Privacy Issues Re-emerge
W Madsen · Computer Fraud & Security · 2000
The Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Technology and Terrorism held a hearing on 1 February 2000 dealing with privacy and critical infrastructure protection. The highlight of the meeting was the response given by Critical Infrastructure Assurance Office (CIAO) director John Tritak to a question by sub-committee chairman Senator Jon Kyl of Arizona. Kyl asked Tritak about concerns that the proposed Federal Intrusion Detection Network (FIDNET) would violate the spirit of wiretap laws — a point made clear in a Justice Department memo to the CIAO dated 8 March, 1999. Tritak replied that the wiretap laws only apply to voice communications, not E-mail. Marc Rotenberg of the Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC) later testified that this was erroneous because the Electronic Communications Privacy Act of 1986 amended the wiretap laws to cover government interception of E-mail. Tritak later admitted that his earlier testimony on wiretap authority may not have been correct.