FBI: Keystone Gmen

[George at Orwellian.Org]

[ my email is really fucked right now,
  gawd only knows how many copies this
  single transmission will result in.
  apologies in advance.
]

http://interactive.wsj.com/articles/SB99601609210000000.htm
#    
#    July 25, 2001 
#    
#    FBI Cyber Researcher Unleashes Virus
#    That E-Mails Private Agency Documents
#    
#    By TED BRIDIS
#    Staff Reporter of THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
#    
#    WASHINGTON -- A researcher in the Federal Bureau of Investiga
#    tion's cyber-protection unit unleashed a fast-spreading Internet 
#    virus that e-mailed private FBI documents to outsiders -- all 
#    on the eve of a Senate hearing into troubles at the unit.
#    
#    Although the Sircam virus didn't spread to other computers at 
#    the FBI's National Infrastructure Protection Center, it did send 
#    at least eight documents to a number of outsiders. One, about 
#    the investigation into an unrelated virus, was marked "official 
#    use only." The Sircam virus has infected thousands of computers 
#    since its discovery last week.
#    
#    FBI spokeswoman Deb Weierman said that no sensitive or classified 
#    information about continuing investigations was disclosed Tuesday. 
#    The "official use" designation protects documents from disclosure 
#    under the U.S. Freedom of Information Act.
#    
#    It isn't uncommon for virus researchers to accidentally infect 
#    their own computers, but the mistake was particularly embarrassing 
#    because it occurred ahead of a Senate Judiciary panel's oversight 
#    hearing about the FBI cyber unit's effectiveness. Lawmakers were 
#    expected to focus on other agencies' failure to cooperate fully 
#    with the FBI center, and on a perceived lack of trust between 
#    the FBI and private-sector groups.
#    
#    The unit generally gets high remarks for its criminal 
#    investigations, and even critics say the unit is more effective 
#    than it was a year ago. "The effort here is not to embarrass 
#    anybody but to stress that a lot of work has to be done," said 
#    Republican Sen. Jon Kyl of Arizona.
#    
#    Meanwhile, the White House has begun organizing a new 
#    early-warning network for Internet threats. But unlike the current 
#    system, it will be coordinated by the Pentagon, not the FBI. 
#    The mechanism for warning all U.S. military and civilian agencies 
#    -- and ultimately corporations -- will be dubbed the Cyber-Warning 
#    and Information Network, or "c-win." Organizers envision dozens 
#    of computer centers that could sound an alert when a threat is 
#    identified.
#    
#    The network is expected to begin operating in October. The FBI 
#    unit, which currently relays these warnings, came under sharp 
#    criticism from congressional auditors for issuing tardy alerts. 
#    Ms. Weierman, the FBI spokeswoman, called the new network a 
#    "useful mechanism" to offer the government a "technical capability 
#    that doesn't currently exist." The FBI, she said, wasn't concerned 
#    it would lose its warning responsibilities.
#    
#    Tuesday, at least three people said they received some of the 
#    FBI documents, including a 23-year-old Internet-security expert 
#    in Belgium, Niels Heinen. He operates a Web site that reports 
#    on Internet break-ins and speculated that the analyst, Vince 
#    Rowe, visited the site on the infected computer. Mr. Rowe didn't 
#    respond to a request for comment.