Going Dark

Earlier, I blogged about law enforcement's efforts to implement an ISP data retention mandate to improve their ability to investigate and prosecute crimes. This blog is about a similar law enforcement effort to improve their ability to actively intercept wire and electronic communications. During testimony to the Congressional Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism and Homeland Security, Valerie Caproni, FBI General Counsel, described the difficulties that law enforcement faces in establishing surveillance after receiving court authorization. Often the provider does not have sufficient technical resources to accomplish the surveillance. This capability gap is referred to as "going dark." Complex environments with multiple layers between end-user and primary provider using multiple technologies make the task of surveillance much more complicated than in the past. Not surprisingly, additional funding and bureaucracy is being proposed to help address the issue. The 2012 federal budget requests $15 million to establish a Domestic Communications Assistance Center (DCAC) to advance solutions to the "going dark" issue. The DCAC will "leverage the research and development efforts of federal, state and local law enforcement with respect to electronic surveillance capabilities, facilitate the sharing of technology between agencies, and advance initiatives to implement solutions..." Even in these tough financial times, it's not the money that makes people uneasy, it is the potential for abuse. Wouldn't it be great if $15 million could fix that? http://1.usa.gov/h7yB3w