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The FBI is updating its surveillance technology to keep pace with the digital
age. As part of a broad project called "Cyber Knight," the agency
is developing powerful Internet eavesdropping software that can record every
keystroke on a person's computer.
This new surveillance tool, known as "Magic Lantern," is being designed
to thwart encryption software by capturing the keystrokes or mouseclicks a person
might use to deliberately scramble messages or computer files. Magic Lantern
exploits some of the same weaknesses in popular commercial software that allow
hackers to break into computers, and could be used with a court order against
suspected terrorists or criminals.
Such powerful surveillance tools always raise constitutional and privacy issues,
and there is still some debate about the legality of using Magic Lantern without
a search warrant. Because the software can be covertly installed over the Internet
without the need for actual physical entry into a person's home or office, some
argue that a search warrant should not be required.
The full text of an Associated Press article about Magic Lantern and its implications is available online to Washington Post archive subscribers. To locate it, go to http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-adv/archives/ and search for "Magic Lantern." The article was first published on November 22, 2001.