Civil Liberties and Security in Cyberspace - Hoover Institution
Civil Liberties and Security in Cyberspace - Hoover Institution
Civil Liberties and Security in Cyberspace - Hoover Institution
You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles
YUMPU automatically turns print PDFs into web optimized ePapers that Google loves.
<strong>Hoover</strong> Press : Cyber DP5 HPCYBE0500 06-11-:1 11:53:04 rev1 page 207<br />
<strong>Civil</strong> <strong>Liberties</strong> <strong>and</strong> <strong>Security</strong> <strong>in</strong> <strong>Cyberspace</strong><br />
207<br />
of such data, but it will not be compelled to release the data unless<br />
presented by the request<strong>in</strong>g state with adequate cause for release. 47<br />
The technology of search<strong>in</strong>g <strong>and</strong> seiz<strong>in</strong>g electronic evidence presents<br />
challenges of a different nature. 48 Computer hardware <strong>and</strong> disks<br />
may need to be obta<strong>in</strong>ed as evidence. Surveillance of network <strong>and</strong> user<br />
behavior may also be necessary, along with searches <strong>and</strong> forensic<br />
<strong>in</strong>vestigation of e-mail messages, user files, customer or employee records,<br />
<strong>and</strong> encryption keys. Surveillance may be needed before, dur<strong>in</strong>g,<br />
<strong>and</strong> after an <strong>in</strong>cident to determ<strong>in</strong>e whether a crime has occurred <strong>and</strong><br />
how to respond. Available methods range from wiretaps on phone<br />
calls <strong>and</strong> Internet communications to various tagg<strong>in</strong>g <strong>and</strong> trac<strong>in</strong>g techniques<br />
(user, chip or software ID, network IP address, location detector,<br />
etc.), room bugs, <strong>and</strong> cameras (possibly tied <strong>in</strong>to face-recognition<br />
systems). Suspect computers can be remotely monitored by captur<strong>in</strong>g<br />
keystrokes, passwords, e-mail messages, attachments, <strong>and</strong> desktop<br />
files. Police may also monitor the “computer underground”—skilled<br />
but not directly suspected hacker communities—to ga<strong>in</strong> <strong>in</strong>sights <strong>in</strong>to<br />
the nature of the attack <strong>and</strong> possible attackers. 49<br />
National laws often conta<strong>in</strong> exceptions to balance protective civil<br />
liberty pr<strong>in</strong>ciples with the need to ma<strong>in</strong>ta<strong>in</strong> public safety <strong>and</strong> order.<br />
These exceptions can help guide the police to determ<strong>in</strong>e the legal<br />
boundaries <strong>in</strong> computer searches <strong>and</strong> seizures <strong>in</strong> the absence, or <strong>in</strong><br />
early stages of development, of cyber laws. Exceptions can also create<br />
opportunities for abuse of law enforcement powers. Many countries<br />
still lack specific computer-related laws <strong>and</strong> procedures, so they refer<br />
to general crim<strong>in</strong>al laws <strong>in</strong> cyber cases. Alternatively, the U.S. Department<br />
of Justice has published, <strong>and</strong> regularly updates, specific “Federal<br />
Guidel<strong>in</strong>es for Search<strong>in</strong>g <strong>and</strong> Seiz<strong>in</strong>g Computers.” The guidel<strong>in</strong>es<br />
address the Supreme Court’s strong preference for warrants <strong>in</strong> searches<br />
47. Ibid., art. 9.<br />
48. As discussed by Dorothy E. Denn<strong>in</strong>g, “Constra<strong>in</strong>ts to Technical Cooperation,”<br />
presentation at the Stanford Conference, December 6–7, 1999.<br />
49. For more on this, see Whitfield Diffie <strong>and</strong> Susan L<strong>and</strong>au, Privacy on the L<strong>in</strong>e:<br />
The Politics of Wiretapp<strong>in</strong>g <strong>and</strong> Encryption (Cambridge, Mass.: MIT Press, 1998).