I found this in the eff group, and think it has some implications for remailer operators and their logs. (That the FBI is subpoenaing e-mail records is not news, but the connection to the Kevin Mitnick case is.) Explanation: In an earlier message, Glen Roberts of "Full Disclosure" gave his informed speculation that this subpoena has to do with the FBI's search for uber-hacker Kevin Mitnick. The guy being subpoenaed and monitored, Lewis De Payne, comments below. The concern for remailer operators is that while I was reading this saga, all I could think of was 'Why didn't they use remailers?" I planned to comment on this in the public groups. (And I may still, if somebody else doesn't beat me to it.) But of course the concern is that if the FBI is going on a fishing expedition (a legal term :-}) for e-mail records, and Netcom is cooperating, then had they used remailers to communicate, we could now be seeing subpoenas of *remailer logs*. (This will happen eventually. All the more reasons for multiple national jurisdictions, for destruction of logs, for bonding of remailers, and for "forward secrecy" (a la Diffie-Hellman) to be implemented somehow.)
Xref: netcom.com alt.2600:23077 alt.2600hz:100 alt.privacy:18575 comp.org.eff.talk:39275 Newsgroups: alt.2600,alt.2600hz,alt.privacy,comp.org.eff.talk Path: netcom.com!lewiz From: lewiz@netcom.com (Lewis De Payne) Subject: Re: NETCOM/FBI Spying "Business as Usual" Message-ID: <lewizCvrsCz.E1B@netcom.com> Followup-To: alt.2600,alt.2600hz,alt.privacy,comp.org.eff.talk Organization: NETCOM On-line Communication Services (408 261-4700 guest) X-Newsreader: TIN [version 1.2 PL1] References: <CvqnGC.Csq@rci.ripco.com> Date: Wed, 7 Sep 1994 17:24:35 GMT Approved: mitnick@hideout.com Lines: 25
Glen Roberts (glr@ripco.com) wrote accurately: : : Some of you may be aware of the FBI subpeona for email transactions of : lewiz@netcom.com. : : She wouldn't discuss the particulars of lewiz@netcom.com, and said they : were "not open to talking about it."
I will be sending you a story for Full Disclosure. In it, I will discuss how tech support at netcom told another party (whose name will remain anonymous until I receive a subpoena) that the FBI was watching my acct, and that they were served with an order. This was disclosed to a third-party by tech support! I will also discuss my conversation with the various people at netcom regarding this matter, as well as the letter I sent to netcom explaining to them that their "monitoring" of my account to conform with the _sealed_ court order was slowing me down too much, and that if they didn't correct it, I might go find another provider, and then they wouldn't be able to monitor me.
Lots more to come... in Full Disclosure Live.
-- cc: Kathleen Carson, S.A., FBI, LA, CA. || Pursuant to Court Order Kenneth G. McGuire, III. S.A., FBI, LA, CA. || served August 11, 1994 Stanley E. Ornellas, S.A., FBI, LA, CA. || on Netcom Communications