated. Most have upscale
|
|||
|
incomes. Most have significant discretion for spending and contributions.
|
|||
|
Recent published research indicates there are about 14.2-million people
|
|||
|
sharing 1.3-million "host" computers on the "Internet" network. This
|
|||
|
includes about 960,000 people using 12,000+ home/personal computers as shared
|
|||
|
BBSs -- networked electronic "bulletin board systems." These offer free or
|
|||
|
almost-free teleconferencing and electronic-mail. [Matrix News, Feb., 1992,
|
|||
|
1120 S. Capitol-of-Texas Hwy., Bldg. 2-300, Austin, TX 78746.]
|
|||
|
(In addition, there are also the commercial systems such as CompuServe,
|
|||
|
Prodigy, GEnie and MCImail -- but they have only several million users and
|
|||
|
are costly in comparison to the much larger Internet computer matrix.)
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
Mass-discussions of freedom and privacy concerns are escalating.
|
|||
|
Almost-instant mass-circulated online "newspapers" and "news-groups,"
|
|||
|
plus numerous popular teleconferences, increasingly carry reports of
|
|||
|
electronic civil-liberties and privacy concerns. Credit-data abuses,
|
|||
|
covert employer surveillance, corporate espionage, seizure of electronic
|
|||
|
publications, searches of entire electronic post offices, and government
|
|||
|
opposition to secure communications are greatly escalating these concerns.
|
|||
|
These issues are rapidly penetrating the public press and television.
|
|||
|
Example: The First Conference on Computers, Freedom and Privacy (1991),
|
|||
|
prompted well in excess of 80 pages of press, including the New York Times,
|
|||
|
Los Angeles Times, Wall Street Journal, Time Magazine, Business Week,
|
|||
|
Scientific American, Germany's Der Spiegel, etc.. [For copies, contact
|
|||
|
CFP#1 chair, Jim Warren, 345 Swett Road, Woodside CA 94062; 415-851-7075.]
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
Functionally-free, almost-instantaneous mass communication is available.
|
|||
|
It is trivial for anyone to "broadcast" comments or information across
|
|||
|
the nets to thousands of people, almost immediately and for free or perhaps
|
|||
|
costing $15-$20/month. Over a million people read news-groups in USENET,
|
|||
|
which is just one of thousands of electronic "newspapers."
|
|||
|
And, system-owners and system-operators -- those often most-deeply
|
|||
|
concerned about these civil liberties, privacy and content-liability issues
|
|||
|
-- can have every user of their system receive whatever message they choose,
|
|||
|
perhaps only once, or perhaps every time each person logs-in. Without cost.
|
|||
|
Various of these "sysops" are agreeing to inform every one of their users --
|
|||
|
often numbering in the thousands -- about candidates who commit to act to
|
|||
|
protect civil liberties and privacy against new, technology-based threats.
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
We ask for your commitment.
|
|||
|
A number of people who are well-known across this huge network are
|
|||
|
asking candidates to commit to specific action, to make clear that
|
|||
|
constitutional protections unquestionably apply across this new "electronic
|
|||
|
frontier." We ask that you issue a formal position statement, committing to
|
|||
|
act on these matters. (We recognize that an informal statement of general
|
|||
|
principles is of minimal value without specifics or commitment to action.)
|
|||
|
We ask that you commit to protecting Constitutional freedoms, regardless
|
|||
|
of technology. Enclosed is a "model" that you might use as a starting point.
|
|||
|
(It illustrates some of the issues that many people feel are most important.)
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
Commitment is reciprocal.
|
|||
|
If you commit to act, we will promptly broadcast it far and wide across
|
|||
|
this massive, high-speed network. And, if your opponent(s) who receive this
|
|||
|
request, avoid explicit commitment -- by inaction, ambiguous statement or by
|
|||
|
specific refusal -- we will publicize that with equal vigor.
|
|||
|
Additionally, some of us are prepared to assist committed candidates to
|
|||
|
publicize/discuss all of their positions and issues -- not just these online
|
|||
|
issues -- via this free, fast, pervasive mass-medium.
|
|||
|
And finally, candidates who address these issues first can generate
|
|||
|
notice in the public press and television -- especially re protecting freedom
|
|||
|
of speech, press, assembly and personal privacy. Numerous reporters have
|
|||
|
shown active interest in these issues, to say nothing of 300-400 computer
|
|||
|
trade periodicals. Some of us have lists of lay and trade reporters
|
|||
|
interested in these issues and would be happy to assist your p.r. staff
|
|||
|
in publicizing your commitment.
