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FBI’s Magic Lantern

Published by marco on

This news is somewhat old, but several people I’ve talked to recently had never heard of it, so I’ve collected the unfolding(ed) story. On November 20, 2001, MSNBC reported that FBI software cracks encryption wall. The title is misleading, since the FBI hasn’t cracked any encryption schemes. The article deals with the ‘Magic Lantern’, which is the FBI’s cutesy name for a computer virus they wrote that installs key-logging software onto a suspect’s computer.

Key-logging software runs in the background, keeping track of every key that the user strikes. This information is presumably removed from the suspect’s computer at some point, at which point the FBI can go through and (if they’re lucky) find their encryption keys. If they’re using any. Which they probably aren’t, since most people (even criminals) don’t. In this roundabout way, the FBI has “cracked the encryption wall”. The problem with key-logging is that a warrant is required in order to install the software. Now, the suspect supposedly installs it on their own. But I thought viruses were terrorism, as defined in the USA Act? Not when the FBI does it, I bet.

Ars Technica points out that “there was nothing that suggested Magic Lantern would self-proliferate.” in another article, so it’s not technically a virus. However,

<q>A huge risk inherent in Magic Lantern is that someone could get a hold of it and modify it to self-proliferate and obtain encrypted data from other people’s computers for themselves. Alternatively, a malicious person could use a modified version of Magic Lantern to mount a DOS attack on the FBI computers handling Magic Lantern data.</q>

On November 22, 2001, the Washington Post published FBI Develops Eavesdropping Tools (a less bombastic title and more honest article) that covers much of the same ground.

<q>Magic Lantern would largely resolve an important problem with the FBI’s existing monitoring technology, the “Key Logger System,” which in the past has required investigators to sneak into a target’s home or business with a so-called sneak-and-peak warrant and secretly attach the device to a computer.</q>

Along the same lines, they also mention that the method by which the data is retrieved is also unclear. If the information is also transmitted back over the internet, then any software firewall would be able to intercept and/or alert the user that the transfer is taking place. It’s far more likely that a “sneak-and-peek” would be needed to retreive the data.

In a move that should surprise no one, they also report that this particular virus won’t be detected as such by McAfee software. Slashdot reports that Symantec Will Not Detect Magic Lantern either.

<q>At least one antivirus software company, McAfee Corp., contacted the FBI on Wednesday to ensure its software wouldn’t inadvertently detect the bureau’s snooping software and alert a criminal suspect.</q> (emphasis added)

Key-logging is being challenged in a current case involving the Mafia.