########## | Volume I Number 8 | ########## | | ### | EFFECTOR ONLINE | ####### | | ####### | First Anniversary Edition | ### | | ########## | The Electronic Newsletter of | ########## | The Electronic Frontier Foundation | | | ########## | | ########## | | ### | Editors: | ####### | Gerard Van der Leun (van@eff.org) | ####### | Mike Godwin (mnemonic@eff.org) | ### | Mitchell Kapor (mkapor@eff.org) | ### | Managing Editors: | ### |Chris Davis (ckd@eff.org), Helen Rose (hrose@eff.org)| | | ########## | Reproduction of EFFector Online via all | ########## | electronic media is encouraged | ### | To reproduce signed articles individually | ####### | please contact the authors for their express | ####### | permission. | ### | | ### | Published Fortnightly by | ### | The Electronic Frontier Foundation (eff.org) | effector n, Computer Sci. A device for producing a desired change -==--==--==-<>-==--==--==- In this issue: THE FIRST YEAR IN THE LIFE OF THE EFF: A SCORECARD EFF SEEKS AMICUS STATUS IN TWO KEY COMPUTER-CRIME CASES UPDATE ON THE STEVE JACKSON CASE EFF PRESENTATIONS ABOUT COMPUTER SEARCHES REPORT ON THE CRYPTOGRAPHY AND PRIVACY CONFERENCE WHAT TO TELL PEOPLE WHO STILL THINK EFF IS A HACKER DEFENSE FUND MEMBERSHIP INFORMATION ****************************************************************** THE FIRST YEAR IN THE LIFE OF THE EFF We wrote our mission statement in June of 1990 and began to build the foundation in June of that year. Here's what we said about what we would begin to do a little more than a year ago. EFF Mission Statement -- April, 1990 A new world is arising in the vast web of digital, electronic media which connect us. Computer-based communication media like electronic mail and computer conferencing are becoming the basis of new forms of community. These communities without a single, fixed geographical location comprise the first settlements on an electronic frontier. While well-established legal principles and cultural norms give structure and coherence to uses of conventional media like newspapers, books, and telephones, the new digital media do not so easily fit into existing frameworks. Conflicts come about as the law struggles to define its application in a context where fundamental notions of speech, property, and place take profoundly new forms. People sense both the promise and the threat inherent in new computer and communications technologies, even as they struggle to master or simply cope with them in the work place and the home. The Electronic Frontier Foundation has been established to civilize the electronic frontier; to make it useful and beneficial not just to a technical elite, but to everyone; and to do this in keeping with our society's highest traditions of the free and open flow of information and communication. A LOOK BACK -- June, 1991 ========================= When we began in 1990 there was a void separating the pioneers of computer networking and the rest of the world. The technologies were ill-understood outside of a small, technically minded part of the population. One of our first tasks was to begin to build bridges between these groups. In our first year The Electronic Frontier Foundation has accomplished a great deal in several distinct areas: Legal ---- *Filed suit against the Secret Service for the unlawful search and seizure of computers, BBS systems, books and manuscripts at Steve Jackson Games in Austin, Texas. *Helped defend Craig Neidorf, unjustly accused of publishing purloined documents. *Filed friend of the court briefs challenging unjust prohibitions of computer use as part of computer crime sentencing *Lobbied effectively at the state level to change legislation inimical to computer networking. Communications and Public Education -------------- --- ------ --------- *Inspired and helped to organize and present the first Computers, Freedom and Privacy Conference. CFP was a four day event that brought together, in search of knowledge and common ground,representatives from computer networking, law enforcement and privacy advocate groups. *Distributed the first eight issues of our electronic newsletter, EFFector Online, throughout the net. *Published the first issue of our quarterly print newsletter, EFFector. *Become a presence on the Internet with our node, eff.org. *Created an FTP archive on eff.org for documents on computer networking and privacy law. *Given a net home at eff.org to groups like Computer Professionals for Social Responsibility and the new Computers and Academic Freedom group. *Spoke to numerous groups nationwide on the issues of civil liberties and computer networking. *Developed a network of relationships with the local and national media that has affected the climate of opinion about computer networking and begun to reverse the slide into "hacker hysteria" that was beginning to grip the nation. *Established a fully staffed operational headquarters in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Policy ------ *Worked with Senator Leahy's Privacy Task Force in Washington,D.C. in order to advance the concerns of the computer networking community in the formation of legislation in this critical area. *Argued successfully for the removal of anti-encryption provisions in S.266, the Senate Crime bill *Testified before the Federal Communications Committee concerning the public access and design needs of the National Research and Education network. *Made grants in aid to Computer Professionals for Social Responsibility as well as joining them in numerous policy projects and workshops around the nation. *Created a voice that is listened to in Washington on issues concerning computer networking. *Launched the Open Road program in order to make sure that the needs of the public in the building of the National Public Network are addressed at the beginning of the project. *Helped define the issues of protecting nodes and carriers from unwarranted risks and liabilities in providing information services from the producer to the consumer. And --- *Begun research and development into creating the tools that