--- Neil Johnson <njohnsn@njohnsn.com> wrote:
On Sun, 2004-12-05 at 20:58 -0500, Steve Thompson wrote:
[PROMIS] Yes, I have found that puzzling too.
Articles I have read refer to the original version being "in the public domain". You'd think the source code would be "out there" somewhere.
If that's true, then the government couldn't have stolen it. However, I suspect that mainfraim code of any sophistication is rarely released into the public domain. I imagine the author would be able to clear that up, assuming he has no financial reason to falsify its history.
The least "Tin Foil Hat (TM)" version of the story I found is at Wired
http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/1.01/inslaw.html
Which gives this description:
"Designed as case-management software for federal prosecutors, PROMIS has the ability to combine disparate databases, and to track people by their involvement with the legal system. Hamilton and others now claim that the DOJ has modified PROMIS to monitor intelligence operations, agents and targets, instead of legal cases."
Interesting.
I find the claims made about this software (it's ability to reconcile data from many different sources "automagically" ) pretty vague and frankly, a little far fetched, based on what I know about software, databases, etc.
No kidding. Databases are _hard_ to write efficiently, let alone to arbitrarily integrate.
(And that's not even including the "modifications" supposedly made to install a TEMPEST back door in later versions).
Perhaps I am stupid. I don't know how one would go about modifying application software to include a 'back door' that would presumably enhance its suceptibility to TEMPEST attacks. Isn't tempest all about EM spectrum signal detection and capture? Regards, Steve ______________________________________________________________________ Post your free ad now! http://personals.yahoo.ca