<nettime> Here Comes the Indian "Carnivore"

[Bruce Sterling <bruces@well.com>]

... hope it's vegetarian *8-/

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow.asp?art_id=37906058

Email users beware, Big Brother is watching
SIDDHARTH SRIVASTAVA
TIMES NEWS NETWORK

NEW DELHI: The Intelligence Bureau (IB) has prepared a list of new keywords
that are to be used to intercept mails emanating from IP addresses in India.

The move comes after investigations have revealed that Mohammad alias
'Burger,' who led the Parliament attack, was in constant touch with his
counterparts in Pakistan as well as within India through email.

A laptop has been recovered from the terrorists as well, the contents of
which are under investigation. The IB earlier reported that terrorists
connected to the Lashkar-e-Taiba and the Jaish are tech-savvy.

Till now, the IB had concentrated more on email IDs with reference to
obvious giveaways such as Kashmir, Lashkar, Pakistan, Musharraf etc. For
example, an email ID such as Lashkar@hotmail.com should be under the
surveillance of the IB.

The IB has now gone further and prepared a new list of keywords used in the
copy of mails that will be intercepted.

The system works like this: A software filters mails that repeatedly use the
words that the IB has shortlisted. The more obvious keywords would include
Jaish, Kashmir, Lashkar. Others are attack, kill, rocket. Mails with
repeated reference to Arab names will also be under surveillance.

Emails that carry names of Indian political leaders will also be under
surveillance. However, the software can't decipher code words since they can
be common words. Interestingly, the CIA is using the same software with a
good success rate.  (((Hey spookwalla!  That's *NSA,* okay?  Not the CIA!
The NSA is the one with all the mathematicians.)))

"The task of monitoring such mails is humungous. Hence, for now, we will be
monitoring mails that have several references to the keywords that we have
identified," says a senior IB official.

According to the official: "The IB is the only Indian intelligence Agency
that has the ability to intercept mails. None of the other agencies involved
in investigations‹the Delhi Police, the Central Bureau of Investigation
(CBI), Research and Analysis Wing (RAW)‹have the ability to intercept mails.
Only the CIA has similar capabilities."  (((So how'd the IB get those
"similar capabilities"?  From Bangalore, huh?  Hey, does it run under
Linux?)))

Commenting on the issue of invasion of privacy of an individual, the
official said: "This exercise is similar to the secret cellphone tapping of
suspects involved in hawala as well as cricket match-fixing, that was
implemented by the Delhi Police. It met with a lot of success. The issue of
intercepting mail is being done in the interest of national security."
(((Oh well, then I guess it's just fine then!   So I'll repeat that, shall
I?  "Jaish, Kashmir, Lashkar,  attack, kill, rocket."  Namaste to those IB
gentlemen in New Delhi.)))

The official, however, also admitted that the exercise of intercepting mails
will present a logistical nightmare given the huge mass of mails emanating
from India.

(((*India*?  What about the *rest of us*?  Come on!)))

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