Computer Privacy Digest Fri, 23 Sep 94 Volume 5 : Issue: 037
Today's Topics: Moderator: Leonard P. Levine
Info Gathering on Info Gathering
Re: Source for E-mail Policy Tool Kit
National ID Card A Ticket To Tyranny?
Reason 80: Int'l Impact
Reason 43: DSS
Reason 12: Classification
Reason 55: National Security
Reason 7: Congressional Intent
ACTION: Digital Telephony bill
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Housekeeping information is located at the end of this Digest.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
From: Mary Zahn Hanin <mzhanin@omnifest.uwm.edu>
Date: 21 Sep 1994 14:54:10 -0500
Subject: Info Gathering on Info Gathering
Greetings! I am a reporter for the Milwaukee Sentinel assigned to do a
story on the impact computer data gathering is having on people. We
want to make the blue collar factory worker understand why these
privacy issues are vital to his life. The question I have been assigned
to answer is "Why should people care?" We will be assigning a team of
reporters to the topic and I am seeking information and help. I am
interested in specific cases where people discovere d their privacy had
been violated, or where they showed up on a database (much to their
surprise.) We want to trace what happens when you give your social
security number out etc. We are interested in what's happening now and
some descriptions of potential future scenarios. Both plus and minus.
If you can help please E-Mail me at mzhanin@omnifest.uwm.ed. Thanks in
advance. Mary.
------------------------------
From: Lane Lenard <llenard@pipeline.com>
Date: 22 Sep 1994 10:53:00 -0400
Subject: Re: Source for E-mail Policy Tool Kit
The question was asked here: Does anyone have a source for the
following: Johnson, David R., and John Podesta. Access to and Use
and Disclosure of Electronic Mail on Company Computer Systems: A
Tool Kit for Formulating Your Company's Policy. Arlington, Va.:
Electronic Mail Association, 1991.
The source is the Electronic Messaging Association, 1655 North Fort
Myer Dr., Suite 850, Arlington, VA 22209; 703-524-5558; info@ema.org
------------------------------
From: DAZEDTOO <dazedtoo@delphi.com>
Date, 11 Sep 94 00:59:37 -0500
Subject: National ID Card A Ticket To Tyranny?
Organization: Delphi (info@delphi.com email, 800-695-4005 voice)
This is right out of todays newspaper.
National ID Card A Ticket "To Tyranny", Critics Warn
Washington - A proposed national ID system that would enable employers
to verify workers' eligibility under U.S. immigration law represents "a
major leap down the road to tyranny," civil liberties advocates said
yesterday.
"This is a Frankenstein of a system," Ira Glasser, executive director
of the American Civil Liberties Union, said at a press conference.
"This is not about immigration. Its about a fundamental American
right," the right to privacy, he said.
At issue is the bipartisan U.S. Commission on Immigration Reform's
proposal for a computerized registry that would enable employers to
check whether job applicants are eligible to work under the 1986
Immigration Reform and Control Act, which prohibits employment of
illegal aliens.
The commission's proposal is due to be unveiled Sept. 30. In
congressional testimony Aug. 3, Barbara Jordan, the longtime civil
rights activist who is the commission's chairwoman, said such a system
is the "most promising option for a more secure, non-discriminatory"
way of enforcing the law.
Jordan's testimony set off a firestorm of criticism among both privacy
and immigration advocates, who lost no time in painting the proposal as
an Orwellian nightmare that would lead inevitably to government
invasion of individual privacy.
Details remain sketchy, but Jordan said the system would be aimed at
preventing use of fraudulent forms of identification to obtain
employment. It would be built around the Social Security number, which
employees already give to employers when they start work.
"The verification process that the commission is looking at adds a step
to this existing requirement: checking that the Social Security number
is valid and has been issued to someone authorized to work in the
United States," Jordan said.
She added it might be tested as a pilot program in the five states with
the largest immigrant populations - California, Texas, New York,
Florida and Illinois. She added that protections should be built into
the system and unauthorized uses or disclosures of information should
be punished.
