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FBI snooping details revealed Nick Farrell THE ELECTRONIC FRONTIER FOUNDATION has released details of the FBI's advanced point-and-click surveillance system. Using a Freedom of Information Act court order, the EFF handed the details over to Wired. The information shows that the FBI can perform instant wiretaps on almost any communications device in the Land of the Free. DCSNet, or Digital Collection System Network, connects FBI wiretapping rooms to switches controlled by Voice over IP outfits and mobile and fixed phone companies. The Windows-based software collects, sifts and stores phone numbers, phone calls and text messages - but apparently the system has a few bugs in it. It cannot handle the peer-to-peer telephony provider Skype, which offers no central location to wiretap. It does not like things like caller-ID spoofing and phone-number portability either. However the biggest flaw seems to be one of security. As Wired points out, the system is similar to one which was compromised in Greece in 2005. The hacker got inside and used it to listen in on 100 government officials. The FBI says its system has never suffered a similar breach, this is partly because the network still requires some assistance of a telco. However the documents show that a 2003 audit of the system found numerous security vulnerabilities in DCSNet. These ranged from bad logging, insufficient password management, no antivirus software, a system that allowed unlimited numbers of incorrect passwords without locking the machine, and used shared logins. The system required that user accounts have administrative privileges in Windows. Once a hacker had control of a machine it would have complete control of the network.
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