Posted on 06/03/2003 12:50:23 AM PDT by chance33_98
Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section (CCIPS) (From the Patriot Act)
A full technical analysis of the system is available by clicking here (TCP ports, DLL info, etc covered)
Section 216 Pen Register and Trap and Trace Statute
The pen register and trap and trace statute (the "pen/trap" statute) governs the prospective collection of non-content traffic information associated with communications, such as the phone numbers dialed by a particular telephone. Section 216 updates the pen/trap statute in three important ways: (1) the amendments clarify that law enforcement may use pen/trap orders to trace communications on the Internet and other computer networks; (2) pen/trap orders issued by federal courts now have nationwide effect; and (3) law enforcement authorities must file a special report with the court whenever they use a pen/trap order to install their own monitoring device (such as the FBI’s DCS1000) on computers belonging to a public provider. The following sections discuss these provisions in greater detail. (This section is not subject to the sunset provision in Section 224 of the Act).
A. Using pen/trap orders to trace communications on computer networks
Previous law: When Congress enacted the pen/trap statute in 1986, it could not anticipate the dramatic expansion in electronic communications that would occur in the following fifteen years. Thus, the statute contained certain language that appeared to apply to telephone communications and that did not unambiguously encompass communications over computer networks.3 Although numerous courts across the country have applied the pen/trap statue to communications on computer networks, no federal district or appellate court has explicitly ruled on its propriety. Moreover, certain private litigants have challenged the application of the pen/trap statute to such electronic communications based on the statute’s telephone-specific language.
Amendment: Section 216 of the Act amends sections 3121, 3123, 3124, and 3127 of title 18 to clarify that the pen/trap statute applies to a broad variety of communications technologies. References to the target "line," for example, are revised to encompass a "line or other facility." Such a facility might include, for example, a cellular telephone number; a specific cellular telephone identified by its electronic serial number; an Internet user account or e-mail address; or an Internet Protocol address, port number, or similar computer network address or range of addresses. In addition, because the statute takes into account a wide variety of such facilities, amendments to section 3123(b)(1)(C) now allow applicants for pen/trap orders to submit a description of the communications to be traced using any of these or other identifiers.
Moreover, the amendments clarify that orders for the installation of pen register and trap and trace devices may obtain any non-content information – all "dialing, routing, addressing, and signaling information" – utilized in the processing and transmitting of wire and electronic communications. Such information includes IP addresses and port numbers, as well as the "To" and "From" information contained in an e-mail header. Pen/trap orders cannot, however, authorize the interception of the content of a communication, such as words in the "subject line" or the body of an e-mail. Agents and prosecutors with questions about whether a particular type of information constitutes content should contact the Office of Enforcement Operations in the telephone context (202-514-6809) or the Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section in the computer context (202-514-1026).
Further, because the pen register or trap and trace "device" often cannot be physically "attached" to the target facility, Section 216 makes two other related changes. First, in recognition of the fact that such functions are commonly performed today by software instead of physical mechanisms, the amended statute allows the pen register or trap and trace device to be "attached or applied" to the target facility. Likewise, Section 216 revises the definitions of "pen register" and "trap and trace device" in section 3127 to include an intangible "process" (such as a software routine) which collects the same information as a physical device.
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