* Log In * Register Now * Help * Home Page * Today's Paper * Video * Most Popular * Times Topics Search All NYTimes.com ____________________ Search New York Times U.S. * World * U.S. + Politics + Education + Bay Area + Chicago * N.Y. / Region * Business * Technology * Science * Health * Sports * Opinion * Arts * Style * Travel * Jobs * Real Estate * Autos [imp.gif?client=ca-nytimes_display_html&event=noscript] Advertise on NYTimes.com U.S. Tries to Make It Easier to Wiretap the Internet By CHARLIE SAVAGE Published: September 27, 2010 * comments * Sign In to E-Mail * Print * Single Page Reprints WASHINGTON — Federal law enforcement and national security officials are preparing to seek sweeping new regulations for the Internet, arguing that their ability to wiretap criminal and terrorism suspects is “going dark” as people increasingly communicate online instead of by telephone. Multimedia Essentially, officials want Congress to require all services that enable communications — including encrypted e-mail transmitters like BlackBerry, social networking Web sites like Facebook and software that allows direct “peer to peer” messaging like Skype — to be technically capable of complying if served with a wiretap order. The mandate would include being able to intercept and unscramble encrypted messages. The bill, which the Obama administration plans to submit to lawmakers next year, raises fresh questions about how to balance security needs with protecting privacy and fostering innovation. And because security services around the world face the same problem, it could set an example that is copied globally. James X. Dempsey, vice president of the Center for Democracy and Technology, an Internet policy group, said the proposal had “huge implications” and challenged “fundamental elements of the Internet revolution” — including its decentralized design. “They are really asking for the authority to redesign services that take advantage of the unique, and now pervasive, architecture of the Internet,” he said. “They basically want to turn back the clock and make Internet services function the way that the telephone system used to function.” But law enforcement officials contend that imposing such a mandate is reasonable and necessary to prevent the erosion of their investigative powers. “We’re talking about lawfully authorized intercepts,” said Valerie E. Caproni, general counsel for the Federal Bureau of Investigation. “We’re not talking expanding authority. We’re talking about preserving our ability to execute our existing authority in order to protect the public safety and national security.” Investigators have been concerned for years that changing communications technology could damage their ability to conduct surveillance. In recent months, officials from the F.B.I., the Justice Department, the National Security Agency, the White House and other agencies have been meeting to develop a proposed solution. There is not yet agreement on important elements, like how to word statutory language defining who counts as a communications service provider, according to several officials familiar with the deliberations. But they want it to apply broadly, including to companies that operate from servers abroad, like Research in Motion, the Canadian maker of BlackBerry devices. In recent months, that company has come into conflict with the governments of Dubai and India over their inability to conduct surveillance of messages sent via its encrypted service. In the United States, phone and broadband networks are already required to have interception capabilities, under a 1994 law called the Communications Assistance to Law Enforcement Act. It aimed to ensure that government surveillance abilities would remain intact during the evolution from a copper-wire phone system to digital networks and cellphones. Often, investigators can intercept communications at a switch operated by the network company. But sometimes — like when the target uses a service that encrypts messages between his computer and its servers — they must instead serve the order on a service provider to get unscrambled versions. Like phone companies, communication service providers are subject to wiretap orders. But the 1994 law does not apply to them. While some maintain interception capacities, others wait until they are served with orders to try to develop them. The F.B.I.’s operational technologies division spent $9.75 million last year helping communication companies — including some subject to the 1994 law that had difficulties — do so. And its 2010 budget included $9 million for a “Going Dark Program” to bolster its electronic surveillance capabilities. Beyond such costs, Ms. Caproni said, F.B.I. efforts to help retrofit services have a major shortcoming: the process can delay their ability to wiretap a suspect for months. Moreover, some services encrypt messages between users, so that even the provider cannot unscramble them. There is no public data about how often court-approved surveillance is frustrated because of a service’s technical design. But as an example, one official said, an investigation into a drug cartel earlier