ABSTRACT
IIT Research Institute and the Illinois Institute of Technology Chicago-Kent College of Law (herein abbreviated as IITRI), under contract to the Department of Justice (DoJ), evaluated a Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) system known as Carnivore. Carnivore is a software-based tool used to examine all Internet Protocol (IP) packets on an Ethernet and record only those packets or packet segments that meet very specific parameters. IITRI was asked to report on whether Carnivore:
• Provides investigators with all, but only, the information it is designed and set to provide in accordance with a given court order
• Introduces any new, material risks of operational or security impairment of an Internet Service Provider’s (ISP’s) network
• Risks unauthorized acquisition, whether intentional or unintentional, of electronic communication information by: (1) FBI personnel or (2) persons other than FBI personnel
• Provides protections, including audit functions and operational procedures or practices, commensurate with the level of the risks.
