I can second that as a former SIGINTer (please don't ask for a definition of SIGINT. I'd hate to have another classified thought since I don't have a clearance any more :> I feel your pain too Mike. I had less than a fun time finding defense work outside DC). In fact, there were stories of people getting in serious doo-doo for searching NSA owned *news* databases for info on sports stars -- the db is officially an intelligence source since it's owned & operated by "the community". (Can't remember the name either, but there was a series of hearings & Congressional investigation that resulted in the Intel Oversight program.) Also, the way I always understood it, these rules only apply to collectors of foreign intelligence (CIA, NSA, etc), and not the FBI since its charge is (was?) domestic terrorism intel. -- Randy Esser, CISSP Business Development Owner -- Security Computer Associates > OK, this is how it breaks out according to the Intelligence Oversight > Program, which is a DoD policy and also followed by the NSA: > > It's illegal to collect intelligence information on any US person, a US > person being defined as a citizen, a person who claims to be a citizen, > or a corporation with the majority of interests in the US. > > The following are exceptions: > > -The US Attorney General can authorize collection on any US person > similar to a search warrant (ie, there has to be evidence to warrant > collection) > > -Material collected has a 90-day grace period for evaluation if it is > unclear whether the source is a US person or not. If at any time it is > discovered that the source is a US person, then the material has to be > destroyed. > > -"Accidental" collection (ie, during routine spectrum scanning) of a > terrorist act, assassination, or other similar acts is reportable, as > long as it isn't the result of a long-term collection effort. > > The intent of the law is to protect the privacy of the US persons, so > sometimes the following happens: > Alice (US person) calls Bob (foreign national) > Bob tells Alice that he's ordering 54 RPG's and 120 anti-tank mines > Eve (working for an intelligence agency) reports that Bob told " a US > person" that he ordered 54 RPG's and 120 anti-tank mines. > At no time does Eve mention Alice's name, location, or anything else that > would violate her privacy. > > And yes, at one time I was Eve (anybody looking to hire a former > intelligence operative who knows Unix? ;^) ). Violations of the > Intelligence Oversight Program are immediate career-stoppers in the > intelligence organizations because at one time (1960's and before) we did > conduct active collection efforts on US persons and there was a > Congressional Commission on intelligence (can't remember the name of it > off the top of my head) brought these abuses to the public forefront. > Shortly thereafter, legislation was passed to prevent this collection. > The policy that reflects the legislation is in the form of the > Intelligence Oversight Program. > > The rules for the FBI probably are different since they aren't officially > an intelligence organ, but a law enforcement organization. I think that > gives them the same status as the local cops wrt search and seizure laws. > > Cheers > --Mike > > Shaun Savage wrote: > > > The last few months has seen an avalanche of new laws concerning > > govermental spying ( inteligence gathering) on "terrorist". > > ~ What are the new laws concerning carnivore and echlon, (personal > > private data interception)? > > ~ What are the different types of information gathering and what legal > > requirment are needed for the different types. > > Who has juristdiction to do what? > > > > I understand the tech side but the legal aspect is dificult to filter > > out to get to the heart what really can be done, legally. > > > > Shaun > > -- > "Ask a Soviet engineer to design a pair of shoes and he'll come up with > something that looks like the boxes that the shoes came in; ask him to > make something that will massacre Germans, and he turns into Thomas > *Fscking* Edison." --Neal Stephenson, Cryptonomicon > >
This archive was generated by hypermail 2b30 : Mon Aug 05 2002 - 18:22:38 PDT