"The commission is equally concerned about protecting civil liberties
and privacy in any computer registry that would be established," Susan
Martin, executive director of the commission, said in an interview
yesterday.
At yesterday's press conference, called to apply pressure to the
commission as it approachs its Sept. 30 deadline, opponents said that
even a modest system inevitably would lead to a national ID card long
associated with totalitarian regimes.
------------------------------
From: Marc Rotenberg <rotenberg@washofc.epic.org>
Date: 21 Sep 1994 22:50:48 EST
Subject: Reason 80: Int'l Impact
Organization: Electronic Privacy Information Center
100 Reasons to Oppose the FBI Wiretap Bill
Reason 80: The FBI wiretap plan will undermine the privacy and
security of communication networks around the world.
Communications firms in the United States are the largest producers of
networking equipment in the world. The adoption of surveillance-based
standards in the United States will almost certainly lead to more
electronic monitoring in other countries by state police. Many
countries do not have even basic legal protections to control unlawful
electronic surveillance.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
What To Do: Fax Rep. Jack Brooks (202-225-1584).
Express your concerns about the FBI Wiretap proposal.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
100 Reasons is a project of the Electronic Privacy Information Center
(EPIC) in Washington, DC. For more information: 100.Reasons@epic.org.
========================================================================
------------------------------
From: Marc Rotenberg <rotenberg@washofc.epic.org>
Date: 21 Sep 1994 22:50:48 EST
Subject: Reason 43: DSS
Organization: Electronic Privacy Information Center
100 Reasons to Oppose the FBI Wiretap Bill
Reason 43: The development of the Digitial Signature Standard (DSS)
suggests that standards developed to facilitate wiretapping are
less robust, and are costly to American business and individual
privacy.
The recent development of the Digital Signature Standard provides a
case study of what happens when an agency with legal authority to
conduct wire surveillance is also given authority to set technical
standards for communications networks. Viewing the role of the
National Security Agency in the development of the DSS, MIT's Ronald
Rivest said "It is my belief that the NIST proposals [for DSS]
represent an attempt to install weak cryptography as a national
standard, and that NIST is doing so in order to please the NSA and
federal law enforcement agencies." Stanford's Martin Hellman concluded
that "NIST's action give strong indication of favoring NSA's espionage
mission at the expense of American business and individual privacy."
(Communications of the ACM, July 1992)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
What To Do: Fax Rep. Jack Brooks (202-225-1584).
Express your concerns about the FBI Wiretap proposal.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
100 Reasons is a project of the Electronic Privacy Information Center
(EPIC) in Washington, DC. For more information: 100.Reasons@epic.org.
========================================================================
------------------------------
From: Marc Rotenberg <rotenberg@washofc.epic.org>
Date: 21 Sep 1994 22:50:48 EST
Subject: Reason 12: Classification
Organization: Electronic Privacy Information Center
100 Reasons to Oppose the FBI Wiretap Bill
Reason 12: The FBI has hidden behind claims of classification rather than
disclose information that would allow the public to determine
whether the wiretap plan is needed.
Throughout the debate on the wiretap bill, the FBI has been unwilling
to describe incidents where technology has frustrated a court ordered
wiretap. FOIA requests are routinely denied. Even those agencies
charged with independent assessment cannot speak openly about the
plan. (The General Accounting Office testified at an August hearing in
the Senate: "Because the details of law enforcement agencies' problems
and the specific technological challenges are classified, I cannot
elaborate on them in this hearing"). Secrecy may be appropriate for
military networks and classified systems, it is hardly well suited to
the nation's public communications network.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
-> 9/22 NEWS FLASH: Wiretap bill in trouble. The Senate Judiciary
-> Committee delayed consideration of the bill, the House Commerce
-> Committee has asked to review the measure. Many questions remain.
What To Do: Fax Sen. Howard Metzenbaum (202/224-5474).
Express your concerns about the FBI Wiretap proposal.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
100 Reasons is a project of the Electronic Privacy Information Center
(EPIC) in Washington, DC. For more information: 100.Reasons@epic.org.
