IP: New Web spyware eschews cookies

[Dave Farber <dave () farber net>]

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       This story was printed from    ZDNN   ,
       located at    http://www.zdnet.com/zdnn   .
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     New Web spyware eschews cookies
     By Gwendolyn Mariano, Special to ZDNet
     May 15, 2002 7:10 AM PT
     URL:

     Researchers in Scotland are developing a new kind of Web
     monitoring software that they claim can collect enormous amounts
     of data on Web surfers while remaining nearly undetectable.

     The technology came to light when it was chosen as one of 40
     technologies funded this year by the Scottish Enterprise,
     Scotland's economic development agency. The University of
     Strathclyde received the award for an undisclosed sum Thursday.

     Dr. Lykourgos Petropoulakis, who is heading the 18-month research
     project, declined to comment on the technology, calling it "highly
     classified" information.

     Web surveillance software has drawn intense interest from consumer
     advocates, who fear the interactive nature of the Internet can
     provide unprecedented power for governments, corporations and
     individuals to trample people's privacy. Several monitoring
     systems have been developed for use by law enforcement agencies
     that remain cloaked in secrecy, ostensibly due to security
     concerns.

     The FBI has battled privacy groups seeking information on its
     DCS1000 Web monitoring technology, also known as Carnivore, which
     is installed on systems run by Internet service providers. The
     European Union, meanwhile, has lobbed espionage charges at the
     U.S. government and some of its allies over an alleged
     surveillance system known as Echelon, which incorporates satellite
     and undersea cable wiretaps, according to an EU investigation.

     "Technology like this, once it's spread around, means people can
     be tracked from site to site," said Lee Tien, senior staff
     attorney for the Electronic Frontier Foundation. "Whatever (the
     Scottish Enterprise) is doing, this is part of a long-standing
     practice by governments to fund the development of spying
     technology or, more generally, technology that facilitates law
     enforcement and national security."

     The Scottish Enterprise called the technology being developed by
     Petropoulakis' team a "breakthrough," outpacing any other
     technology on the market by allowing a more detailed profile of a
     Web user's activity.

     According to a statement, the technology traces Internet use via
     "sensors" rather than cookies, or bits of code that sit on
     computer hard drives that have long been used by Web sites to
     monitor people's travels on the Web. The technology can be
     operated on any Web server and can monitor Internet use in real
     time. In addition, the software can block access to sites, e-mails
     and documents.

     The Scottish Enterprise added that the technology might find
     legitimate uses from government, education and commercial
     organizations as well as Web marketers. Possible uses under
     consideration, it said, include monitoring of employee Web surfing
     in the workplace and monitoring of children's Web use by parents.

     The agency added, however, that it cannot be used without the
     explicit consent of the Web user. The Scottish Enterprise said
     that in conjunction with the development of the technology,
     appropriate safeguards will be created to prevent misuse.

     Details of the technology remain scarce, but some security and
     privacy advocates said they question its novelty.

     "If there's no software installed on the user's computer, then
     there's nothing new here in the sense that you can't track people
     anymore than what the Web protocols already allow you to do," said
     independent Internet security consultant Richard Smith. "All these
     technologies (such as cookies and Web bugs) have been around for a
     long time."

     A representative for the Scottish Enterprise said the University
     of Strathclyde was selected along with nearly 40 other recipients
     to receive the award, which totaled $8.78 million (6 million
     pounds). The Proof of Concept awards are given to projects that
     the Scottish Enterprise sees as being commercially viable once the
     research period is over.

     "All we do is promote ideas and try to get them onto the market
     for the benefit of Scottish companies and Scottish universities,"
     said a representative for the Scottish Enterprise. "We play a
     facilitating role by finding good ideas and trying to
     commercialize them and provide money for the process."


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