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
I appreciate your attention to these comments and requests, and look
|
|||
|
forward to your timely reply.
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
<<signature & affiliation, if any>>
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
=================== PART-3, MODEL CANDIDATE'S STATEMENT ====================
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
Guaranteeing Constitutional Freedoms into the 21st Century
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
Preface
|
|||
|
Harvard Law Professor Laurence H. Tribe, one of the nation's
|
|||
|
leading Constitutional scholars, views technological threats to our
|
|||
|
traditional constitutional freedoms and protections as so serious that --
|
|||
|
for the first time in his career -- he has proposed a Constitutional
|
|||
|
Amendment:
|
|||
|
"This Constitution's protections for the freedoms of speech, press,
|
|||
|
petition and assembly, and its protections against unreasonable searches and
|
|||
|
seizures and the deprivation of life, liberty or property without due
|
|||
|
process of law, should be construed as fully applicable without regard to
|
|||
|
the technological method or medium through which information content is
|
|||
|
generated, stored, altered, transmitted or controlled."
|
|||
|
-- First Conf. on Computers, Freedom & Privacy, 3/27/91, Burlingame CA
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
In the absence of such a constitutional clarification, legislation and
|
|||
|
regulation are the only alternatives to assure that citizens are protected
|
|||
|
from technological threats against their constitutional rights and freedoms.
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
Candidate's Commitment to Action
|
|||
|
(model statement)
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
Preface: It has been over two centuries since our Constitution and Bill
|
|||
|
of Rights were adopted. The great technological changes in the interim --
|
|||
|
especially in computing, telecommunications and electronics -- now pose a
|
|||
|
clear and present danger to the rights and protections guaranteed in those
|
|||
|
great documents. Therefore:
|
|||
|
Commitment: In the first legislative session after I am [re]elected, I
|
|||
|
will author or co-author legislation reflecting the following specifics, and
|
|||
|
I will actively support and testify in favor of any similar legislation as
|
|||
|
may be introduced by others. Further, I will actively seek to include in
|
|||
|
such legislation, explicit personal civil and/or criminal penalties against
|
|||
|
any agent, employee or official of the government who violates any of these
|
|||
|
statutes. And finally, I will keep all citizens who express interest in
|
|||
|
legislative progress on these matters fully and timely informed.
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
The protections guaranteed in the Constitution and its Amendments shall
|
|||
|
be fully applicable regardless of the current technology of the time. This
|
|||
|
particularly includes, but is not limited to:
|
|||
|
Speech: Freedom of speech shall be equally protected, whether by voice
|
|||
|
or in written form as in the 18th Century, or by electronic transmission or
|
|||
|
computer communication as in the 20th Century and thereafter.
|
|||
|
Press: Freedom of the press shall be equally protected, whether its
|
|||
|
information is distributed by print as in the 18th Century, or by networked
|
|||
|
computers or other electronic forms, as in the 20th Century and thereafter.
|
|||
|
Liability for content: Just as a printer is not liable for content of
|
|||
|
leaflets printed for a customer, so also shall the owner or operator of a
|
|||
|
computer or electronic or telecommunications facility be held harmless for
|
|||
|
the content of information distributed by users of that facility, except as
|
|||
|
the owner or operator may, by contract, control information content. Those
|
|||
|
who author statements and those who have contractual authority to control
|
|||
|
content shall be the parties singularly responsible for such content.
|
|||
|
Assembly: Freedom of assembly shall be equally protected, whether by
|
|||
|
face-to-face meeting as in the 18th Century, or by computer-based electronic-
|
|||
|
conference or other teleconference as in the 20th Century and thereafter.
