Ever hear of CIPAV? It is some pretty bad-ass spyware that tracks every website, every chat, every email that you send from your computer. Maybe you know it by its more common name Computer and Internet Protocol Address Verifier. Sounds pretty official for a piece of nefarious software. Guess what, it is the software used by the FBI. Which is Ok I guess, I mean the FBI needs investigative and forensic tools don’t they? But what do they do with all this data they collect? Who are they collecting it from? Do they need or even attempt to get a warrant when they use it? Why is it such a big secret? These are just a few questions about this secret program that have come up since its existence was first discovered. Now it looks like the FBI actually asked the FISC court (Thats the secret court that rubber stamps eavesdropping warrants for the FBI) if they could use the software. Looks like they have been using this stuff since 2005! No idea of how it gets installed or if AV software will catch it. I’m all for the FBI and other agencies having the tools they need to do their jobs but there is no reason why it needs to be all secret and cloak and dagger, how about a little oversight?
About Space Rogue
With over two decades of experience, Space Rogue (Cris Thomas) has testified before the U.S. Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, and has been interviewed by Wired, CNBC and even MTV. He created the wildly popular websites the Whacked Mac Archives and Cyber Squirrel 1. He produced the weekly podcast SpiderLabs Radio, and the critically acclaimed weekly news video program the Hacker News Network. His writing has appeared in Network Computing, New Statesman, The Hill, and the Christian Science Monitor. He has spoken at security conferences such as Def Con, Blackhat, and Shmoocon. Space Rogue currently works as the Global Lead of Policy and Special Initiatives for the legendary IBM X-Force.
Feds Use Spyware
Ever hear of CIPAV? It is some pretty bad-ass spyware that tracks every website, every chat, every email that you send from your computer. Maybe you know it by its more common name Computer and Internet Protocol Address Verifier. Sounds pretty official for a piece of nefarious software. Guess what, it is the software used by the FBI. Which is Ok I guess, I mean the FBI needs investigative and forensic tools don’t they? But what do they do with all this data they collect? Who are they collecting it from? Do they need or even attempt to get a warrant when they use it? Why is it such a big secret? These are just a few questions about this secret program that have come up since its existence was first discovered. Now it looks like the FBI actually asked the FISC court (Thats the secret court that rubber stamps eavesdropping warrants for the FBI) if they could use the software. Looks like they have been using this stuff since 2005! No idea of how it gets installed or if AV software will catch it. I’m all for the FBI and other agencies having the tools they need to do their jobs but there is no reason why it needs to be all secret and cloak and dagger, how about a little oversight?
About Space Rogue
With over two decades of experience, Space Rogue (Cris Thomas) has testified before the U.S. Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, and has been interviewed by Wired, CNBC and even MTV. He created the wildly popular websites the Whacked Mac Archives and Cyber Squirrel 1. He produced the weekly podcast SpiderLabs Radio, and the critically acclaimed weekly news video program the Hacker News Network. His writing has appeared in Network Computing, New Statesman, The Hill, and the Christian Science Monitor. He has spoken at security conferences such as Def Con, Blackhat, and Shmoocon. Space Rogue currently works as the Global Lead of Policy and Special Initiatives for the legendary IBM X-Force.