Tech Daily Dose

FBI Director Lightens Up At Press Club

FBI Director Robert Mueller showed a softer side at the National Press Club on Friday with a speech that largely focused on the mission similarities between law enforcement and the Fourth Estate. Read more about the meatiest parts of his keynote in CongressDaily's PM edition.

He began by quoting New York Times columnist Maureen Dowd: "Wooing the press is an exercise roughly akin to picnicking with a tiger. You might enjoy the meal, but the tiger always eats last." Mueller's own take: "I did enjoy the meal but I am struck with the notion that I am now at the podium and many of you still look quite hungry."

During the question-and-answer session he tackled (and dodged) some pretty serious queries but he also made room for lighter topics. Mueller was asked if the high-tech investigative methods depicted in primetime cop dramas like "CSI" and "Criminal Minds" were realistic. He said they were but the shows make the work look easier than it is -- and they don’t necessarily show the safeguards analysts employ to protect citizens' privacy.

Mueller also revealed that he does not visit social networking sites that have become all the rage. "I guess I can't invite you to be my friend on Facebook?" the questioner asked. "No," he replied.

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Intelligence Office Launches New Site

The Office of the Director of National Intelligence on Tuesday launched a redesigned Web site featuring expanded content, improved navigation tools and a new digital subscription service. The site now includes a "frequently asked questions" section and a gallery of photographs suitable for use by news organizations.

The electronic subscription management feature offers users multiple ways to receive the latest news and information from ODNI, tailored to personal preferences. An RSS feed, for instance, pushes real time information to cellular phones, Web browsers or handheld devices, officials said in a release. Another service sends e-mail alerts when information is posted.

National Intelligence Director Mike McConnell oversees 16 federal organizations that make up the U.S. intelligence community. His office also manages the implementation of the national intelligence program.

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FBI Warns Of Bogus Grand Jury E-Mail

Stop, wait! Don't open that grand jury summons e-mail. The FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center is alerting computer users about a spam message that contains a fraudulent court subpoena. At first glance, the e-mail appears authentic -- it contains a court case number, federal code, name and address of a California court, the court’s seal and other details.

The spammer directs recipients to click the link provided in order to download and print associated information for their records. If the recipient clicks the link, a malicious code is downloaded onto their computer. The e-mail also contains language threatening recipients with contempt of court charges if they fail to appear. Read the FBI's press release here.

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EFF Notes FBI Delays In Terrorism Probe

CongressDaily's AM edition on Tuesday included a mention of the Electronic Frontier Foundation's accusation overnight that the FBI delayed its probe of a former North Carolina State University student suspected of links to terrorism. The agency used an improper "national security letter" to seek information and failed to report the misuse for almost two years, according to the watchdog group.

EFF used documents obtained through a Freedom of Information Act and public records to piece together details of the case. The report came in anticipation of a House Judiciary Constitution Subcommittee hearing on the controversial administrative subpoenas. Read more about the EFF's report here and here.

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Patent Office Unveils Speedy Pilot Processing Program

The Patent and Trademark Office will initiate a six-month pilot program that will allow an applicant to have an interview with a patent examiner prior to the first office action on the merits in a new application, officials said Monday. The program, which begins April 28, is aimed at expediting patent processing by boosting applicant-examiner interaction.

"An interview between the applicant and examiner early in the review process can help resolve issues more quickly and expedite a final decision,” PTO Director Jon Dudas said in a press release. The information exchange will reduce patent pendency and improve patent quality, he said. The agency current has a backlog of more than 700,000 applications.

The pilot program will be limited to two technology areas -- electrical computers and digital processing systems/multi-computer data transferring and data processing/database and file management or data structures. For details regarding eligibility and criteria for participation, go here.

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Report: IRS Should Not Pursue 'I-File'

The Internal Revenue Service should not invest in a so-called "I-File" tax preparation system because the proposed regime would be costly to implement and create little or no benefit for consumers compared to the existing system, according to an independent report released Monday by the Computer and Communications Industry Association.

