More on Cisco Building Surveillance into Routers

An anonymous reader writes "The company recently published a proposal that describes how it plans to embed 'lawful interception' capability into its products. Among the highlights: Eavesdropping 'must be undetectable,' and multiple police agencies conducting simultaneous wiretaps must not learn of one another. If an Internet provider uses encryption to preserve its customers' privacy and has access to the encryption keys, it must turn over the intercepted communications to police in a descrambled form." See our earlier story and the RFC for background.

Comments

Yes, but ...

[Anonymous Coward]

will they implement the evil bit?

you want privacy?

[Dawn Keyhotie]

Privacy is for terrorists. Only terrorists have any need for privacy, so what are you trying to hide?

Cisco is just being an upstanding and Patriotic American(TM) under the all-American DMCA, CTEA, and PATRIOT Acts, lawfully passed by the Congress Corporation, and signed into American Best-Practices by Chairman Bush.

"Privacy is dead. Get over it." - Scott McNealy

yeah, right...

[The Fanta Menace]

If an Internet provider uses encryption to preserve its customers' privacy and has access to the encryption keys, it must turn over the intercepted communications to police in a descrambled form.

Like I'd ever hand over my encryption keys to my ISP.

Re:yeah, right...

[Joshuah]

No need to worry about this. I've had people on AOL for years asking me to verify my password and I always give it to them. I've even had to verify my credit card numbers and addresses with AOL Reps over Aol Instant Messenger. Boy, those guys are such nice and helpful people. Im glad their billing glitches didnt erase my account :)

Yeah, i did have a lot of porn and various expensise gifts on my credit card, but i dont think that has anything to do with it.

So, this outlaws quantum encryption then

[mark-t]

Since eavesdropping on quantum encrypted transmissions is always detectable.

Those cops...

[MoeMoe]

'and multiple police agencies conducting simultaneous wiretaps must not learn of one another'

Because if they did then all they would do all day is send data to each other through the router about what doughnut, gun, and police force is best...

The funny thing is... I'm an army reserve and Auxiliary Police Officer which means I can make fun of myself!

Re:Big brother

[jasonditz]

I hope you didn't say that near any Cisco equipment, or the FBI will be knocking on your door any minute.

Re:encryption

[American AC in Paris]

Even then, I'd only hand over the keys in encrypted form, still forcing them to use their supper computers

You can do better than that! Encrypt the encrypted keyring, ROT-13 it, and hand it over on shuffled, waterlogged punch cards.

That will force them to use their dinner, lunch, and midnight snack computers, as well!

Re:multiple hidden wiretaps...

[smcavoy]

Simple, it asks at the login "Are you a member of a police force? Y/n: "
police answer yes, badguys answer no.

not funny

[magister707]

my uncle died of an evil bit.

Transcript

[saqmaster]

Like this?

Line 1: Sssh, I can hear something.

Line 2: Hey bob, we got something.

Line 1: It's them!

Line 2: They can hear us!! Quick, drop the hardline.

Line 1: They've gone, call downtown!

Downtown: Oops sorry, we forgot to update the IOS.

nb: laugh