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Pastimes : Computer Learning -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: thecow who wrote (23696)	12/8/2001 12:25:56 PM
From: Rick Faurot	Respond to of 110655

Anti-virus firms: No FBI exception Symantec, Network Assoc. won't leave "Lantern" hole By William Spain, CBS.MarketWatch.com Last Update: 5:46 PM ET Dec. 7, 2001 CHICAGO (CBS.MW) - If Uncle Sam wants to use a new surveillance tool that reportedly can track the keystrokes of computer users, he is going to have to get past American ingenuity to do it. Contrary to published reports that anti-virus software makers are ready and willing to allow the FBI's "Magic Lantern" past their programs, the industry's lead players said Friday that they have no intention of leaving the door open for anyone. "We are in the business of providing a secure, virus-free environment for our customers," Michael Callahan, director of marketing for Network Associates division McAfee told CBS.MarketWatch.com on Friday. "We are not going to let something through." John W. Thompson, CEO of Symantec, which sells anti-virus programs under its Norton brand, seconded that notion. "Our first priority is protecting our customers from malicious and illegal attacks and we are not going to create [or leave] a hole in our software," he said through a spokeswoman. Thompson was traveling Friday afternoon and could not be reached directly. While the technical aspects of Magic Lantern are shrouded in secrecy - and the FBI has gone to court to protect them - the program is thought to work by remotely inserting a virus-like program onto a user's computer. The program reportedly can track keystrokes, thus allowing law enforcement agents to gain access to password-protected communications - and even capture encryption keys. The topic came to the fore Thursday when, in an appearance before the Senate Judiciary Committee, Attorney General John Ashcroft came under sharp questioning about it from Sen. Maria Cantwell. The freshman Democrat from Washington is a tech industry veteran and former top executive for RealNetworks. David Sobel, general counsel for the Electronic Privacy Information Center said that deliberately leaving open a hole in a software program - no matter where the request comes from - "is a very problematic concept for a virus detection company." If a company "starts picking and choosing between good and bad viruses, I don't know how they would market their product. When you are talking about a security product, perception is very important. " For instance, regardless of what sacrifices Americans may be willing to make, overseas buyers would be apt to shy away from a product designed "with any hint of collusion with American law enforcement." Sobel noted that at one point, the U.S. government slapped export controls on sophisticated encryption programs and even went so far as to request that software makers provide law enforcement and intelligence-gathering agencies with "keys" that could decipher the coded transmissions. However, the industry fought the idea hammer-and-tong and eventually the government gave in, he added. cbs.marketwatch.com