this year was stymied because smugglers used peer-to-peer software, which is difficult to intercept because it is not routed through a central hub. Agents eventually installed surveillance equipment in a suspect’s office, but that tactic was “risky,” the official said, and the delay “prevented the interception of pertinent communications.” Moreover, according to several other officials, after the failed Times Square bombing in May, investigators discovered that the suspect, Faisal Shahzad, had been communicating with a service that lacked prebuilt interception capacity. If he had aroused suspicion beforehand, there would have been a delay before he could have been wiretapped. To counter such problems, officials are coalescing around several of the proposal’s likely requirements: ¶ Communications services that encrypt messages must have a way to unscramble them. ¶ Foreign-based providers that do business inside the United States must install a domestic office capable of performing intercepts. ¶ Developers of software that enables peer-to-peer communication must redesign their service to allow interception. * 1 * 2 Next Page » A version of this article appeared in print on September 27, 2010, on page A1 of the New York edition. * comments * Sign In to E-Mail * Print * Single Page Reprints Related Searches * Surveillance of Citizens by Government Get E-Mail Alerts * Computers and the Internet Get E-Mail Alerts * Wiretapping and Other Eavesdropping Devices and Methods Get E-Mail Alerts * Law and Legislation Get E-Mail Alerts Advertise on NYTimes.com IFRAME: https://myaccount.nytimes.com/regilite?product=TH MOST POPULAR * E-Mailed * Blogged * Searched * Viewed 1. Opinion: Relax! You’ll Be More Productive 2. PAUL KRUGMAN: The Ignorance Caucus 3. A Call for Drastic Changes in Educating New Lawyers 4. Young, Liberal and Open to Big Government 5. Why Can Some Kids Handle Pressure While Others Fall Apart? 6. Opinion: The Secret to Fixing Bad Schools 7. Frail Pope Breaks Tradition and Resigns 8. Editorial: Quietly Killing a Consumer Watchdog 9. Speculative Bets Prove Risky as Savers Chase Payoff 10. BILL KELLER: The Conscience of a Corporation Go to Complete List » 1. Disruptions: Where Apple and Dick Tracy May Converge 2. Frail Pope Breaks Tradition and Resigns 3. Obama to Renew Drive for Cuts in Nuclear Arms 4. Obama’s Turn in Bush’s Bind 5. A Growing App Lets You See It, Then You Don’t 6. Damascus on Edge as War Seeps Into Syrian Capital 7. Shooting Suspect’s Racism Allegations Resound for Some 8. The Ignorance Caucus 9. Giffords Eases Steadily Into New Life, and Cause 10. After Ron Paul, Then What? Go to Complete List » 1. modern love 2. social q's 3. crossword 4. gun control 5. immigration 6. tesla 7. china 8. health 9. education 10. krugman Go to Complete List » 1. Frail Pope Breaks Tradition and Resigns 2. PAUL KRUGMAN: The Ignorance Caucus 3. Menendez Backed Donor on Port Security Plan 4. Young, Liberal and Open to Big Government 5. Samsung Emerges as a Potent Rival to Apple’s Cool 6. News Analysis: Obama’s Turn in Bush’s Bind 7. Opinion: Relax! You’ll Be More Productive 8. ArtsBeat: Watching the 2013 Grammy Awards 9. Editorial: Quietly Killing a Consumer Watchdog 10. The Lede: Latest Updates on Pope's Resignation Go to Complete List » Europe's Big Bet on EVs and Hybrids Also in IHT Rendezvous » * In Beijing, No Tears Over Clinton's Departure * 'Real' Life in North Korea IHT RENDEZVOUS Advertisements [86x60_PS.jpg] [IHT2234_Digi-Subs_336x79pxl.jpg] [moth_reverse.gif] [moth_forward.gif] Inside NYTimes.com Booming » A Prodigy’s Death and the Limitations of Talent A Prodigy’s Death and the Limitations of Talent Opinion » The Stone: Why Do We Cling to the Idea of Race? The Stone: Why Do We Cling to the Idea of Race? U.S. » Young, Liberal and Open to Big Government Young, Liberal and Open to Big Government N.Y. / Region » Doubting if Tomorrow Will Ever Come for Taxi Doubting if Tomorrow Will Ever Come for Taxi Opinion » Op-Ed: A Tax to Pay for War By tying military action to additional revenue, the president would have a freer hand in deciding when to use force. Books » ‘Ghostman’ by Roger Hobbs ‘Ghostman’ by Roger Hobbs World » Conspiracy Buffs Gain in Court Ruling on Crash Opinion » Letters: Police Dishonesty in the Courtroom Business » In Makeover, Channel Takes Cue From Esquire Theater » An Arctic Awakening With Song and Soul Opinion » What Do the Older Jobless Need? Job seekers in their 50s and 60s are struggling. Room for Debate asks: Should they train for new fields? Or take internships? T Magazine » The Circus of Fashion * Home * World * U.S. * N.Y. / Region * Business * Technology * Science * Health * Sports * Opinion * Arts * Style * Travel * Jobs * Real Estate * Autos * Back to Top * Copyright 2010 The New York Times Company * Privacy * Terms of Service * Search * Corrections * RSS * First Look * Help * Contact Us * Work for Us * Advertise * Site Map [467b0d4aQ2FlllvQ5DQ232Q51RQ23ClQ51Q5DQ23yQ3ExQ5EQ5BCbQ231gQ5B(IQ5DQ5DQ 24BR8Bvv8Q5DQ3B8(Tv] [&t=6&s=0&ui=&r=&u=www%2dnc%2enytimes%2ecom%2f2010%2f09%2f27%2fus%2f27w iretap%2ehtml%3f%3dpagewanted%3dall%26%5fr%3d6] DCSIMG