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Wiretap Overview

Overview Government Surveillance of Telephones and the Internet

Search & Seizure
The Dept. of Justice has written a manual on the rules for seizing evidence stored in computers. "Searching and Seizing Computers and Obtaining Electronic Evidence in Criminal Investigations"

Carnivore
Carnivore is a computer program designed by the FBI to intercept Internet communications.

CDT's Carnivore Reference Page

CALEA
The Communications Assistance for Law Enforcement Act of 1994 (CALEA) was supposed to preserve law enforcement surveillance capabilities in the face of technological chage, but the FBI has been trying to use it to claim control over the design of the telephone network to enhance its surveillance powers.

CDT's CALEA Reference Page

Roving Wiretaps
A roving wiretap order allows the government to tap any phone lines that a suspect may use.

-Congress Passes "Roving Wiretaps," Expands Surveillance Authority
-E-RIGHTS Bill (S. 854) tightens standard for roving taps

Echelon
Echelon is a secretive international surveillance system that operates outside of the normal limitations of the Constitution.

International Monitoring by US government

FIDNet
FIDNet is a comprehensive monitoring system intended to protect government computers, but it raises serious privacy concerns.

CDT's FIDNet Reference Page

CESA
CESA was a bill proposed by the Clinton Administration that would allow the government to seize decryption keys without notice to the user.

CDT's CESA Reference Page

Articles

Jerry Berman and Lara Flint, Guiding Lights: Intelligence Oversight and Control for the Challenge of Terrorism Criminal Justice Ethics, Vol. 22, No. 1 (Winter/Spring, 2003)
Critical Infrastructure Protection: Threats to Privacy and Other Civil Liberties and Concerns with Government Mandates on Industry DePaul Business Law Journal (1999-2000)
Communications Privacy In The Digital Age: Revitalizing The Federal Wiretap Laws To Enhance Privacy Albany Law Journal of Science & Technology (1997)
CIO Cyberthreat Response and Reporting Guidelines Guidelines for responding to attacks on computer systems endorsed by the F.B.I. and the Secret Service, published in CIOmagazine, a trade publication, Feb 2002.

FBI Guidelines

STATEMENT OF BARBARA COMSTOCK, DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC AFFAIRS, REGARDING THE TIPS PROGRAM

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE AG
TUESDAY, JULY 16, 2002 (202) 514-2007
WWW.USDOJ.GOV TDD (202) 514-1888

"First and foremost, Operation TIPS is a program under development, and its blueprint is not yet finalized. The Operation TIPS reporting system was announced in concept six months ago, and we look forward to its rollout in the late summer or early fall.

"Operation TIPS is simply a reporting system - not a membership organization or recruiting activity - based upon successful existing non-governmental programs like Highway Watch, River Watch and Coast Watch, which enable American workers to report unusual and non-emergency issues that they observe in the normal course of their work. Several of these industries have requested a uniform method of reporting such matters to public authorities.

"The industries that will be involved in Operation TIPS represent workers who have regular routines that take them down roads, rivers, coastlines, and public transit routes, and through neighborhoods and communities. Their jobs make them uniquely well positioned to understand the ordinary course of business in the area they serve, and to identify things that are out of the ordinary. Many of these industries already have taken steps to offer their employees a voluntary way to report this type of information, but they are looking to the Department of Justice to offer a comprehensive, reliable and cost-effective voluntary reporting system. Operation TIPS is that voluntary reporting system through which information can be maintained and analyzed in a single database, and will be referred to local, state and federal law enforcement agencies for appropriate follow-up.

"None of the Operation TIPS materials published on the web or elsewhere have made reference to entry or access to the homes of individuals; nor has it ever been the intention of the Department of Justice, or any other agency, to set up such a program. Our interest in establishing the Operation TIPS program is to allow American workers to share information they receive in the regular course of their jobs in public places and areas. Once they report the information, they can rest assured that law enforcement officials will be taking any appropriate next steps."

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