Image Database

[Joe Peschio]

"I have received this from another list. Has anyone heard anything
similar, or does it sound apocryphal?"

There were a number of articles in the Russian press last summer about ISPs
who refused to allow the FSB to install email-monitoring
devices.  According to the articles I read (in papers over the whole
spectrum of "yellow-ness"), some of the ISPs who refused were shut down in
May and June of 2002, but took it to court.  I haven't seen anything about
the outcome of those cases; perhaps another subscriber has.  It is a matter
of public record that these devices have been installed on all major (ROL,
MTU, etc. etc.) and most minor ISPs in Russia.  As far as FSB abuse of
information gathered - who knows?  Like the analogical American
intelligence program, the ostensible aim of the FSB program is, of course,
to monitor terrorists and such.  I suppose we'd need to see the
"unclassified Russian-language sources" to judge.

Cheers,
Joe Peschio

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