[Squishy] Fw: [politics] Magic Lantern

[Jeff Wishnie]

What stupidity--do they think no one will write a detector/protector against this?

As the article rightly points out, if Norton and McAffee go along with this all it means is that they will loose their business to
companies who don't collude...

- jeff

----- Original Message -----
From: "Alex Chaffee" <alex@stinky.com>
To: <politics@stinky.com>
Sent: Wednesday, December 05, 2001 10:56 AM
Subject: [politics] Magic Lantern


> Reportedly, the FBI will soon launch an Internet worm, and two big
> anti-virus companies are colluding -- they've said that their software
> will turn a blind eye if they discover that it's been installed on
> your system.
>
>
> http://dailynews.yahoo.com/h/zd/20011205/tc/warning_we_know_what_you_re_typing_and_so_does_the_fbi__1.html
>
> Code-named "Magic Lantern," the bureau's new project would essentially
> create a government-sanctioned Internet worm that would self-install
> encryption-keystroke loggers on chosen computers. Agents would still
> need to obtain a court order before "infecting" someone, however the
> U.S. Patriot Act passed in October requires authorization only from a
> state or U.S. attorney general at first; a judge's order isn't needed
> until later. One method of distributing the encryption-keystroke
> loggers involves having a friend or relative of the person under
> investigation send him or her an infected e-mail. Of course, this
> could only happen if the suspect's antivirus program didn't first
> detect the FBI's Trojan horse.
>
> SO FAR, Symantec and Network Associates have said their software will
> not detect the presence of this FBI Trojan horse. It should be noted
> that antivirus products already exclude some files from their scans,
> though none are as powerful as Magic Lantern. No antivirus software
> vendors outside the U.S have weighed in on this matter yet.
>
> Shane Coursen, a SecurityFocus columnist and CEO of WildList
> Organization International, a group that tracks viruses in the wild,
> predicts that any such collusion with the FBI might begin the downfall
> of U.S. antivirus software maker's dominance worldwide.
>
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