Also gopher.panix.com. Look under VTW and Digital Telephony for FAQ.
========================================================================
------------------------------
From: Marc Rotenberg <rotenberg@washofc.epic.org>
Date: 21 Sep 1994 22:50:48 EST
Subject: Reason 55: National Security
Organization: Electronic Privacy Information Center
100 Reasons to Oppose the FBI Wiretap Bill
Reason 55: The largest purchaser of telecommunications equipment
in the federal government said the FBI wiretap plan
would have an *adverse impact* on national security.
In 1992 the General Services Administration wrote that the FBI wiretap
plan would make it "easier for criminals, terrorists, foreign
intelligence (spies) and computer hackers to electronically penetrate
the phone network and pry into areas previously not open to snooping."
The confidential memo was obtained as a result of a Freedom of
Information Act request.
What To Do: Fax Rep. Jack Brooks (202-225-1584).
Express your concerns about the FBI Wiretap proposal.
100 Reasons is a project of the Electronic Privacy Information Center
(EPIC) in Washington, DC. For more information: 100.Reasons@epic.org.
------------------------------
From: Marc Rotenberg <rotenberg@washofc.epic.org>
Date: 21 Sep 1994 22:48:08 EST
Subject: Reason 7: Congressional Intent
Organization: Electronic Privacy Information Center
100 Reasons to Oppose the FBI Wiretap Bill
Reason 7: The drafters of the federal wiretap law never intended that
the government could tell private companies to make their
technologies "wiretap friendly."
The 1968 law that permits the government to conduct electronic
surveillance described wiretapping as "an investigative method of last
resort." The law set out elaborate restrictions on the government's
ability to conduct wiretap. The reason for the precautions is
understandable. Wire surveillance is far more intrusive than other
types of criminal investigation and more prone to abuse. To treat an
investigative method of last resort as a design goal of first priority,
as the FBI wiretap bill would do, is to stand wiretap law in this
country on its head.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
What To Do: Fax Rep. Jack Brooks (202-225-1584).
Express your concerns about the FBI Wiretap proposal.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
100 Reasons is a project of the Electronic Privacy Information Center
(EPIC) in Washington, DC. For more information: 100.Reasons@epic.org.
========================================================================
------------------------------
From: "Shabbir J. Safdar" <shabbir@panix.com>
Date: 22 Sep 1994 00:27:05 -0400 (EDT)
Subject: ACTION: Digital Telephony bill
Subject: ACTION: FBI Wiretap bill (SB 2375) THE ACTION HAS SHIFTED
Distribution: usa
Reply-To: vtw@vtw.org (Voters Telecomm Watch)
Organization: Voters Telecomm Watch (vtw@vtw.org)
Followup-To: talk.politics.crypto
*********************************************************************
DISTRIBUTE WIDELY (though no later than October 15, 1994)
*********************************************************************
[If you've only got 2 minutes, skip down to the "What You Can Do"
section.
The place to concentrate grass-roots efforts is now the Senate! The
Senate half of this bill is about to be "marked up" in the Judiciary
Committee. This is a great time to stop it. Your Senator needs to
hear from you!]
The FBI's Wiretap bills (also known as the DT - Digital Telephony bills)
mandate that *all* communications carriers must provide wiretap-ready
equipment so that the FBI can more easily implement their court-ordered
wiretaps more easily. The costs of re-engineering all communications
equipment will be borne by the government, industry and consumers.
The bill is vague and the standards defining "wiretap ready" do not
exist. Furthermore, the FBI has yet to make a case which demonstrates
that they have been unable to implement a single wiretap. Although
we as a society have accepted law enforcement's need to perform
wiretaps, it is not reasonable to mandate this functionality as a part
of the design. In itself, that would be an important balance. However
without any proof that this is indeed a realistic and present problem,
it is unacceptable and premature to pass this legislation today.
The Voters Telecomm Watch (VTW) does not believe the FBI has made a
compelling case to justify that all Americans give up their privacy.
