Justice Department selects Illinois institution to review 'Carnivore'

By Daniel Sieberg
CNN.com Technology Editor

(CNN) -- The U.S. Department of Justice announced Tuesday that a Chicago-based institution has been chosen to review the so-called "Carnivore" system, its controversial e-mail surveillance program, to determine whether it violates privacy rights.

A team from the Illinois Institute of Technology Research Institute (IITRI) and senior faculty members from the affiliated Chicago-Kent College of Law will conduct the independent technical review that is scheduled to be completed by December. The contract is estimated to be worth $175,000.

An interim draft report will be made available for public comment in late November, according to the Justice Department.

INTERACTIVE See how Carnivore gathers data for the FBI     MESSAGE BOARD Security on the Net     ALSO FBI's 'Carnivore' spurs new e-mail cloaking programs

Under strict court orders, Carnivore uses "sniffing" technology to examine the source of e-mails traveling through the network of an Internet Service Provider to determine whether they are pertinent to a criminal investigation. It has been used about 25 times in cases involving counter-intelligence or counter-terrorism.

Privacy advocates have repeatedly lambasted the FBI and the Justice Department for not publically releasing Carnivore's computer code for a closer examination of its workings.

Several high-profile universities -- including the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the University of California, San Diego -- turned down the Justice Department's review request earlier this month, saying they were being asked to rubber stamp the Carnivore system and faced a daunting list of requirements and restrictions.

But in a statement released by the Justice Department, Assistant Attorney General Stephen Colgate said Tuesday the IITRI review team will have full access to any information they require to perform their analysis.

"This organization has both the technical expertise and the dedication to the project to provide the most thorough, independent and timely review," Colgate said.

Kerry Rowe, senior vice president at IITRI and manager of the advanced technology group, said he was unaware of the concerns expressed by other academic institutions. He said he feels confident his team will do a "fair and honest" job and wasn't bothered by signing the Justice Department's non-disclosure agreement.

Rowe said there will be up to half a dozen full-time researchers working on the review, which will primarily take place in its information technology facility in Lanham, Maryland.

"It's not a large project financially, but certainly it's an important one," he added.

The IITRI was founded in 1936 and is considered to be one of the largest non-profit contract research and development institutes in the country. The Chicago-Kent College of Law is also part of the Illinois Institute of Technology and was formed more than 100 years ago.

A total of 11 proposals were sent to the Justice Department in response to its request for a review, including submissions from Westlake Consulting Group Inc., Evident Solutions Inc., Progressive Network Services Inc., National Software Testing Laboratory, University of California, Davis and others.

Justice Department mum about who will review 'Carnivore'
September 7, 2000
FBI to release Carnivore documents, but schedule draws fire
August 17, 2000
FBI says Carnivore will not devour privacy
July 21, 2000
ACLU: Block FBI e-snoops
July 17, 2000
Local law officers to link up to FBI crime data
July 27, 1999

U.S. Department of Justice
Illinois Institute of Technology Research Institute
Chicago-Kent College
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
University of California, San Diego
Electronic Privacy Information Center
Westlake Consulting Group
Evident Solutions, Inc.
Progressive Network Solutions
National Software Testing Laboratory
University of California, Davis

Note: Pages will open in a new browser window

External sites are not endorsed by CNN Interactive.