|
|||
|
The right to hold confidential meetings shall be equally protected, whether
|
|||
|
they be by personal meeting in private chambers, or by computer-assisted or
|
|||
|
electronic-based means.
|
|||
|
Self-defense: The right of the people to keep and use computers and
|
|||
|
communications connections shall not be abridged by the government.
|
|||
|
Search & seizure: The right of the people to be secure in their papers
|
|||
|
and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall be fully
|
|||
|
applicable to their electronic mail, computerized information and personal
|
|||
|
computer systems.
|
|||
|
Warrants: No warrants for search or seizure shall issue for computerized
|
|||
|
information, but upon probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation, and
|
|||
|
particularly describing the computer system to be searched and the specific
|
|||
|
information to be seized.
|
|||
|
Secure information vaults: Just as search and seizure of letters in a post-
|
|||
|
office, and papers in a bank-vault lock-box, and surveillance of telephone
|
|||
|
conversations by wire-tap, each require a separate warrant for each postal
|
|||
|
address, lock-box and telephone line, so also shall a separate warrant be
|
|||
|
required for each electronic-mail address and/or computer files of each
|
|||
|
suspect, when stored in a computer facility or archive shared by others.
|
|||
|
And further, computer files stored in a shared facility or archive by or for
|
|||
|
a citizen who is neither named in a warrant nor associated with a suspect
|
|||
|
so-named, may not be used against that un-named citizen, if seized or
|
|||
|
discovered during legal search of or for files of a suspect.
|
|||
|
Self-incrimination: No person shall be compelled in any civil or
|
|||
|
criminal case to be a witness against himself or herself, nor be compelled
|
|||
|
to provide information retained only in their mind, nor otherwise be
|
|||
|
compelled to assist the translation or decoding of information that he or
|
|||
|
she believes may be self-incriminating.
|
|||
|
Property: Private property shall not be taken for public use without
|
|||
|
just compensation, nor shall such property be used nor sold by any
|
|||
|
government agency for less than fair market value, in which case all such
|
|||
|
proceeds shall promptly derive singularly to its last owner prior to
|
|||
|
government seizure.
|
|||
|
Speedy release: Anyone not accused of a crime shall enjoy the right to
|
|||
|
a speedy release and return of all of their property, as may be seized
|
|||
|
under any warrant, particularly including their computerized information.
|
|||
|
The government shall be fully liable for any damage befalling property or
|
|||
|
information they have seized.
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
[signed] _____________________________________ [date] _________________
|
|||
|
_________________________ [please print or type]
|
|||
|
_________________________ title / current office / office sought
|
|||
|
_________________________ address
|
|||
|
_________________________
|
|||
|
_________________________
|
|||
|
_________________________ campaign-office voice-phone number
|
|||
|
_________________________ campaign-office fax number
|
|||
|
_________________________ campaign-office electronic-mail address
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
[ Additional copies of this model candidate's position commitment are
|
|||
|
available from:
|
|||
|
Jim Warren, Electronic Civil Liberties Initiative,
|
|||
|
345 Swett Road, Woodside CA 94062; (415)851-7075, fax/(415)851-2814;
|
|||
|
electronic-mail/ jwarren@autodesk.com -or- jwarren@well.sf.ca.us . 4/4/92
|
|||
|
For identification purposes, only: Warren was the Chair of the First
|
|||
|
Conference on Computers, Freedom & Privacy held in March, 1991, a recipient
|
|||
|
in 1992 of one of the Electronic Frontier Foundation's first Pioneer Awards,
|
|||
|
is a Contributing Editor and "futures" columnist for MicroTimes, a member of
|
|||
|
the Board of Directors of Autodesk (one of the nation's half-dozen largest
|
|||
|
software companies), founded several trade periodicals, and is a writer
|
|||
|
and entrepreneur, well-known across the computer industry. ]
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
------------------------------
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
Date: Sun, 12 Apr 92 12:12:32 CDT
|
|||
|
From: Moderators <tk0jut1@mvs.cso.niu.edu>
|
|||
|
Subject: JIM WARREN nominated to the Consumers Union Board of Dirs
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
The Consumer Union has recently nominated JIM WARREN as a candidate
|
|||
|
for election to their Board of Directors. Jim is one of 13 candidates
|
|||
|
for six seats on the Board. Candidates are elected by CONSUMER
|
|||
|
REPORTS subscribers, who are receiving their ballots this month.
