In a closely watched case governing Internet privacy, a federal appeals court has reinstated a criminal case against an e-mail provider accused of violating wiretap laws. The 1st Circuit Court of Appeals, in a 5-2 vote, ruled on Thursday that an e-mail provider who allegedly read correspondence meant for his customers could be tried on federal criminal charges. . That decision reverses a 2-1 vote by a three-judge panel last year that raised alarms among civil libertarians and even sparked a flurry of efforts in Congress to rewrite wiretapping law in response. Privacy advocates had warned that if last year's ruling by the 1st Circuit was left untouched, it could usher in more e-mail eavesdropping by the government. In a rare meeting of minds, the U.S. Justice Department also urged that the case not be dismissed. Lawyers for the defense, on the other hand, said that a broad reading of wiretapping law would open the door for prosecutions of Internet service providers performing normal business practices. The case deals with an indictment of Bradford Councilman, formerly vice president of online bookseller Interloc, which is now part of Alibris. Interloc provided some of its customers, typically dealers of rare or used books, with e-mail addresses ending in "@interloc.com." Councilman allegedly ordered the creation of a Procmail script, which saved copies of inbound messages from Amazon.com sent to those specialty book dealers, in hopes of gaining commercial intelligence. (Procmail is a popular Unix utility used for sorting and delivering incoming e-mail.). Court of appeals revives criminal proceedings against email service accused of illegally monitoring users, sparking privacy debates.. email privacy, ISP liability, criminal wiretap laws. . LinuxSecurity.com Team
By a 385-3 vote, the House approved a computer crime bill that also expands police ability to conduct Internet or telephone eavesdropping without first obtaining a court order. The Bush administration had asked Congress to approve the Cyber Security Enhancement . . . . By a 385-3 vote, the House approved a computer crime bill that also expands police ability to conduct Internet or telephone eavesdropping without first obtaining a court order. The Bush administration had asked Congress to approve the Cyber Security Enhancement Act (CSEA) as a way of responding to electronic intrusions, denial of service attacks and the threat of "cyber-terrorism." The CSEA had been written before the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks last year, but the events spurred legislators toward Monday evening's near-unanimous vote. The link for this article located at CNet is no longer available. . By a 385-3 vote, the House approved a computer crime bill that also expands police ability to conduc. 385-3, house, approved, computer, crime, expands, police, ability, conduc. . Anthony Pell
An FBI spokesman confirmed Wednesday that the U.S. government is working on a controversial Internet spying technology, code-named "Magic Lantern," which could be used to eavesdrop on computer communications by suspected criminals. "It is a workbench project" that has not . . . . An FBI spokesman confirmed Wednesday that the U.S. government is working on a controversial Internet spying technology, code-named "Magic Lantern," which could be used to eavesdrop on computer communications by suspected criminals. "It is a workbench project" that has not yet been deployed, said FBI spokesman Paul Bresson. "We can't discuss it because it's under development." The FBI has already acknowledged that it uses software that records keystrokes typed into a computer to obtain passwords that can be used to read encrypted e-mail and other documents as part of criminal investigations. The link for this article located at Wired is no longer available. . A spokesperson for the FBI has verified that the federal government is in the process of creating a contentious online surveillance tool.. Surveillance Technology, Internet Spying, Cybersecurity Developments. . Anthony Pell
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