"Competition in the industry obligates software companies to keep their products user-friendly and reasonably priced, and the IRS 'Free File' program already makes tax preparation software available to seven out of 10 taxpayers for free," study coauthor Robert Litan said. I-File would cost at least $132 million more than it would save over the next decade, the report [available here] predicted.

The study concluded that the goals of I-File – specifically, an increase in e-filing of tax returns – would be better achieved through other approaches, including improvements to the IRS' existing Free File program and the creation of meaningful incentives for e-filing, the study concluded. The I-File concept makes sense on the surface "but this study exposes the idea as simply that: a nice idea," CCIA President Ed Black said.

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The FBI's High-Tech Gold Rush

During a speech in London on Monday, FBI Director Robert Mueller likened his agency's counterterrorism work to panning for gold. "First, we have to determine in which streams we are likely to find gold. Which suspected networks? Which human sources? Which Web sites?" hje said. "Then, agents and analysts must take their pans and wade through the waters of intelligence, carefully searching for nuggets of gold amid streams of repetitive or irrelevant information."

The gold might be a phone number, or name, or bank receipt, Mueller said, and it is often hidden among thousands of other scraps of information. "With deft, methodical sifting, we can separate the gold from the dross," he added, quoting Dame Eliza Manningham-Buller, former head of the U.K.'s MI5 intelligence agency. Upon their first meeting in 2001, Mueller asked her what she thought was the key to MI5's success. She said, "Two things: sources and wires" and that is as true today as it was the day he heard it, he said. Read Mueller's full speech at Chatham House here.

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High-Tech Airport Checkpoint Changes Coming

From The Transportation Security Administration Evolution Of Security blog:

In TSA's checkpoint of the future, passengers will approach the security kiosk, carry-on in hand, and put a biometric on the scanner. While the scanning system clears you after it confirms your identity and flight information, the technology in the kiosk will verify that there are no truly dangerous items on you or in your bag. Total elapsed time: about 1.75 seconds. Version Two will add a Teleporter so that you will not need to get on an airplane. Your grandchildren will love it.

Technology is a wonderful thing but it's not an overnight process - it must be invented, funded, built, tested, bought, and deployed. Unfortunately, the security technology field has not sufficiently fired the imagination of scientists or the private capital markets to the point where truly breakthrough technology will soon transform the checkpoint experience. Yet the current security threat environment requires that we get smarter and more nimble, now. Read the full post here.

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ACLU Slams FBI's Data-Gathering Practices

A former FBI agent Michael German, who now works for the American Civil Liberties Union, slammed the intelligence agency on Wednesday for ignoring laws and internal guidelines pertaining to the use of national security letters -- administrative subpoenas that allow agents to grab phone, computer and bank records in suspected terrorism cases without warrants.

FBI Director Robert Mueller told the Senate Judiciary Committee on Wednesday that the Justice Department will soon release an audit from 2006 that highlights some problems, many of which predate reforms. He also pledged "continued vigilance in this area." Read CongressDaily's coverage here.

"When it comes to NSLs, there are laws and there are internal guidelines – the FBI ignored both,” said ACLU National Security Policy Counsel Michael German. New guidelines have been introduced, but an IG report from last year "makes clear that internal guidelines are meaningless to the FBI."

Instituting judicial oversight would guarantee that someone would be looking over the shoulder of agents using a tool as invasive as an NSL, German said. Lawmakers also have the power to narrow the scope of the statute and they should use it – especially when the data collected is being stored and not destroyed, he said.

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PTO Director: Gym Bunny, Multitasker

I'm so happy to hear that I'm not the only intellectual policy watcher who enjoys hitting the gym regularly. I'm prone to reading congressional testimony on the elliptical machine or catching up with e-mails while I'm stair-stepping but when Patent and Trademark Office Director Jon Dudas gets a workout -- he's a true multitasker.

At a House Judiciary Courts, the Internet and Intellectual Property Subcommittee hearing on PTO oversight, Dudas told members that he likes to chat with employees at his agency's fitness center about ways to improve examiner productivity and contentment. The PTO has been criticized for its backlog of patent applications and employee retention problems.

