Technically Speaking

The FBI’s controversial email wiretap system formerly known as Carnivore is reported to be no longer in use. Carnivore, also known as DCS-1000, was designed in 1998 to read online communications between suspected spies, criminals, and terrorists. The suspected price of the system was between US$6 million and $15 million, the actual cost have never been disclosed..

According to the reports, the FBI used commercially available software to conduct court-ordered Internet surveillance in criminal investigations 13 times during that time period.

An FBI spokesman was not immediately available for comment.

The FBI is required by American law to provide detailed reports on how it uses Carnivore, the monitoring system now known as DCS 1000.

FBI agents, after receiving a court warrant, install the system on the suspect’s Internet service provider and filter out his email messages, Web browsing activities and other online communications.

It has come under fire from civil-liberties groups who say it is too invasive and ripe for abuse.

US law enforcers have argued they need Carnivore to keep up with criminals who use online communications to plan and carry out terrorism, spying, fraud, child pornography and other crimes.

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