Intercepting e-mail eyed by Ottawa Privacy issue: Spy agency weighs secrecy against cyber attacks <http://www.nationalpost.com/home/story.html?f=/stories/20001016/430467.html> National Post, October 16, 2000, Jim Bronskill BEGIN QUOTE Federal officials are wrestling with the privacy implications of intercepting e-mail messages during attempts to zero in on computer viruses. A newly declassified report by Canada's electronic spy agency indicates the issue is among the thorny legal questions that need to be clarified before going ahead with a planned national centre to protect vital information networks. The Communications Security Establishment report, obtained under the Access to Information Act, stresses the need for policy guidance to help the proposed information protection co-ordination centre investigate viruses and cyber attacks. "The interception of e-mail messages may be required when tracking down viruses since most viruses are distributed through the e-mail system," says the CSE report, prepared in April. "This may be seen as an invasion of privacy but in some cases it may be necessary in order to ensure network security." It notes that existing case law deals with similar scenarios but the results are "still subject to interpretation." ... END QUOTE rest of text: <http://www.nationalpost.com/home/story.html?f=/stories/20001016/430467.html> It is not very clear what the CSE et all have in mind, perhaps a CALEA[1] like wiretapping party house or Carnivore [2]. -M Taylor [1] Communications Assistance to Law Enforcement Act (U.S. Gov't) <http://www.eff.org/pub/Privacy/CALEA/> [2] http://www.epic.org/privacy/carnivore/ --- end forwarded text -- "...as we transfer our whole being to the data bank, privacy will become a ghost or echo of its former self and what remains of community will disappear"...Marshal McLuhan -- Robert Guerra <rguerra@yahoo.com>, Fax: +1(303) 484-0302 WWW Page <http://pgp.greatvideo.com>, ICQ # 10266626 PGPKeys <http://pgp.greatvideo.com/keys/rguerra/>