sfbg: A look at the FBI's computer surveillance scheme
The San Fransisco Bay Guardian talks to the administrator of monkeybrains.net after earlier news that the FBI had requested copies of keystroke logs delivered by the Badtrans email virus. Via Unknown News
On a computer monitor in his bedroom-office, Rucker Jr. gives me a look at some of the stuff gathered by Badtrans – and, at least theoretically, by Magic Lantern. I check out some e-mail missives, searching on the word “anarchy.” Sixty-six messages pop up. One is by a high school student who started an “anarchy club.” Another is by a guy who thinks anarchy is a variant of satanism.Next I scroll through a few hundred Web site urls. I can see who’s been surfing for porn (blowyourload.com, yourpenis.com, iloveporno.com), who’s been applying for loans (freddiemac.com, equityloansnow.com), who’s been looking for jobs (fairfieldcountyjobs.com, museumjobs.com).
I can see why the feds would be enamored with this kind of technology: in terms of surveillance, this program makes phone-tapping look like a laughable anachronism. It also gives me the very creepy feeling of reading someone’s diary. Scratch that – it’s more like having access to the diaries of thousands of people.