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Wiretapping the Web Easier Than Ever

Posted by CowboyNeal on from the in-case-you-haven't-heard dept.

theodp writes "All the trends are toward easier to tap, says an EFF attorney in MSNBC's recap of last week's 5-0 FCC vote to require broadband and VoIP providers to provide Uncle Sam with wiretapping backdoors and a recent Court decision that stored e-mail is not protected under a strict reading of wiretap laws. Civil-liberties concerns aside, MSNBC notes the FCC is also exploring its Internet regulatory options, including placing tariffs on online newspapers and requiring e-tailers to process 911 calls."

6 of 180 comments (clear)

  1. GnuPG by skrysakj · · Score: 5, Informative

    I recommend everyone look into it, install it, and use it. All emails go
    plain text without encryption, so it's the least you can do to enhance your privacy.
    As for VoIP, I don't know.

    http://www.gnupg.org/

  2. Easiest Solution... by Short+Circuit · · Score: 5, Informative

    ...for those of you worried about your email getting read:

    Don't use IMAP or webmail services. Have your POP client poll servers frequently, and delete messages after they've been retrieved..

    Most small to medium-sized ISPs don't archive email messages, due to the costs involved. (Particularly because of SPAM.)

    --
    tasks(723) drafts(105) languages(484) examples(29106)
    1. Re:Easiest Solution... by ScrewMaster · · Score: 2, Informative

      Well, I run my own server that polls my ISP's POP3 mailboxes. Those messages are then made available through my system via IMAP, Webmail, or whatever I need. I poll my ISP every sixty seconds and download new mail so it doesn't stay there very long.

      --
      The higher the technology, the sharper that two-edged sword.
  3. Parent is not Off Topic! by Brian+Puccio · · Score: 2, Informative

    Whoever modded the above as off topic clearly hasn't heard of ROT13. Who doesn't have ROT13 for their webbrowser and mail/usenet client?

  4. Re:what about voicemail? i.e. stored or not by osobear · · Score: 2, Informative

    it's rarely a question of whether they have the ability to, but more about the manpower. Even if they can listen to your messages, but unless you are attracting attention from them, they probably aren't. It's the same idea as with MS reading my hotmail account's email: sure, they COULD, but out of their tens (hundreds?) of thousands of accounts, why yours?

  5. IPv6 by wytcld · · Score: 2, Informative

    Um, guys, doesn't IPv6 require encryption? So as IPv6 is rolled out, and IPsec becomes the default way to go (certainly for business use), what exactly is the FCC-mandated access going to buy them?

    Of course, with an administration opposed to science, it might be a small step to also oppose foundational technology like IPv6. But can they do that without creating a lot bigger fuss - what with that leaving our infrastructure open to terrorists and hackers, and impeding sale of already-engineered American products?

    --
    "with their freedom lost all virtue lose" - Milton