After ticking off a number of complaints about working conditions at the agency, veteran examiner Robert Budens got a good-natured ribbing from Michigan Democrat John Conyers, who chairs the full committee. "Would going to the gym more with Mr. Dudas help you?" Conyers asked. "One look at me says it may help me in some ways… but I’m not sure it would help improve our relationship," responded Budens, who is heavyset.

Read more about the PTO hearing in CongressDaily's AM on Thursday.

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Copyright Royalty Panel Benefits From Spending Bill

A $516 billion Commerce-Justice-Science appropriations bill passed Monday by the House would ensure that the U.S. governmental body charged with determining music royalty rates would no longer be funded by copyright owners and creators, the National Music Publishers Association said Tuesday.

The legislative package would fund the salaries and benefits of the Copyright Royalty Board, NMPA President David Israelite said in a press release. "For too long, a small amount of copyright owners, including songwriters and music publishers, have funded the costs of the CRB through their royalties," he said.

The panel, housed at the Library of Congress, has three judges -- William Roberts, James Sledge, and Stanley Wisniewski -- and a very small staff. Read more about the omnibus bill in Technology Daily's AM Edition.

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ACLU 'Fusion Centers' Report Creates Stir

The American Civil Liberties Union put out a report on Wednesday slamming government-run, information sharing "fusion centers" but some security experts and congressional leaders weren't too pleased with the group's allegations. Read Technology Daily's PM Edition for details.

In addition to those quoted in the article, Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee Joseph Lieberman, I-Conn., weighed in. He defended the centers, noting that they "play an increasingly important role in preventing terrorism and other criminal activities around the country."

Lieberman said policymakers must provide "adequate resources, better guidelines, standards, and training regimens for them, and ensure that they connect federal, state, local and tribal agencies." While the ACLU report recognizes the need for vigilance, "we must ensure that our oversight is careful and reasoned," he added.

The Homeland Security Department, which helps fund the programs, did not offer an official comment by deadline but Robert Riegle, the agency's point person for fusion centers, told us the document was packed with "egregious inaccuracies" and he thought it was "wholly in error."

Update: Homeland Security spokesman Russ Knocke called late in the afternoon and discussed the report at length. He called the ACLU's work "ill-conceived" and said it "shows yet again that the ACLU's strategy for security is to stick their head in the sand and wish a problem away."

Knocke said the report's authors, Mike German and Jay Stanley, "lack any evidence to support their theories" and put forward a document that "pushes an agenda instead of objective dialogue and viewpoints on an important issue."

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A Few Questions For The Would-Be AG

The Senate Judiciary Committee will convene Wednesday for a hearing to consider Attorney General nominee Michael Mukasey. The White House's pick to fill the chair vacated by Alberto Gonzales is a less controversial figure, but policy watchers still want some tough questions asked.

Progress and Freedom Foundation Senior Fellow Adam Thierer, for example, wants to know if the former federal judge plans on pursuing aggressive new data retention mandates on communications, cable and Internet service providers. If so, how long would the information be kept, he wonders.

Gonzales and FBI Director Robert Mueller tried to work with Internet firms and privacy advocates on the weighty issue last year but no guidelines for preserving the records were agreed upon.

Fellow PFFer Thomas Sydnor added that he would like to know what Mukasey plans to do to bring " the moral authority and enforcement powers of the Department of Justice to bear on the pervasive Internet piracy that threatens the future of our world-leading creative industries."

For more questions that stakeholders want asked at Wednesday's confirmation hearing, read Technology Daily's PM Edition.

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Federal Database Misused For Cyber Stalking

A federal agent could face up to a decade in prison and a $250,000 fine for using a Homeland Security Department database to cyber-stalk his former girlfriend, eWeek reported recently.

Benjamin Robinson, a Commerce Department employee, was indicted Sept. 19 by an Oakland, Calif., jury for unlawfully obtaining information from a protected computer and making a false statement to a government agency.

When the 40-year-old's relationship with an unidentified woman fell apart, authorities allege Robinson accessed the TECS (Treasury Enforcement Communications System) at least 163 times to track the travel patterns of the woman and her family.

Agents are authorized to use the database to perform their official duties and not for personal reasons. The indictment also claims that Robinson threatened to have the woman deported or to have her and her family killed, according to eWeek.

