The right to be secure (fwd Computerworld article)

[smb at research.att.com]

	 Now this is news to me.  You mean that they can listen to me
	 if they can rationalize that there is a threat to national
	 security?

	 Here's a scenerio.  John Q. Public HAS a copy of pgp and some
	 LEA knows it.  It must be that he's some kind of subversive.
	 Therefore, he is a threat to national security.  It is
	 therefore legal to infringe on his rights?  Maybe this is a
	 bit of exageration...maybe it's not....

There are safeguards in the law; whether they're adequate or not is
open to discussion.  But it's not nearly as easy as you portray.

Warrantless wiretaps are governed by the provisions of 50 USC 1801, the
Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act.  Under that act, the Feds can
engage in electronic surveillance without a warrant if and only if all
parties are non-Americans.  If an American is picked up, they have to
destroy the tape.  Furthermore, under many circumstances (and I don't
remember the details, and I don't seem to have a copy of that law in my
folder for such things), the consent of a special court is needed.

As I said -- they (or should that be ``They'') *can* do anything.  But
that doesn't make it legal, which was your question, and if they do it
and are caught, the case will undoubtedly be thrown out of court.
Furthermore, if the tap didn't fall under the exceptions of the FISA,
it's barred by the ECPA, so you could sue for damages.