Furthermore, the VTW does not believe the case has been made to justify
spending 500 million Federal dollars over the next 4 years to
re-engineer equipment to compromise privacy, interfere with
telecommunications privacy, and fulfill an unproven government need.
WHAT YOU CAN DO
===============
You can help stop this legislation before it is too late!
Contact your Senators, especially if they're on the Judiciary
Committee. Faxes are best, phone calls are second best; email
is probably not the greatest method of showing your opposition.
Congress just doesn't handle email well yet.
Step 1.
Figure out which state you're in. :-)
Find your two Senators on the lists appended.
Step 2. Pick up the phone, or type up your letter.
Step 3. Express your opinion. If you're at a loss for words, use
our sample communique below:
SAMPLE PHONE CALL
The FBI's Digital Telephony bill (SB 2375) affects the delicate
balance between the public's privacy and law enforcement's need
to perform wiretaps. It will require huge unknown amounts of
funding, and its need has not yet been justified by the FBI to
the public.
Please vote against SB 2375.
Thank you,
___________________
SAMPLE FAX
Dear Honorable Senator _______________,
The FBI's Digital Telephony bill (SB 2375) disturbs me
greatly. The FBI has not yet made their case to the public
that we need to build wiretap functionality into the telephones
of 250 million people to justify wiretaps which have not yet
been proven to be difficult to implement.
Furthermore, no one has yet explained how we as a nation are
going to pay for the costs of this bill, which are at least 500
million dollars and likely to be higher.
The bill would clearly compromise the privacy of all Americans
with no counterbalancing benefit to either law enforcement or
the public. The FBI has not yet demonstrated to the public a
need for this.
I urge you to oppose the Digital Telephony bill (SB 2375).
Sincerely,
___________________
Step 4. Feel good about yourself. You've just participated in democracy
without leaving your seat.
Step 5. [Extra special bonus step for activists :-]
Before you hang up, ask your Senator's staff member what
their position is on SB 2375. It's not an unreasonable question,
they were elected to represent people like you. Mail the answer
to vtw@vtw.org. We believe in making legislators accountable
for their positions.
For more information about the Digital Telephony bills, check the
Voters Telecomm Watch gopher site (gopher.panix.com) or contact Steven
Cherry, VTW Press Contact at (718) 596-2851 or stc@vtw.org.
VTW posts a Digital Telephony FAQ monthly to several Usenet newsgroups
including comp.org.cpsr.talk and comp.org.eff.talk. Look for it or
contact us at vtw@vtw.org for a copy.
List of Senators on the Judiciary Committee:
p st name phone fax
= == ======================== ============== ==============
D DE Biden Jr., Joseph R. 1-202-224-5042 na
Note: Sen. Biden is both the Chairman and a cosponsor of the bill
R UT Hatch, Orrin G. 1-202-224-5251 1-202-224-6331
D MA Kennedy, Edward M. 1-202-224-4543 1-202-224-2417
R SC Thurmond, Strom 1-202-224-5972 1-202-224-1300
