DOJ wants to bug PCs
By Reuters
August 20, 1999 4:42 AM PT
Feds seek to arm crime fighters with new powers to break into private
premises and disable PC security.
WASHINGTON -- The Justice Department is seeking new powers to break into private
premises and disable security precautions on personal computers as a prelude to a wiretap
or further search, the Washington Post reported on Friday.
The department wanted to make it easier for law enforcement authorities to get
search warrants that would let them monitor suspects' computerized records after
break-ins, said the paper, citing documents and interviews with Clinton administration
officials.
"In a request set to go to Capitol Hill, Justice officials will ask
lawmakers to authorize covert action in response to the growing use of software programs
that encrypt, or scramble, computer files," the report said. Such encryption makes
computers inaccessible to anyone who lacks a special code or "key."
Justice officials worry that such software "is increasingly used as a means
to facilitate criminal activity, such as drug trafficking, terrorism, white-collar crime
and the distribution of child pornography," the Post quoted an Aug. 4 memo by the
department as saying.
Under the proposed "Cyberspace Electronic Security Act," investigators
armed with a sealed warrant could comb computers for passwords and install devices that
override encryption programs, the Post reported, citing the Justice memo.
To pull information from a targeted computer, agents would still be required to
get additional authorization from a court, the paper said.
Justice officials were not immediately available for comment. The proposal is
the latest in a years-long tug-of-war between the government and computer users who want
to protect their privacy by encrypting documents.
While Justice officials said their plan was consistent with constitutional
principles, the idea alarmed civil libertarians and privacy advocates.
"They have taken the cyberspace issue and are using it as justification for
invading the home," said Jack Dempsey of the Center for Democracy and Technology , an
advocacy group in Washington that tracks privacy issues.
Stiff opposition expected
David Sobel, general counsel of the Electronic Privacy Information Center in Washington,
said in an e-mail early Friday that the proposal "strikes at the heart of the Bill of
Rights."
Surreptitious physical entries are relatively rare under existing surveillance
laws. Such entries are made only to install hidden microphones, an investigative technique
approved only 50 times by federal and state judges last year.
According to Sobel, "extending this extraordinary power to cases involving
computer files would make police break-ins far more common than they are today."
The proposal followed unsuccessful efforts by FBI Director Louis Freeh and other
Justice officials to secure laws requiring built-in "back doors" so
investigators could pierce powerful encryption programs said to be a boon to criminals.
HEAR THE STORY IN REAL AUDIO
Feds Seek Power to Search Computers
The Justice Department wants the authority to secretly tap into the personal
computers of crime suspects. The department wants Congress to pass legislation that would
allow investigators to search for passwords and to override encryption programs. The
Justice Department believes that scrambled computer files are increasingly masking
criminal activity, such as drug trafficking, terrorism, white-collar crime and the
distribution of child pornography. Privacy advocates object to the plan known as the
Cyberspace Electronic Security Act, saying it would be 
another government intrusion into
Americans' homes. Listen as NPR's Peter Overby reports for All Things Considered.
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