FBI: Keystone Gmen
Declan McCullagh
declan at well.com
Wed Jul 25 08:29:31 PDT 2001
Answer: Too many!
Moral: Don't post to cypherpunks with a screwy mail {delivery,transport}
agent.
-Declan
On Wed, Jul 25, 2001 at 06:55:01AM -0400, George at Orwellian.Org wrote:
> [ my email is really fucked right now,
> gawd only knows how many copies this
> single transmission will result in.
> apologies in advance.
> ]
>
> http://interactive.wsj.com/articles/SB99601609210000000.htm
> #
> # July 25, 2001
> #
> # FBI Cyber Researcher Unleashes Virus
> # That E-Mails Private Agency Documents
> #
> # By TED BRIDIS
> # Staff Reporter of THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
> #
> # WASHINGTON -- A researcher in the Federal Bureau of Investiga
> # tion's cyber-protection unit unleashed a fast-spreading Internet
> # virus that e-mailed private FBI documents to outsiders -- all
> # on the eve of a Senate hearing into troubles at the unit.
> #
> # Although the Sircam virus didn't spread to other computers at
> # the FBI's National Infrastructure Protection Center, it did send
> # at least eight documents to a number of outsiders. One, about
> # the investigation into an unrelated virus, was marked "official
> # use only." The Sircam virus has infected thousands of computers
> # since its discovery last week.
> #
> # FBI spokeswoman Deb Weierman said that no sensitive or classified
> # information about continuing investigations was disclosed Tuesday.
> # The "official use" designation protects documents from disclosure
> # under the U.S. Freedom of Information Act.
> #
> # It isn't uncommon for virus researchers to accidentally infect
> # their own computers, but the mistake was particularly embarrassing
> # because it occurred ahead of a Senate Judiciary panel's oversight
> # hearing about the FBI cyber unit's effectiveness. Lawmakers were
> # expected to focus on other agencies' failure to cooperate fully
> # with the FBI center, and on a perceived lack of trust between
> # the FBI and private-sector groups.
> #
> # The unit generally gets high remarks for its criminal
> # investigations, and even critics say the unit is more effective
> # than it was a year ago. "The effort here is not to embarrass
> # anybody but to stress that a lot of work has to be done," said
> # Republican Sen. Jon Kyl of Arizona.
> #
> # Meanwhile, the White House has begun organizing a new
> # early-warning network for Internet threats. But unlike the current
> # system, it will be coordinated by the Pentagon, not the FBI.
> # The mechanism for warning all U.S. military and civilian agencies
> # -- and ultimately corporations -- will be dubbed the Cyber-Warning
> # and Information Network, or "c-win." Organizers envision dozens
> # of computer centers that could sound an alert when a threat is
> # identified.
> #
> # The network is expected to begin operating in October. The FBI
> # unit, which currently relays these warnings, came under sharp
> # criticism from congressional auditors for issuing tardy alerts.
> # Ms. Weierman, the FBI spokeswoman, called the new network a
> # "useful mechanism" to offer the government a "technical capability
> # that doesn't currently exist." The FBI, she said, wasn't concerned
> # it would lose its warning responsibilities.
> #
> # Tuesday, at least three people said they received some of the
> # FBI documents, including a 23-year-old Internet-security expert
> # in Belgium, Niels Heinen. He operates a Web site that reports
> # on Internet break-ins and speculated that the analyst, Vince
> # Rowe, visited the site on the infected computer. Mr. Rowe didn't
> # respond to a request for comment.
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