CDR: Answer Re: email interception
Scot Scot
scotw at hotmail.com
Thu Sep 21 10:09:54 PDT 2000
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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