Is 'Promis' Software Spying On Canadian Spies?

Legolas-Greenleaf writes: "The Royal Canadian Mounted Police are currently conducting an investigation into a software package called 'Promis,' used by the government, that allegedly contains a backdoor. According to Inslaw Inc. (original makers of Promis), the American and Israeli intelligence services pirated this software package, and resold a hacked version allowing them access. This software is possibly running in some of the RCMP's databases. The Canadian newspaper The Globe and Mail has a story on it here, and CNN has a story on it here." The whole thing reads a bit like a Monty Python sketch: a months-long investigation based on sketchy allegations from 1993, claiming some very interesting just-among-pals bureaucratic copyright violations. Hmmm. A handful of Canadian quarters says it's not an open-source product.

Comments

The Inslaw vs. USA case was thrown out

[isaac_akira]

They won the orginal case, and an appeal, but the case was later thrown out because of a technicality.

LOTS of details on the case:

http://www.sonic.net/sentinel/gvcon7.html

- Isaac =)