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FBI snooping details revealed
Nick Farrell
The Inquirer
Wednesday September 5, 2007
THE ELECTRONIC FRONTIER FOUNDATION has released details of the
FBI's advanced point-and-click surveillance system.
Using a Freedom of Information Act court order, the EFF handed
the details over to Wired.
The information shows that the FBI can perform instant wiretaps
on almost any communications device in the Land of the Free.
DCSNet, or Digital Collection System Network, connects FBI wiretapping
rooms to switches controlled by Voice over IP outfits and mobile
and fixed phone companies.
The Windows-based software collects, sifts and stores phone numbers,
phone calls and text messages - but apparently the system has
a few bugs in it. It cannot handle the peer-to-peer telephony
provider Skype, which offers no central location to wiretap. It
does not like things like caller-ID spoofing and phone-number
portability either.
(Article continues below)
However the biggest flaw seems to be one of security. As Wired
points out, the system is similar to one which was compromised
in Greece in 2005. The hacker got inside and used it to listen
in on 100 government officials.
The FBI says its system has never suffered a similar breach,
this is partly because the network still requires some assistance
of a telco.
However the documents show that a 2003 audit of the system found
numerous security vulnerabilities in DCSNet. These ranged from
bad logging, insufficient password management, no antivirus software,
a system that allowed unlimited numbers of incorrect passwords
without locking the machine, and used shared logins.
The system required that user accounts have administrative privileges
in Windows. Once a hacker had control of a machine it would have
complete control of the network.
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INFOWARS:
BECAUSE THERE'S A WAR ON FOR YOUR MIND
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