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CPSR Alert Volume 1, Number 3
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To: eff.org!cpsr-members
Date: Mon, 30 Sep 91 09:34:55 EDT
From: internet!eff.org!cpsr-members-request (Ronni Rosenberg)
Message-Id: <[email protected]>
Subject: CPSR Alert 1.03
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CPSR Alert 1.03
Friday, September 27, 1991
The CPSR Alert is published by the CPSR Washington Office
Send comments to [email protected]
CPSR membership information contact: [email protected]
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Contents
[1] DC Notes
[2] Secret Service Releases Sun Devil Documents
[3] CPSR Testifies on Workplace Privacy
[4] CPSR To Assess NIST Crypto Standard
[5] House Hearing on Export Controls
[6] CPSR Crypto Task Force Established
[7] Upcoming CPSR Events - Annual Meeting in Boston
[8] CFP Videotapes Available
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[1] DC Notes
CPSR's Annual Meeting is October 12 and 13 in Cambridge, Mass.
A reception will be held October 11 at the MIT Faculty Club. . . . In
Washington, DC, continued problems with the phone networks have
lawmakers looking closely at computer reliability. Expect to see
reports later this year . . . Pressure for Defense cuts continues,
though the Administration is holding the line on SDI . . . NREN bill
are now through the House and Senate with most differences ironed out.
One problem remains -- Democratic House members battle the President
over "buy America" provisions . . . Judge Thomas was asked during the
nomination hearing about Constitutional principles and new computer
environments. Thomas mentioned Caller ID . . .
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[2] Secret Service Releases Sun Devil Documents
In response to CPSR's lawsuit seeking the disclosure of
documents about Operation Sun Devil, the Secret Service asserted this
week that the information must be kept secret in order to protect
the investigation and the privacy of the targets of the operation.
However, certain released documents suggest that reasons originally
given for the delay may no longer apply. Earlier, the Secret Service
claimed that much of the requested material was placed under seal by
federal courts around the country, but the agency's recent submission
makes no mention of this.
CPSR Legal Counsel David Sobel said that CPSR intends to seek
discovery into the existence or non-existence of judicial "sealing
orders" covering the documents and hopes to show that any court-
ordered secrecy was intended to operate for only a brief period of
time.
"We also plan to argue that the Secret Service's concern
for privacy is suspect given the agency's cavalier attitude toward
the privacy and reputations of other targets of computer crime
investigations. We will, for instance, cite the case of computer
games designer Steve Jackson of Austin, Texas, who was the subject
of a Secret Service raid that was publicized by the agency itself."
To date, there have been no indictments in the Sun Devil case
or the Jackson case. Contact [email protected]
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[3] CPSR Testifies on Workplace Privacy
CPSR Washington Director Marc Rotenberg testified before the
Senate Subcommittee on Employment & Productivity this week. The
hearing was convened by Senator Paul Simon (D-IL), the sponsor of
S. 516, the Privacy for Consumers and Workers Act.
Also testifying at the hearing were representatives from
9 to 5, National Working Women's Organization, the Communications
Workers of America, the Air Transport Association, the National
Association of Manufacturers, the Security Companies Organized, and
MIT Professor Gary Marx.
Marc Rotenberg told the Subcommittee that workers should have
more control over the technologies that affect their lives and that
businesses which collect personal information must protect privacy.
He recommended that certain changes be made to the legislation,
including narrowing the provision for disclosure to law enforcement,
restricting the use of Social Security Numbers, and incorporating the
Code of Fair Information Practices.
The hearing was well attended. Senator Simon is expected to
move the bill later this session.
[CPSR members Steve Dever, Dan Franklin, Dave Redell, Ronni Rosenberg,
Dave Sobel and the CPSR Palo and Civil Liberties Working Group
provided comments for the testimony.]
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[4] CPSR To Assess NIST Crypto Standard
CPSR is putting together a working group of leading technical
experts to assess the proposed Digital Signature Standard that could
be used to authenticate network messages. The standard was developed
by the National Institute for Standards and Technology. Georgetown
University Professor Dorothy Denning will head the team.
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[5] House Hearing on Export Controls
An AT&T witness told a House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee this
week that improved communications were "a catalyst for democratic
reform and economic revitalization" for the Soviet Union and that
"the reasons to control communications technology are melting away."
However, a State Department official testified that the reason for
the continued restriction was the National Security Agency's
interest in monitoring Soviet communications. It was the first public
acknowledgment that the NSA was responsible for State Department
policy.
