FBI pressures Internet providers to install surveillance software2013-08-07 15:51 by Daniela
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has been quietly attempting to force internet service providers to install "eavesdropping technology" within their own internal networks to harvest user data. The FBI-developed software, known as "port-reader" software, intercepts and analyzes whole streams of communication in an ISP network. An industry source said the FBI wants providers to use their existing CALEA compliance hardware to route the targeted customer's communications through the port reader software. The software discards the content data and extracts the metadata, which is then provided to the bureau. Carriers are "extra-cautious" and are resisting installation of the FBI's port reader software, an industry participant in the discussions said, in part because of the privacy and security risks of unknown surveillance technology operating on an sensitive internal network. An FBI spokesperson claims the FBI has "legal authority to use alternate methods to collect Internet metadata." Generally, law enforcement requires a judge order to wiretap real-time communication streams, and the same applies for intelligence gathering under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA). But by using a "pen register and trap and trace order," government agencies are able to skirt past judicial review and oversight. Read more -here-
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