D OH Metzenbaum, Howard 1-202-224-2315 1-202-224-6519
R WY Simpson, Alan K. 1-202-224-3424 1-202-224-1315
D AZ DeConcini, Dennis 1-202-224-4521 1-202-224-2302
R IA Grassley, Charles E. 1-202-224-3744 na
D VT Leahy, Patrick J. 1-202-224-4242 na
Note: Sen. Leahy is the bill's sponsor
R PA Specter, Arlen 1-202-224-4254 na
D AL Heflin, Howell T. 1-202-224-4124 1-202-224-3149
R CO Brown, Henry 1-202-224-5941 na
D IL Simon, Paul 1-202-224-2152 1-202-224-0868
R ME Cohen, William S. 1-202-224-2523 1-202-224-2693
D WI Kohl, Herbert H. 1-202-224-5653 na
R SD Pressler, Larry 1-202-224-5842 1-202-224-1630
D CA Feinstein, Diane 1-202-224-3841 na
D IL Moseley-Braun, Carol 1-202-224-2854 na
Complete list of Senators:
p st name phone fax
= == ======================== ============== ==============
R AK Murkowski, Frank H. 1-202-224-6665 1-202-224-5301
R AK Stevens, Ted 1-202-224-3004 1-202-224-1044
D AL Heflin, Howell T. 1-202-224-4124 1-202-224-3149
D AL Shelby, Richard C. 1-202-224-5744 1-202-224-3416
D AR Bumpers, Dale 1-202-224-4843 1-202-224-6435
D AR Pryor, David 1-202-224-2353 na
D AZ DeConcini, Dennis 1-202-224-4521 1-202-224-2302
R AZ McCain, John 1-202-224-2235 na
D CA Boxer, Barbara 1-202-225-5161 na
D CA Feinstein, Diane 1-202-224-3841 na
D CO Campbell, Ben N. 1-202-225-4761 1-202-225-0228
R CO Brown, Henry 1-202-224-5941 na
D CT Dodd, Christopher J. 1-202-224-2823 na
D CT Lieberman, Joseph I. 1-202-224-4041 1-202-224-9750
D DE Biden Jr., Joseph R. 1-202-224-5042 na
R DE Roth Jr., William V. 1-202-224-2441 1-202-224-2805
D FL Graham, Robert 1-202-224-3041 na
R FL Mack, Connie 1-202-224-5274 1-202-224-8022
D GA Nunn, Samuel 1-202-224-3521 1-202-224-0072
R GA Coverdell, Paul 1-202-224-3643 na
D HI Akaka, Daniel K. 1-202-224-6361 1-202-224-2126
D HI Inouye, Daniel K. 1-202-224-3934 1-202-224-6747
D IA Harkin, Thomas 1-202-224-3254 1-202-224-7431
R IA Grassley, Charles E. 1-202-224-3744 na
R ID Craig, Larry E. 1-202-224-2752 1-202-224-2573
R ID Kempthorne, Dirk 1-202-224-6142 1-202-224-5893
D IL Moseley-Braun, Carol 1-202-224-2854 na
D IL Simon, Paul 1-202-224-2152 1-202-224-0868
R IN Coats, Daniel R. 1-202-224-5623 1-202-224-8964
R IN Lugar, Richard G. 1-202-224-4814 na
R KS Dole, Robert 1-202-224-6521 1-202-224-8952
R KS Kassebaum, Nancy L. 1-202-224-4774 1-202-224-3514
D KY Ford, Wendell H. 1-202-224-4343 na
R KY McConnell, Mitch 1-202-224-2541 1-202-224-2499
D LA Breaux, John B. 1-202-224-4623 na
D LA Johnston, J. Bennett 1-202-224-5824 na
D MA Kennedy, Edward M. 1-202-224-4543 1-202-224-2417
D MA Kerry, John F. 1-202-224-2742 na
D MD Mikulski, Barbara A. 1-202-224-4654 1-202-224-8858
D MD Sarbanes, Paul S. 1-202-224-4524 1-202-224-1651
D ME Mitchell, George J. 1-202-224-5344 na
R ME Cohen, William S. 1-202-224-2523 1-202-224-2693
D MI Levin, Carl 1-202-224-6221 na
D MI Riegle Jr., Donald 1-202-224-4822 1-202-224-8834
D MN Wellstone, Paul 1-202-224-5641 1-202-224-8438
R MN Durenberger, David 1-202-224-3244 na
R MO Bond, Christopher S. 1-202-224-5721 1-202-224-8149
R MO Danforth, John C. 1-202-224-6154 na
R MS Cochran, Thad 1-202-224-5054 na
