FBI: Keystone Gmen

[Declan McCullagh]

Answer: Too many!

Moral: Don't post to cypherpunks with a screwy mail {delivery,transport}
agent.

-Declan


On Wed, Jul 25, 2001 at 06:55:01AM -0400, George at Orwellian.Org wrote:
> [ 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.