Privacy Invasion By Any Other Name

Posted by timothy on Monday February 12, 2001 @06:19AM from the nice-perfume-my-lovely dept.

Steve writes: "CNET News.com reports that the FBI has changed the name of Carnivore to DCS1000. The DCS stands for 'Digital Collection System.' According to the article, 'A spokesman for the FBI denied that the name change stemmed from worries that the name Carnivore made the system sound like a predatory device made to invade people's privacy. But the Illinois Institute of Technology, which last fall issued an analysis of the system at the request of the Justice Department, recommended that the name be changed for just that reason, according to an IIT analyst.' The article does not say which of the IITRI recommendations were incorporated other than the name change." The FDA requires prominent, nominally truthful labels on food, but apparently not all TLA agencies feel quite the same way. I thought "Carnivore" was a beautiful flash of truth in labelling, so this move is a shame.

1 of 78 comments (clear)

Min score:

Reason:

Sort:

What DCS stands for. by tenzig_112 · 2001-02-12 01:40 · Score: 5

DCS There was a factual error in this story. DCS stands for "Dork Correction System" and does not collect information from ISPs. It does translate skript kiddie speak into something the FBI can understand. It seems that most "l337 h4xx0rz" aren't smart enough to encrypt conversations, conducting all kinds of business right out in the open.
Here's a snippet from a recent chat on AOL's Br1ttn3y Sp34rz chat room.
H4xx0rB0y3210932: Phr34kz & Cr4ckz here
l337H0ney: Yo. Check my cr4ckz. Ph0t0sh0p 3.1. C0rr3l Dr4w 1.6. GIMP 1.4
H4t3: Dud3. You us3d an "e" in y0ur n4me. And G1MP is fr33.

This translates into:
Nefarious Character 1: Hello, fellows. I have many items of stolen software merchandise.
Nefarious Character 2: I am elite. The software I have stolen is available on my world wide web site.
Nefarious Character 3: Unintelligible.

You've got to love the FBI. I really wish them well.