FBI Rep To Speak

scroe writes "aztcs.org in Tucson Arizona is having a guest speaker, "Special Agent Thomas Liffiton of the F.B.I.'s National Infrastructure Protection and Computer Intrusion Program" regarding "carnivore". From the site :"The U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation recently came under fire for its use of a new, highly secret e-mail sniffing tool known as "Carnivore." Come hear how the Bureau intends to make use of this tool and others in its never-ending war against crime in cyberspace, and the continuing struggles among privacy, protection, and enforcement in the age of the computer-connected home." Also, Michael McNulty of Brown and Bain will be there regarding the subject of copyrights and licenses. I'd like input from the community for thoughtful comments and questions to ask, as I'm hoping there will be a Q/A. I'm trying to round up the local 2600, maybe distribute some MPAA flyers as i doubt i can resist wearing my DVD/CCA shirt."

Comments

Qs

[gunner800]

It's too bad this never showed on the main page; this would make a good pseudo-interview thingy.

Some questions you might consider asking:

• Ask him to prove every claim about what it does and doesn't do, and suggest that revealing the source is the only real proof.
• How does Carnivore intercept a suspect's e-mail without also accessing e-mails of innocent parties?
• (After some soothing claims) Has the U.S. Government ever lied to its citizens before?

Above all, I hope you can maintain a calm, polite interaction. This is the best way to help the locals see your cause as something other than a hair-brained paranoid fantasy, and it will encourage the FBI agent to take you seriously (rather than to jail ;)


My mom is not a Karma whore!

Don't ask him anything. Just DO something about it

[human bean]

like offer to teach people how to encrypt thier email so that what they have just heard about won't bother them.

Be sure to explain to the crowd at large that while the FBI is collecting the email of the bad guys, they are also having a good chuckle reading the other folks as well.

Use the postcard analogy, that is that this technology will make the FBI just like the postman who reads all of the postcards, of course, it means that all of the public's mail will be about as secure as a postcard.

Be sure to explain to the nice men in the suits that you are just trying to be helpful...