will allow non-technical individuals using PCs to access the net over voice-grade telephone lines in a simple and straightforward fashion. We are proud that we have been able to accomplish so much in such a short time. We have had a lot of help doing it from friends and supporters from all sectors of American society in the public and the private sectors. In this we have been fortunate. At the same time, we see more clearly than we did a year ago just how far we have to go,and how much work lies ahead of us. The issues that those of us in the computer, telecommunications, and computer networking fields can see clearly now will affect every American and much of the entire world within the next ten years. The opportunities are immense and the potential for an increase in human knowledge, wisdom and well-being beyond our calculation. We now know that we cannot know all of what lies ahead. Instead, we can try to prepare as best we can, and to protect the legitimate interests of the individual and society as best we can, for the full dawn of the Global Information Age. We hope that we can count on you for your continuing good will and support. ************************************************************ EFF SEEKS AMICUS STATUS IN TWO KEY COMPUTER-CRIME CASES The Electronic Frontier Foundation has sought to intervene as an amicus curiae in two important computer-crime cases. In the case of United States v. Robert Riggs, we have joined an appeal of part of sentence imposed upon Riggs, who was a member of the so- called "Legion of Doom" and, at one time, a co-defendant of Craig Neidorf. We have gone on record as opposing the sentencing restriction on Rigg's private computer-use and ownership after Riggs is released from prison. We believe that the judge's decision to forbid Riggs to own or privately use a computer during the supervisory period following his release is a restriction on his First Amendment rights beyond what is allowed by the federal sentencing statute. In addition, we believe such restrictions tend to promote the notion that computers are inherently dangerous instrumentalities, the access to which falls properly within the scope of governmental action. We hope here to lessen the momentum behind these restrictions, which prosecutors have been seeking in cases all across the country. We are also seeking amicus curiae status in United States v. Robert Morris. Morris, who was prosecuted under the Computer Fraud and Abuse statute, was the author of the Internet Worm, which accidentally shut down large portions of the Internet in 1988. Morris is seeking Supreme Court review of his case, and we are about to file an amicus curiae petition urging the Supreme Court to hear the case. Our goal in this case is not to defend or justify Morris's actions, but to establish that the law used to prosecute him was interpreted too broadly. As it now stands, the law would make no distinction between someone like Morris, whose out-of-control program accidentally caused damage to remote computer use, and a computer terrorist who set out intentionally to cause damage to remote computers. ****************************************************************** TRACKING THE STEVE JACKSON CASE Our major case, the Steve Jackson Games case, is proceeding as expected. The next stage in our ongoing effort in that case will be the government's filing of a response to our complaint. As of the week of June 21, the government has sought a 30-day extension of the deadline for its response. Such extensions are routinely granted with the agreement of the plaintiff, and we have agreed in this case. The extended deadline will mean that the government's response will be due the first week of August. ****************************************************************** EFF PRESENTATIONS ABOUT COMPUTER SEARCHES As part of our effort to raise public and government consciousness about the overkill of searches and seizures in computer-crime investigations, Mike Godwin has been conducting presentations for a wide variety of audiences on the civil-liberties issues raised by such cases. Audiences have included a computer-law seminar at Ohio State University, a private presentation for Westinghouse corporate security in Pittsburgh, and a meeting of the Federal Computer Investigators Committee (FCIC) in Scottsdale, Arizona. We are planning for the presentational materials to be a resource document for the next CPSR Roundtable in Washington, and Mike is scheduled to deliver the presentation before an assembly of Ohio judges in late July. Of the presentations mentioned above, the FCIC meeting was of particular significance. This group of representatives of various law enforcement agencies has been one of the principal policy-making and information- sharing groups concerned with computer-crime issues. The Scottsdale meeting included representatives of the FBI, the Secret Service, the Department of Justice, and other law-enforcement agencies. A key accomplishment of the meeting was our forging of valuable personal contacts with members of these agencies. Although the FCIC was in some ways skeptical of our stress on the civil-liberties of computer users whose systems are being searched, the overall feedback was positive, and Arizona prosecutor Gail Thackeray already has asked to use our materials at other law-enforcement meetings. ****************************************************************** REPORT ON THE CRYPTOGRAPHY AND PRIVACY CONFERENCE On June 10th, EFF, CPSR, and RSA Data Security Inc. sponsored a one day conference on cryptography and privacy. The meeting had two motivations: to express opposition to the cryptography restrictions of Senate bill S.266 and, more generally, to bring together technologists and policy- makers to show broad based support for a redirection of our country's policies on cryptography. In the days prior to the meeting EFF, through John Podesta, was able to persuade Senator Leahy to prevail upon Senator Biden to remove the offensive provision from S.266, so by the time of the conference this was a