Despite the ravenous name, Carnivore is a high tech computer system used to monitor and /or record email messages. Carnivore’s primary purpose is to intercept large volumes of email and other forms of electronic communication passing through an ISP’s network. By using Carnivore, the FBI hopes to capture criminals and intercept Internet crimes.
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Carnivore was
first reported on July 11, 2000
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Carnivore is
only used by the Federal Bureau of Investigation
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Carnivore’s
original purpose was to help combat espionage, information warfare, terrorism,
Hacking, and other crimes that are common place on the Internet.
In order for Carnivore to function, its hardware, which consists of a small black box, must be plugged into an ISP’s (Internet Service Provider) central networking location. Bradley Mitchell (2000) informed us that, carnivore can scan millions of emails per second, which amounts to around six gigabytes of data every hour. By scanning the subject lines and headers of incoming or outgoing messages, the system identifies relevant communications among selected individuals as apart of a criminal investigation. Mitchell (2000) also informed us that, while Carnivore is turned “on’ it remains in a passive mode which does not alter data and prevents no messages from continuing on to their original destination. By scanning the subject lines and headers of incoming or outgoing messages, the systems identifies relevant communications among selected individuals as part of a criminal investigation. Because Carnivore can scan mail ports, it could easily scan and monitor file transfers, chartrooms, and any other forms of electronic communication.
How Carnivore Gets Your Personal InformationCarnivore’s operating systems has several fields, which allows the user to easily get what the user is searching for. For example, the IP addresses field accepts settings for particular IP’s or IP ranges; and the protocol filed accepts settings that allows the user to choose TCP (transmission Control Protocol), UDP (User Datagram Protocol) and ICMP ( Internet Control Message Protocol) retrieval, each one separately configurable for full retrieval, pen mode (headers only ) and off. Carnivore can also allow the FBI to define a text string input to be searched, for example, if you were to type in the words, “Kill the President”. If any of these words appeared within the same sentence or email, then Carnivore would highlight that particular email or message for review. In a report issued by Donald M. Kerr (2000), he explained that Carnivore was used approximately 25 times in the last 2 years.
· Although Carnivore provides a wealth of information about people it can not crack messages tat are encoded using any common encryption software. In order for Carnivore to work the message that it is intercepting must be in English.
· In a statement for the record of Donald M. Kerr (20000), Assistant director of the FBI, he stated that the FBI can not electronically investigate any person with out due cause. Kerr (2000) explained that, Under Title III, applications for electronic surveillance must demonstrate probable cause and state with particular and specificity: the offenses being committed, the communications facility regarding which the subject’s communications are to be intercepted, a description of the types of conversations to be intercepted, and the identities of the person’s committing the offenses and anticipated to be intercepted.
Carnivores other deficiencies
Carnivore lacks any type of auditing mechanism, which would allow a supervisor to investigate the actions, and intentions of any agent that may be prying unnecessarily into emails which hold no relevancy. As Thomas Greene (2000) said, because all users are logged in as ‘administrator’ no audit trail can link them to the actions. Therefore, anyone with the authority to access Carnivore can get information about neighbors, friends and family. Green (2000) also emphasized that, this one reason gives the FBI immunity in cases where over collection and investigation might have relevancy. Not only is the over collected data useful as evidence against the victim, but the victim can not find out who in the FBI is responsible for the over collection. Kerr’s (2000) comments regarding Carnivore differs from the opinions of Green’s (2000) in the fact that Kerr (2000) said, out of the 25 times that Carnivore was used in the last 2 years, “The FBI’s use of the Carnivore system has in every case and at all times been pursuant to such a judicially- granted court order or consent.” It is apparent that there are many conflicting views regarding how Carnivore is used or misused.
Why Carnivore Is Needed
In the report issued by Donald Kerr (2000), he reflected on the reason’s why the use of Carnivore could help prevent crimes. He said, “ While the FBI has always, as a first instinct, sought to work cooperatively and closely with computer network service, software and equipment manufacturers, and many others to fight these crimes, it also became obvious that the FBI needed its own tools to fight this battle, especially where legal, evidentiary, and investigative required special purpose tools”. In his report Kerr (2000) also explained the types of ‘Cyber-crimes’ that threaten the United States.
· Terrorist groups are increasingly using new information technology (IT) and the Internet to formulate plans, raise funds, spread propaganda, and communicate securely. In his statement on the worldwide threat in the year 2000, Director of Central Intelligence George Tenet testified that terrorist groups, "including Hezbollah, HAMAS, the Abu Nidal organization, and Bin Laden's al Qa'ida organization are using computerized files, E-mail, and encryption to support their operations." As one example, convicted terrorist Ramzi Yousef, the mastermind of the World Trade Center bombing, stored detailed plans to destroy United States airliners on encrypted files on his laptop computer. Recently, the FBI uncovered a plot to break into National Guard armories and to steal the armaments and explosives necessary to simultaneously destroy multiple power transmission facilities in the Southern United States. As the investigation closed, computer evidence disclosed that the group was downloading information about Ricin, the third most deadly toxin in the world.
· One of the most serious criminal threats facing the Nation is the use of the Internet for fraudulent purposes. For example, securities offered over the Internet have added an entirely new dimension to securities fraud investigations.
· Through the FBI's "Innocent Images" case, and others, it has become abundantly clear that certain adults are using computers and the Internet widely to disseminate child pornography and to entice young children into illegal and often violent sexual activity.
· The prospect of "information warfare" by foreign militaries against our Nation's critical infrastructures is perhaps the greatest potential Cyber threat to our national security. Knowing that they cannot match our military might with conventional weapons, nations see Cyber attacks on our critical infrastructures or military operations as a way to hit what they perceive as America's Achilles heel -- our growing dependence on information technology in government and commercial operations.
Carnivore is considered by some to be an effective tool to prevent crimes from being committed and criminals from going free. Some people consider Carnivore a life saving tool, but many people see Carnivore as a way the government gains access into the most personal parts of our lives. Carnivore will shortly become the ‘Big Brother’ that Orson Welles depicted in his book 1984. But the real question here is, do we really want to put our lives on display and loose the privacy that many of us hold dear to our hearts?
FBI Congressional Testimory on the “Carnivore Diagnostic Tool”
The Register’s How Carnivore Works