CSC 379:Week 4, Group 1
Internet Surveillance (e.g. AT&T’s NSA Rooms)
The issues concerning internet surveillance
Most of us are aware of government surveillance as it pertains to wiretapping to listen in on phone conversations. This type of government surveillance has had many laws developed around it and how and when it may be done. With the growth of internet traffic, similar surveillance has appeared in the realms of email, voice over IP (VOIP), and general internet traffic. The same problems that occurred years ago for the telephone communications networks have been approached for internet communications.
The first issue that surrounds internet surveillance is how to make it possible. In order to conform to Communications Assistance for Law Enforcement Act (CALEA), phone networks had to be designed so that wiretapping was an easy thing to do if an appropriate government organization requested it. However, much internet traffic is optical instead of electrical. When electricity travels through a wire, it emits a small magnetic field. Something very close to the wire could intercept the electrical communication without affected it. Optical communication doesn't "leak" any of the light, so the communication has to be disturbed in order to intercept it. This is usually done with a splitter which diverts a percentage of the light down another path.
The second issue is authority. Mainly, who decides whether and how much internet surveillance can take place. Should there be a different authority or amount of evidence in order to intercept foreign communications as opposed to domestic? Does the person whose information is being gathered have to be notified? Does the court have to issue a warrant for a government agency to investigate internet traffic? If so, how much information can be gathered without a warrant?
Links
- Basics of internet surveillance - http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Internet_surveillance
- [Conforming to CALEA http://www.securityfocus.com/news/8394]
Links
- International law enforcement agreements - http://www.commondreams.org/headlines04/0121-01.htm
- Whistle-blowing about NSA rooms - http://blogs.abcnews.com/theblotter/2007/03/whistleblower_h.html
- Full information on AT&T secret rooms - http://www.correntewire.com/nsa_spying_on_all_internet_traffic
- Recent dismissal of case against NSA - http://www.computerworld.com/action/article.do?command=viewArticleBasic&articleId=9026379
- Recent bill passed against NSA surveillance - http://pressesc.com/01178899253_bill_bans_eavedropping_NSA
- ACLU against 'wiretapping' of VOIP - http://www.eweek.com/article2/0,1895,1895253,00.asp
- Allowing email surveillance without warrant - http://news.com.com/2100-1030_3-6037598.html
- EFF sues AT&T for helping NSA - http://boingboing.net/2006/01/31/eff_suing_att_for_he.html
Prompt
During the mid 1990s, one would consider himself/herself lucky to find what one was looking for though an internet search. As internet usage has grown, better search technologies has emerged displacing many human created directory-based search engines with ones providing a vast array of dynamically-created and helpful results. Technologies such as Google Alerts allows the tracking of yourself and others content on the internet based on keyword identifiers. Voluntary technologies such as blogs, online photo albums, and social networking have added a wealth of information available about us online.
AT&T has come under scrutiny by members of the public for allegedly constructing “NSA rooms” containing equipment that has the capability to monitor large amounts of internet traffic and are only accessible special US Government-affiliated staff members.
Examine a variety of ethical concerns related to tracking of both voluntarily and non-voluntarily provided information on the internet by members of the public, employers, government, and schools. Cite relevant laws, policies, and/or actions taken that are related to these concerns.