This is an interesting extract that I came across this morning. I thought that I'd post a portion of it (the entire paper is almost 900 lines) to the group since the topic of TEMPEST had surfaced - 8<------ Snip, Snip ------[ edited ]------ (c) 1990 Christopher J. Seline cjs@cwru.cwru.edu cjs@cwru.bitnet Eavesdropping On the Electromagnetic Emanations of Digital Equipment: The Laws of Canada, England and the United States This document is a rough draft. The Legal Sections are overviews. T h e y w i l l b e significantly expanded in the next version. We in this country, in this generation, are -- by destiny rather than choice -- the watchmen on the walls of world freedom.[1] -President John F. Kennedy _____________________ 1. Undelivered speech of President John F. Kennedy, Dallas Citizens Council (Nov. 22, 1963) 35-36. In the novel 1984, George Orwell foretold a future where individuals had no expectation of privacy because the state monopolized the technology of spying. The government watched the actions of its subjects from birth to death. No one could protect himself because surveillance and counter- surveillance technology was controlled by the government. This note explores the legal status of a surveillance technology ruefully known as TEMPEST[2]. Using TEMPEST technology the information in any digital device may be intercepted and reconstructed into useful intelligence without the operative ever having to come near his target. The technology is especially useful in the interception of information stored in digital computers or displayed on computer terminals. The use of TEMPEST is not illegal under the laws of the United States[3], or England. Canada has specific laws criminalizing TEMPEST eavesdropping but the laws do more to hinder surveillance countermeasures than to prevent TEMPEST surveillance. In the United States it is illegal for an individual to take effective counter-measures against TEMPEST surveillance. This leads to the conundrum that it is legal for individuals and the government to invade the privacy of others but illegal for individuals to take steps to protect their privacy. The author would like to suggest that the solution to this conundrum is straightforward. Information on _____________________ 2. TEMPEST is an acronym for Transient Electromagnetic Pulse Emanation Standard. This standard sets forth the official views of the United States on the amount of electromagnetic radiation that a device may emit without compromising the information it is processing. TEMPEST is a defensive standard; a device which conforms to this standard is referred to as TEMPEST Certified. The United States government has refused to declassify the acronym for devices used to intercept the electromagnetic information of non-TEMPEST Certified devices. For this note, these devices and the technology behind them will also be referred to as TEMPEST; in which case, TEMPEST stands for Transient Electromagnetic Pulse Surveillance Technology. The United States government refuses to release details regarding TEMPEST and continues an organized effort to censor the dissemination of information about it. For example the NSA succeeded in shutting down a Wang Laboratories presentation on TEMPEST Certified equipment by classifying the contents of the speech and threatening to prosecute the speaker with revealing classified information. [cite coming]. 3. This Note will not discuses how TEMPEST relates to the Warrant Requirement under the United States Constitution. Nor will it discuss the Constitutional exclusion of foreign nationals from the Warrant Requirement. <New page> protecting privacy under TEMPEST should be made freely available; TEMPEST Certified equipment should be legally available; and organizations possessing private information should be required by law to protect that information through good computer security practices and the use of TEMPEST Certified equipment. Paul Ferguson | The future is now. Network Integrator | History will tell the tale; Centreville, Virginia USA | We must endure and struggle fergp@sytex.com | to shape it. Stop the Wiretap (Clipper/Capstone) Chip.