----- Original Message -----
From: "Zot O'Connor" <zot@private>
> For a LEO to *decrypt* it and to declare it "Public Airwaves" is a bit
> facetious. Now to capture it, and later get a court order/warrant to
> break the encryption it is another story.
Decrypting (sans warrant) will violate the ECPA so it's out as far as I
(non-lawyer type) can tell. Some have even gone so far as to *try* and say a
specific protocol (ie RD-LAP, POCSAG, etc.) is "encryption". Of course if
they have a warrant....you're toast. One thing I recently read was that if a
Service Provider sets up a VPN and LE shows up with a warrant, the SP must
provide the keys. So much for encryption.
> What about VoIP over WLAN?
Oh boy...big time grey area...It's never been brought up that I'm aware of.
I would ass*u*me that if you intercept a conversation that is travelling
over a commercial provider, it's a no go (similar to the cordless phone)
plus you are getting communications "in transit". We're talking Wiretaps
here so remember, without judicial approval any "interception" ("aural
acquisition") of "contents" of communications is punishable by fine and/or
prison, and the fruits of such interception will be excluded from evidence
at trial. There may be a loophole but if the LEO is wise, they'll avoid the
legal hassle and get a warrant...No one wants to be the first test case.
Another interesting piece of wiretap information...Commercial VoIP providers
such as Net2Phone and Vonage are having a small dispute over the
Communications Assistance to Law Enforcement Act(CALEA). CALEA required
digital phone technologies, which are more difficult to wiretap than analog
circuits, be designed so authorities could monitor them. The hitch is that
Congress exempted internet providers...but didn't think about internet phone
calls. Obviously the providers believe they don't need to provide any
assistance....though it looks like they are going to do it anyway.
This archive was generated by hypermail 2b30 : Mon Oct 20 2003 - 19:18:00 PDT