According to the Washington Post, members of Congress
appeared unimpressed by the Administration's concern. Rep. Sam
Gejdenson (D-CT) said that "concerns about fiber optics are a house
of cards" and the classified briefing he received on the subject was
full of "secret stuff that ought not to be secret." Rep. Toby Roth
(R-WI) urged "a wholesale revision of our export control system,"
which he called "the last gap of the old order."
Earlier this year, CPSR, EFF, and RSA Data Security held a
conference in Washington on communications privacy. In a statement
prepared at the meeting, the participants charged that National
Security Agency continue to block efforts to relax restrictions on
cryptography and telecommunications technology "despite dramatic
changes in Eastern Europe."
The statement concluded that "export control restrictions
for computer network technology and cryptography should be relaxed.
The cost of export restrictions are enormous . . . foreign companies
are often able to obtain these products from others sources."
(The complete statement appears in the current issue of The CPSR
Newsletter).
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[6] FCC To Consider Caller ID (from a Press release, 9/26/91)
"WASHINGTON, DC -- The FCC announced today that it would recommend
national policies for Caller ID. The announcement said the FCC had
tentatively concluded that per-call blocking should be available, but
was unsure whether it should be automatic or operator-assisted.
"Marc Rotenberg said `The FCC's announcement is too little,
too late. Most states have already held extensive inquiries and many
have required per-line blocking. The state that conducted the most
extensive investigation of Caller ID -- Pennsylvania -- found that
the service violated state wiretap law, due process safeguards, and a
constitutional right of privacy'
"`Consumers do not generally share the phone companies'
enthusiasm about this service. Technical experts have doubts about its
utility, and privacy advocates have opposed it.'
"Mr. Rotenberg said that the FCC announcement revealed little
understanding about Caller ID and its privacy implications. `The FCC
ignored the significance of data collection and confused the Caller ID
service with other similar services. Many of the states understand
these problems and have already developed policies to address them.
And Congress is close to passing legislation. The FCC has a long way
to go if it hopes to add something useful to the debate.'
"Mr. Rotenberg said that the FCC will need to consider more
carefully the consequences of transferring control over personal
information from the phone subscriber to the communications carrier.
`This is the heart of the Caller ID privacy problem -- whether the
phone company has the right to sell your phone number. That's the real
privacy issue.'
"CPSR Members have participated in Caller ID proceeding in
California, the District of Columbia, Maryland, Massachusetts, New
York, Oregon, Vermont, and Washington."
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[7] Upcoming Events
Oct 12-13, CPSR Annual Meeting, Boston, MA
Keynote speaker: John Shattuck, former vice-chairman Amnesty
International and former director ACLU Washington Office
Also Judith Perrolle, Herb Gintis, and presentations by
Mass Online, Community Bytes, EFF and CPSR
Contact [email protected]
Oct 25, US Privacy Council Meeting, Washington, DC
Canadian privacy expert David Flaherty to speak
CPSR Washington Office, 12 to 2
Contact [email protected]
1992
Mar 18-20, Computers, Freedom & Privacy, Washington, DC
Contact [email protected]
May 2-3, 1992 DIAC-92 Directions and Implications of Advanced
Computing, Berkeley, CA
Paper proposals due November 1, 1991
Contact dschuler@june.cs.washington.edu
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[8] CFP Videotapes Available
The videotapes from the CPSR Conference on Computers, Freedom, and
Privacy (March, 1991, San Francisco) are now available for purchase.
The full set of 15 videotapes provides gavel-to-gavel coverage of the
conference:
1. The Constitution in the Information Age
2. Trends in computers and Networks
3. International Perspectives and Impacts
4. Personal Information and Privacy - I
5. Personal Information and Privacy - II
6. Network Environments of the Future
7. Law Enforcement Practices and Problems
8. Law Enforcement and Civil Liberties
9. Legislation and Regulation
10. Computer-Based Surveillance of Individuals
11. Security Capabilities, Privacy and Integrity
12. Electronic Speech, Press and Assembly
13. Access to Government Information
14. Ethics and Education
15. Where Do We Go From Here?
For a brochure detailing the contents of all 15 videotapes, call,
write, or e-mail:
Computers, Freedom, and Privacy Video Library Project
P.O. Box 912
Topanga, CA 90290
(800) 235-4922
[email protected]
The individual session tapes are $55 each plus $4 shipping and
handling. The full set of 15 tapes is $480 plus $15 shipping and
handling. (Calif. residents add sales tax.)
------------------------ END CPSR Alert 1.03 -------------------------
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