One wonders if this policy of 'going commercial' wouldn't save the
government a lot more than the 6-15 mil they've wasted on this one.
Anyway, who cares about 15 mil, when Bush just asked for 80b! Well, I
do, because it does add up - penny by penny, dollar by dollar, and
million by million.
---
Date: Wed, 19 Jan 2005 09:08:42 -0700
From: "NewsScan" <newsscan@newsscan.com>
Subject: FBI axes Carnivore, eats investment
The FBI has abandoned its custom-built Internet surveillance technology,
dubbed Carnivore, and is now using commercial software to eavesdrop on
computer network traffic during investigations of suspected criminals,
terrorists and spies. In addition, it's asking Internet service
providers to conducting wiretaps on targeted customers, when necessary.
Carnivore initially was developed because commercial tools available
in 2000 were inadequate, but FBI spokesman Paul Bresson says the Bureau
moved a while ago to using popular commercial wiretap software because
it's less expensive and has improved in its ability to copy e-mails to
and from a specific Internet account without affecting other
subscribers. "We see the value in the commercially available software;
we're using it more now and we're asking the Internet service providers
that have the capabilities to collect data in compliance with court
orders," says Bresson. The FBI didn't disclose how much it had spent on
Carnivore, but outside experts estimate expenditures at somewhere
between $6 million and $15 million. [AP, 18 Jan 2005; NewsScan
Daily, 19 Jan 2005]
http://apnews.excite.com/article/20050119/D87MS3CO0.html
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