Enhanced Carnivore To Crack Encryption Via Virus

suqur writes: "MSNBC has a story about a new Carnivore feature, dubbed 'Magic Lantern,' which arrives on a victim's computer in the form of a virus through email or well-known vulnerabilities. Magic Lantern uses keylogging to extract keys typed in, and sends them off to the FBI. This is similar to a story reported on previously, but taken one step further, allowing computers to be compromised remotely."

Comments

well i guess this is a continuation

[perdida]

of the case against Microsoft by disgruntled federal employees.

Mail-virus attachments are best contracted via Outlook or web mail clients; anybody with advanced security will not have a problem here.

Unless the government starts persecuting people on Linux and *BSD systems, because they are inimical to the FBI's spying methods.

Foucault's Panopticon, here we come..

Encryption program name

[Violet Null]

It watches for a suspect to start a popular encryption program called Pretty Good Privacy. It then logs the passphrase used to start the program, essentially given agents access to keys needed to decrypt files.

If this is true, then it would seem all you need to do to foil this latest slightly-hare-brained-scheme would be to rename pgp to something else, such as goawayfbi.

Re:In other news...

[Brand X]

At least they still need a warrant to do this, right? right?

Assuming this applies:

Word of the FBI's new software comes on the heels of a major victory for the use of Carnivore. The USA Patriot Act, passed last month, made it a little easier for the bureau to deploy the software. Now agents can install it simply by obtaining an order from a U.S. or state attorney general -- without going to a judge. After-the-fact judicial oversight is still required.

No. That's... well, I'm not sure what that is, but it doesn't sound like a warrant to me.

I've got a huge problem with this

[Velex]

...as long as it requires a warrant before it can be used.

No, you're missing the point. If the FBI could get a warrant on you, they'd just require you to give them your passphrase, or just subpeona the information that was encrypted in the first place. The reason that the FBI needs this is because they know that they can't get warrants for what they want to do, because it's illegal and they have no probable cause for sticking their noses in your business.

You know that if the FBI can't get a warrant for the information in the first place, they won't be able to get a warrant for this either, so what would they plan to do with it, other than break the law?