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DoD Database Details Published

The National Security Archive on Monday published a collection of documents concerning the operation of the Pentagon's Counterintelligence Field Activity and its anti-terrorism database known as TALON.

The Defense Department announced earlier this summer that it would close the controversial information gathering program preserve the data collected in accordance with intelligence oversight requirements (Read Technology Daily's coverage).

The archive's declassified papers include the key departmental directive on the collection of information about Americans, as well as documents on CIFA, an evaluation of charges of mismanagement by CIFA executives, and examples of TALON data collected about protest activities.

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Revolving Door: Schofield Leaving DOJ

Assistant Attorney General Regina Schofield, who oversaw online child protection efforts and contributed to law enforcement information sharing initiatives, announced her departure from the Justice Department on Wednesday. Her last day is Sept. 28.

President Bush nominated Schofield in March 2005 and the Senate confirmed her in June of that year. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales said Schofield has served the agency and the American people "with distinction and honor." Gonzales said in August that he would step down next week.

Schofield also served as the national coordinator of the AMBER Alert program where she facilitated the creation and strengthening of regional, state, and local plans to aid in recovering abducted children. Before her appointment as assistant attorney general, she worked for the Department of Health and Human Services.

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Reax To FTC Broadband Report

The FTC on Wednesday urged caution on imposing so-called network neutrality regulations designed to prevent high-speed Internet providers from potentially acting as content gatekeepers. A 170-page report states that some proprietary deals and data prioritization could actually benefit consumers.

There are more details in Technology Daily’s PM Edition. But for now, let’s focus on the reactions that flooded our inboxes shortly after the document was released...

Mike McCurry and Christopher Wolf, co-chairs of the Hands Off the Internet coalition, said: “Once again, independent experts have looked at the net neutrality issue and asked, ‘Where’s the beef? There’s an explosion in broadband deployment in America now, which is creating jobs and making high-speed connections more affordable.”

Kyle McSlarrow, president and CEO of the National Cable and Telecommunications Association, said the report “wisely recommends continued cautious monitoring of broadband development in the U.S.” and suggests that policymakers should consider unintended consequences of regulation on broadband services.

Steve Largent, president of the wireless trade group CTIA, said: “The Internet regulation scheme has forever been built on a hypothetical, ‘what-if’ scenario and today this flimsy theory has met yet another round of cold, hard, real-world facts that render it unworthy of our nation’s attention and resources. The facts about this debate have never been more clear. When it comes to the competitive and innovative broadband marketplace the consumer sits in the driver’s seat.”

Continue reading "Reax To FTC Broadband Report" »

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FTC Probe Prompts BurnLounge Fallout

The CEO of digital download community BurnLounge resigned this week in the wake of an FTC investigation into the company's business practices. Alex Arnold is out; Grant Johnson, a board member and entertainment industry veteran, is in.

"This change in management is a first step towards a reinforced focus on building the entertainment company we’ve always envisioned,” said BurnLounge co-founder Stephen Murray in a press release. Co-founder Ryan Dadd said Johnson is "absolutely the right addition to our team."

Earlier this month, the FTC filed a complaint in a federal court alleging that BurnLounge is operating an illegal pyramid scheme. The firm believes the filing "does not reflect the reality or substance of our business." The court denied the agency's request for a temporary restraining order and BurnLounge is working with the FTC to resolve the case.

Read more about the FTC's complaint here.

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New Spyware Scam Targets FTC

Consumers, including corporate and banking executives, appear to be targets of a bogus e-mail purportedly sent by the FTC but actually sent by parties trying to install spyware, the agency said Tuesday.

The scam e-mail poses as an acknowledgment of a complaint filed by the recipient, and includes an attachment. Consumers who open the file unleash harmful software onto their PC, the FTC said in a press release.

The hoax e-mail is personalized, and contains the name of the recipient and their business. The message explains how the complaint will be used, who will have access to it and states: “Attached you will find a copy of your complaint. Please print a hard copy of the complaint for your records in the upcoming investigation.”

An FTC spokeswoman would not reveal know how the agency first became aware of the spyware scam or which law enforcement entities might be helping track down the perpetrators.

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