moot issue. One outcome of the conference was the adoption of a statement in support of communications privacy which recommends that the United States government undertake a new approach to support communications privacy and to promote the availability of privacy-enhancing technologies. Among its recommendations are the following: First, proposals regarding cryptography should be moved beyond the domain of the intelligence and national security community. Second, any proposal to facilitate government eavesdropping should be critically reviewed. Third, government agencies with appropriate expertise should work free of NSA influence to promote the availability of cryptography so as to ensure communications privacy for the general public. Fourth, the export control restrictions for computer network technology and cryptography should be substantially relaxed. As a follow-up John Podesta met with representatives of several companies to lay the ground-work for continuing coordination on these issues. ****************************************************************** THE ORIGIN OF THE EFF AND THE CRACKING OF COMPUTER SYSTEMS (You may want to pass this on to friends and associates.--The Editors) There is a persistent view in some quarters that the EFF exists solely as an institution to defend crackers of computer systems. This is an understandable perception but it is false. The Electronic Frontier Foundation has never condoned the unauthorized entry into computer systems for any reason.There is absolutely no question that uninvited computer intrusions represent a major problem on the electronic frontier; and one which we, and thousands of others, struggle with on a daily basis. In like manner, the EFF does not condone the use of governmental powers to seek out and punish legitimate users of computer systems. We have opposed this since our inception and will continue to do so to the limit of our ability and resources. Throughout 1990, law enforcement activities which were ostensibly aimed at "cracking down on crackers" were, in fact, seizing the computer systems of innocent parties like Steve Jackson and shutting down bulletin boards used by hundreds of utterly innocent people. Whether through ignorance or malice, these actions were depriving many of their legitimate rights under the Constitution, and chilling the free expression and growth of the Net. The EFF was formed in response to these injustices. Our mission was to protect constitutional guarantees of free speech and freedom from unreasonable search and seizure. This remains the core of our mission today. We believe that these fundamental civil liberties must apply to all users of computer networks. A threat to the rights of anyone is a threat to the rights of all. Experience has taught us that these freedoms must be fought for if they are to be given a firm foundation in the online world. Constitutional guarantees, as we have seen by actions such as Operation Sun Devil, are not the default state online, but must be "designed" in from the start. To do nothing risks setting a series of precedents which will be difficult if not impossible to reverse at some time in the future. These beliefs struck a chord with many users of computer networks who understood the importance of an open, public process by which this society sorts out the laws and customs which will apply to the online domain. Today the EFF has evolved to become an advocacy organization, with broad concerns in the area of information technology policy, including, but not limited to civil liberties, which represent the interests of its members and serve as a bridge between "Cyberspace" and other exotic locales, like Washington, D.C. ****************************************************************** BECOME A MEMBER OF THE ELECTRONIC FRONTIER FOUNDATION In the last issue of EFFector, we initiated our membership program. We have so far received well over 100 memberships. Thank you, early supporters. In order to continue the work already begun and to expand our efforts and activities into other realms of the electronic frontier, we need the financial support of individuals and organizations. If you support our goals and our work, you can show that support by becoming a member now. Members receive our quarterly newsletter, EFFECTOR, our bi-weekly electronic newsletter, EFFector Online (if you have an electronic address that can be reached through the Net), and special releases and other notices on our activities. But because we believe that support should be freely given, you can receive these things even if you do not elect to become a member. Your membership/donation is fully tax deductible. Our memberships are $20.00 per year for students, $40.00 per year for regular members. You may, of course, donate more if you wish. Our privacy policy: The Electronic Frontier Foundation will never, under any circumstances, sell any part of its membership list. We will, from time to time, share this list with other non-profit organizations whose work we determine to be in line with our goals. But with us, member privacy is the default. This means that you must actively grant us permission to share your name with other groups. If you do not grant explicit permission, we assume that you do not wish your membership disclosed to any group for any reason. >>>---------------- EFF@eff.org MEMBERSHIP FORM ---------------<<< Mail to: The Electronic Frontier Foundation, Inc. Online Office 155 Second St. Cambridge,MA 02141 I wish to become a member of the EFF I enclose:$__________ $20.00 (student or low income membership) $40.00 (regular membership) [ ] I enclose an additional donation of $___________ Name:______________________________________________________ Organization:______________________________________________ Address: __________________________________________________ State:_______Zip:________Phone:( )_____________(optional) FAX:( )____________________(optional) Email address: ______________________________ I enclose a check [ ]. 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