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Beyond “I Fought The Law” Educating Law Enforcement about Privacy Services

Learn how to engage law enforcement in discussions about privacy services, the importance of privacy in preventing crimes like stalking, ID theft, and spam, and techniques for communicating effectively. Understand the challenges and benefits of using encryption, remailers, and other privacy technologies. Explore strategies for addressing misconceptions and building positive relationships with law enforcement agencies to promote the adoption of privacy-enhancing technologies.

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Beyond “I Fought The Law” Educating Law Enforcement about Privacy Services

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  1. Beyond“I Fought The Law” Educating Law Enforcement about Privacy Services Adam Shostack (Presented at PET2003)

  2. Motivation • 3 Years at Zero Knowledge Systems • Freedom Network didn’t succeed • Problems was sales, not law enforcement • LE moved from scared to a customer • Not enough remailers, privacy services • Some potential operators are scared • Share learning • See more privacy technology deployed

  3. The Cypherpunk Attitude™ • Is lots of fun • Has brought enourmous publicity • Has encouraged a great deal of leading work • Is a liability in talking to LE • Doesn’t do any good • Generates resistance and hostility • Most cops are decent people • Trying to solve crimes, help people • Initial impressions are very important

  4. Mellontrafficers.com • Is a fine domain • Got Len in trouble • He hasn’t changed it • Compare and contrast

  5. Basic Message • Privacy reduces crime • ID theft • Spam • Stalking • Crypto is not an unmitigated anything • LE should be in favor of privacy • Lets get along • Method can be used with any privacy service

  6. Delivered Message Regularly • At ZKS Offices • At RCMP, Interpol meetings • Over phone • Had LE outreach materials ready at abuse, legal, elsewhere • Slides will be under http://www.homeport.org/~adam/zks/

  7. How to Present • This is why we do what we do • Here’s how it prevents crime • Here’s why we don’t log • Here’s how you can make progress • Avoid • “Bugger off” • “I know your job more than you” • Taking this talk as legal advice

  8. Why We Run Remailers • Privacy prevents crimes • Stalking • ID theft • Spam • Privacy is a Social Good • Whistleblowing • Communication • Schoeman’s “Philosophical Dimensions of Privacy”

  9. Prevent Crime • This is a key point • Preventing crime is better than solving crimes • “Would you prefer a lock or a video camera?” • Easy examples: Crypto prevents CC theft, password theft

  10. Crypto Hinders Criminals & Investigators • Crypto can prevent crime: • Encrypted data harder to steal, monitor • Can’t sniff passwords • Can’t forge authentications • Crypto can make investigations harder • Can’t read everything the bad guy says, stores • Their job is about investigation, not prevention • So, naturally police are very aware of this side of things, and sometimes miss the larger picture

  11. Ok, but the logs? • We don’t log because logs can be abused • Available to anyone with a subponea • Raises cost of running remailer • Creates a security risk • We don’t know how to create a remailer where only the police can read the logs • (Blaze’s broadcast escrow impractical to deploy)

  12. More on Logs, back doors • DMCA Subpoenas • Very hard to engineer security systems • Even harder to engineer backdoors • Clipper Chip example • Which legal system? • Freedom Network ran in 10+ countries

  13. How to Investigate • You are selling remailer system/privacy • In sales: • Agree, Align, Convert • Don’t start by arguing • “You’re just trawling” • “That’s awful, what can I do to help?” • “Actually, we don’t keep logs. Let me explain why.”

  14. Know the Case Law • Put the right to anonymity in context • McIntyre vs. Ohio • NAACP vs. Alabama • Federalist Papers • Abuse of subpoenas • Northwest airlines and their union • Clearly, this is US case law • Know your local law

  15. How To Investigate (more) • “Clearly, I am not an investigator” • Think about the basics • Means, motive, opportunity • Undercover work • Use privacy service to communicate with criminals • Privacy is a two-way street

  16. What A Privacy Service Offers • Communicate without a name attached • Block basic sniffers, logs • Explain the limits of the remailer system • You can’t shoot someone through it • You can’t bring down the power grid with an email • Doesn’t stop hacking suspect’s computer • One on one surveillance

  17. ` Summary • Overview of ZKS’ law enforcement message • Overview of the thinking which drove it • Lessons for the privacy technology world

  18. Conclusions • Biggest problems are not technical, or even legal, they’re in business & economics • Press, analysts had trouble understanding Freedom Network vs Anonymizer, • MIX nets, real time and batch, need more users in their anonymity sets • Police and national security have an interest in these systems existing

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