R MS Lott, Trent 1-202-224-6253 1-202-224-2262
D MT Baucus, Max 1-202-224-2651 na
R MT Burns, Conrad R. 1-202-224-2644 1-202-224-8594
R NC Faircloth, D. M. 1-202-224-3154 1-202-224-7406
R NC Helms, Jesse 1-202-224-6342 na
D ND Conrad, Kent 1-202-224-2043 na
D ND Dorgan, Byron L. 1-202-225-2611 1-202-225-9436
D NE Exon, J. J. 1-202-224-4224 na
D NE Kerrey, Joseph R. 1-202-224-6551 1-202-224-7645
R NH Gregg, Judd 1-202-224-3324 na
R NH Smith, Robert 1-202-224-2841 1-202-224-1353
D NJ Bradley, William 1-202-224-3224 1-202-224-8567
D NJ Lautenberg, Frank R. 1-202-224-4744 1-202-224-9707
D NM Bingaman, Jeff 1-202-224-5521 na
R NM Domenici, Pete V. 1-202-224-6621 1-202-224-7371
D NV Bryan, Richard H. 1-202-224-6244 na
D NV Reid, Harry 1-202-224-3542 1-202-224-7327
D NY Moynihan, Daniel P. 1-202-224-4451 1-202-224-9293
R NY D'Amato, Alfonse M. 1-202-224-6542 1-202-224-5871
D OH Glenn, John 1-202-224-3353 na
D OH Metzenbaum, Howard 1-202-224-2315 1-202-224-6519
D OK Boren, David L. 1-202-224-4721 na
R OK Nickles, Donald 1-202-224-5754 1-202-224-6008
R OR Hatfield, Mark O. 1-202-224-3753 na
R OR Packwood, Robert 1-202-224-5244 na
D PA Wofford, Harris 1-202-224-6324 1-202-224-4161
R PA Specter, Arlen 1-202-224-4254 na
D RI Pell, Claiborne 1-202-224-4642 1-202-224-4680
R RI Chafee, John H. 1-202-224-2921 na
D SC Hollings, Ernest F. 1-202-224-6121 na
R SC Thurmond, Strom 1-202-224-5972 1-202-224-1300
D SD Daschle, Thomas A. 1-202-224-2321 1-202-224-2047
R SD Pressler, Larry 1-202-224-5842 1-202-224-1630
D TN Mathews, Harlan 1-202-224-1036 1-202-228-3679
D TN Sasser, James 1-202-224-3344 na
D TX Krueger, Robert 1-202-224-5922 na
R TX Gramm, Phil 1-202-224-2934 na
R UT Bennett, Robert 1-202-224-5444 na
R UT Hatch, Orrin G. 1-202-224-5251 1-202-224-6331
D VA Robb, Charles S. 1-202-224-4024 1-202-224-8689
R VA Warner, John W. 1-202-224-2023 1-202-224-6295
D VT Leahy, Patrick J. 1-202-224-4242 na
R VT Jeffords, James M. 1-202-224-5141 na
D WA Murray, Patty 1-202-224-2621 1-202-224-0238
R WA Gorton, Slade 1-202-224-3441 1-202-224-9393
D WI Feingold, Russell 1-202-224-5323 na
D WI Kohl, Herbert H. 1-202-224-5653 na
D WV Byrd, Robert C. 1-202-224-3954 1-202-224-4025
D WV Rockefeller, John D. 1-202-224-6472 1-202-224-1689
R WY Simpson, Alan K. 1-202-224-3424 1-202-224-1315
R WY Wallop, Malcolm 1-202-224-6441 1-202-224-3230
------------------------------
The Computer Privacy Digest is a forum for discussion on the effect of
technology on privacy or vice versa. The digest is moderated and
gatewayed into the USENET newsgroup comp.society.privacy (Moderated).
Submissions should be sent to comp-privacy@uwm.edu and administrative
requests to comp-privacy-request@uwm.edu.
Back issues are available via anonymous ftp on ftp.cs.uwm.edu
[129.89.9.18]. Login as "ftp" with password "yourid@yoursite". The
archives are in the directory "pub/comp-privacy".
People with gopher capability can access the library at
gopher.cs.uwm.edu.
Mosaic users will find it at gopher://gopher.cs.uwm.edu.
Archives are also held at ftp.pica.army.mil [129.139.160.133].
End of Computer Privacy Digest V5 #037
******************************