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
CuD readers who subscribe to CONSUMER REPORTS should be especially
|
|||
|
interested in Jim's nomination and consider him as one of their six
|
|||
|
choices for several reasons:
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
For years, Jim has been a leader in fighting for inexpensive access to
|
|||
|
computer technology and on-line services. He has also been a primary
|
|||
|
figure in addressing broader consumer issues, such as consumer rights,
|
|||
|
credit reporting, and consumer tracking.
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
Jim is a recipient of the Electronic Frontier Foundation's PIONEER
|
|||
|
award for his sustained contributions to the computer community. In
|
|||
|
summarizing Jim's accomplishments, Mitch Kapor wrote:
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
Jim Warren has been active in electronic networking for many
|
|||
|
years. Most recently he has organized the First Computers,
|
|||
|
Freedom and Privacy Conference, set-p the first online
|
|||
|
public dialogue link with the California legislature, and
|
|||
|
has been instrumental is assuring that rights common to
|
|||
|
older mediums and technologies are extended to computer
|
|||
|
networking.
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
Jim's knowledge of and commitment to the issues of consumer rights
|
|||
|
would make him a valuable addition to the CU Board. If you subscribe
|
|||
|
to Consumer Reports (or know anybody who does), think about asking
|
|||
|
them to vote for JIM WARREN as a way of expanding cyberspace
|
|||
|
representation where it can have an impact.
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
------------------------------
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
Date: 03 Feb 92 17:33:41 EST
|
|||
|
From: The Mad Poet <71110.4334@COMPUSERVE.COM>
|
|||
|
Subject: MONDO 2000 poem
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
DOES SHE DO THE VULCAN MIND MELD ON THE FIRST DATE?
|
|||
|
By Nick Herbert
|
|||
|
From MONDO 2000, the magazine for cyberspace
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
I want your bra size, baby,
|
|||
|
Fax number, E-mail address,
|
|||
|
Modem com code, ID,
|
|||
|
Phone machine access.
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
Give me your thumb print, password,
|
|||
|
Blood type and credit check;
|
|||
|
Give me your antibody spectrum,
|
|||
|
Your immune response spec.
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
Let's break bread together, baby,
|
|||
|
Exchange cryptographic primes;
|
|||
|
Let's link up our parallel ports;
|
|||
|
And go on-line in real-time.
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
Let's indulge in covalent bondage;
|
|||
|
Let's communicate in C.
|
|||
|
Let's merge our energy bodies
|
|||
|
And bob in the quantum sea.
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
I wanna swim in your gene pool, mama;
|
|||
|
Snort your pheromones up close range;
|
|||
|
Tune in your neurotransmitters,
|
|||
|
Introduce you to Doctor Strange.
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
I wanna surf in your quantum potentia;
|
|||
|
Mess with your thermostat;
|
|||
|
Wanna tour your molecular orbits;
|
|||
|
Wanna feed your Schrodinger cat.
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
Let's surgically merge our organs;
|
|||
|
Our kidneys, our lungs and our hearts;
|
|||
|
Let's read physics journals together
|
|||
|
And laugh at the dirty parts.
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
Let's Bell-connect our bellies
|
|||
|
With some quantum-adhesive glue;
|
|||
|
Let's do new stuff to each other
|
|||
|
That Newton never knew.
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
I wanna feel your viscosity, honey,
|
|||
|
Melt my rheological mind;
|
|||
|
Let your female force-field vortex
|
|||
|
Deform my male spacetime.
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
------------------------------
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
End of Computer Underground Digest #4.17
|
|||
|
************************************
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
|