CDR: Answer Re: email interception

[Scot Scot]

Randy,

Here's the lowdown on e-mail interception.

E-mail is treated just like any other form of electronic communication. It 
is a privilage and not a constutitional right so it falls under:

Public Law 99-508
Electronic Communications Privacy Act

Updated Federal privacy clause in Omnibus Crime Control & Safe Streets Act 
of 1968

There are a few others of course, but these are the biggies that are brought 
up in the courts.

"It is LEGAL to intercept electronic communications readily accessible to 
the general public".

Now be careful with this... it is referring to frequencies that are public 
carriers as defined by the FCC. In a nutshell, you can not be prosecuted for 
recieving a private phone conversation over the lines of your speaker wires 
and/or another phone. Why? It was not intentional. Remember, everything 
legal depends on the scope of which the act was created and how the tool 
and/or weapon was used.

Example:

1. It is legal to use a hammer to drive nails into a board
2. It is legal to use a hammer to kill someone
3. It is illegal to use a hammer to kill someone

Scope:

1. You are building a picnic table
2. You are defending yourself from another using a = or > weapon.
3. You are the agressor.

Remember this when intercepting electronic communication, ask yourself "in 
what scope am I recieving this signal" If there is no malacious intent, if 
you do not divulge the information you recieve and it is across a public 
carrier then, yes... it can be legal. However, if you go out of your way to 
modify a Radio Shack scanner to scan cell phone and local 900MHz 
frequencies... you can get yourself into a little trouble. That's why the 
FCC regulates the distrabution of such devices. Same thing goes for E-mail, 
if you accidently recieve someone elses e-mail, this was not done with 
malacious intent. You are not to divulge the information you recieve.

Sorry I'm getting a little long winded here, just one more thing to add.

The rules change however if it is in the workplace, but there are rules that 
the workplace has to follow. The catch is... Implied Consent and Express 
Consent.

Implied consent: Message posted that indicates that their will be periodic 
electronic monitering and/or verbal warning that you may be monitored. (Can 
be a logon banner)

Express Consent: Explicit signed permission (company policies) granting the 
company-employer the right to monitor communications at their discression.

Remember, at work the equipment, property and the telephone lines do not 
belong to you. They belong to the company. If you own a business and/or are 
responsible for such monitoring... remember two things.

1. Get employees to sign a policy granting you Express Consent to monitor 
communications lines. Make it part of their in-process. Do not allow them 
access to your communicatoins equipment without signing the policy. Just 
remember to word it carefully, get the company lawyer in on the draft.

2. Never, Never, Never investigate an employee. Only a trained law 
enforcement officer can do an investigation. Remember... Statistical 
Gathering is the key.

Investigating = No
Statistical Gathering = Yes

Remember one thing about discussing anything in terms of law. Law is not 
written in stone. Laws are scripted to be generic, thats why we have lawyers 
who make $$$ for being able to bend the sight of law into something a Judge 
or Jury may see.

I hope I managed to answer your question Randy. If you have any thing you 
would like to add and/or more questions hit the RE:

sK01


>From: Randy Harris <Randy at Dodeca.com>
>To: "'cypherpunks at toad.com'" <cypherpunks at toad.com>
>Subject: email interception
>Date: Thu, 21 Sep 2000 10:10:05 -0400
>
>is it illegal to intercept email.........?
>
>If you don't know could you direct me somewhere that has the answer..?
>
>R.
>

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