High-tech Tools.
In the seven months since the passage of a sweeping law to combat terrorism, Internet and telecommunications companies have seen a surge in law enforcement requests to snoop on subscribers. Dawn Onley, staff for Government Computer News (GCN) reports that the FBI and other agencies have stepped up their monitoring of the Internet after finding Internet-related information on computers seized from Al Qaeda, the group blamed by the Bush administration for the September 11th attacks. As law enforcement assumes greater power in seizing and searching the computers of suspected terrorists, software companies whose programs automate the complicated search process are scrambling to address a new market. Recently, NetWolves Corp., which markets software to law enforcement agencies under the ComputerCop brand, said it upgraded a professional version of its software to scan suspects' hard drives for the names of 22 most-wanted terrorist suspects and words and phrases related to the latest wave of terrorist attacks. The company said it has sent free copies of the program to the FBI, New York Police Department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms to use in stepped-up efforts to target terrorists. The antiterrorism legislation, among other broad powers it grants, allows agencies to turn to administrative subpoenas rather than search warrants to seize computers believed to be implicated in terrorist plots, past or future. Given that the terrorists who slammed jetliners into the World Trade Center and the Pentagon on September 11th conducted much of their planning and communication via computers and cell phones, critical evidence of that and any potential future plots may yet be found on those tech items. Companies once keen to put loads of information on their Web sites now are more careful. The government has been particularly diligent about removing information, such as building floor plans, VIP itineraries, and the locations of sensitive facilities, that could make a terrorist's task easier.
