Carnivore
By Richard Lowe, Sat Dec 10th
There have been a number of stories in the press lately about asystem called Carnivore (what a great name). This is ahardware/software system designed by the FBI to intercept emailsat an ISP so they can be used in a criminal investigation.
Before going any further, it may be useful to explain how emailworks. By it's very nature, email is completely insecure. Anynumber of people can read that personal note you have written,and it's very possible that your private messages to that otherwoman could wind up in the newspaper.
Perhaps the best analogy is to compare email to postcards. Whenyou send a postcard, you write your message on one side and putthe address on the other. The message can be read by anyone whocares to pick up the postcard.
The path an email takes to get to it's destination is veryinteresting. First, of course, you compose a message in youremail program. Regardless of whether it is Eudora, Outlook,Outlook Express or any number of other packages, the email willalmost certainly be saved in a temporary folder. Some mailprograms delete the temporary copy of the message after it issent and some do not. In any event, it is entirely possible thata copy of the email is sitting on your hard drive for anyone tolook at.
Of course a copy is kept in your sent items folder, unlessyou've deleted it. And even then, a copy might be kept in yourdeleted items folder. If you are using Microsoft Exchange asyour email engine, then it might even save a copy even if youdelete the message permanently, just in case.
Okay, once you send the email it goes out to the internet. It'spossible for a very good hacker to grab it directly off the wire(although highly unlikely as this is not easy). The message willget routed to your ISP's email server, which means it willreside on one or more computer systems for a brief time. Ofcourse it could be intercepted at any of these.
Once the message reaches your ISP's SMTP (email) server, it willget stored there for a time, until the SMTP server can figureout how to send it onward to it's destination. The message willget sent here and there, as indicated by various systems, untilit reaches the destination POP (post office) server, where itwill wait to be read. Of course, once it is read by someone onthe other end, they could store it, delete it, forward it andreply to it, further increasing the chances that someone elsewill
