Information Security News: Ex-NSA expert warns of concealed backdoors

[InfoSec News <isn () C4I ORG>]

Forwarded By: Unit 4 <unit4 () i-plus net>

http://www.zdnet.co.uk/news/2000/38/ns-18077.html

Ex-spook believes that software backdoors are out there,  fueling
conspiracy theories.

Former NSA (National Security Agency) analyst and representative of
Internet rights watchdog EPIC (Electronic Privacy Information Centre) Wayne
Madsen warned privacy groups Friday that a  growing number of proprietary
commercial software applications may have backdoors allowing the security
services to carry out surveillance activities.

Speaking to privacy groups as well as cryptography and security experts at
the International Forum on Surveillance by Design at the London School of
Economics, Madsen warned that this is an area of growing interest for
security services such as the NSA. "A lot of manufacturers play ball with
the NSA," said Madsen. "This is an area that the NSA is moving into a lot
and we have to be really  careful about it."

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