8 December 2000


From: "per christian k stokke" <pcs@digitoday.no>
Subject: Norwegian Carnivore / surveillance controversy
Date: Fri, 8 Dec 2000 16:26:42 +0100

Norwegian Carnivore controversy

Norwegian military and police intelligence units have entered into a secret internet surveillance cooperation with the country's top 15 companies - keeping the national assembly in the dark.

Norway got its own Carnivore controversy Friday, as news service digitoday.no revealed an Internet surveillance network, the result of a clandestine cooperation between military and police surveillance units and Norway's top 15 companies.

News of the project, which is said to be set up to defend national IT infrastructure from cracking and DoS-attacks, spurred demands for review of the project from politicians in the Norwegian parliament.

Intelligence honchos confirm that there are plans and talks, but refuse to go into detail.

"It would be irresponsible of us not to do whatever necessary to describe any potential threat", said Olav Aune, director of operations at the Norwegian Defence Intelligence Service (FO/E). [http://www.fo.mil.no/etterretningsstab/index.html ]

Aune wouldn't comment as to how far in the process they are, but confirmed that there is a cooperation between military and police intelligence and the big 15, adding: "I prefer to call it an 'early warning' system".

A source closely involved in setting up the system claims that it's operational but not yet implemented for large-scale surveillance.

The system consists of network surveillance tools that can reveal unusual patterns of traffic as well as identify known security threats like trojans and backdoors based on their 'signatures', much like common anti-virus software. But such systems can be set up to tap into the bitstream and check almost anything, according to security sources - just as FBIs controvercial Carnivore.

Arne Tjemsland, managing director of one of Norway's leading security companies Sikkerhets Systemer (Security Systems) said that their system could run checks on all types of content, but that there are a few limitations, both technical and legal. Sikkerhets Systemer is a defence contractor, and has delivered similar surveillance systems to both public institutions and companies.

Police intelligence unit POT [www.pot.no] will issue a press release next week, according to a spokesperson in the defence department.

The Justice Department late today (Norwegian time) confirmed the existence of the cooperation. A press release calls the system VDI, saying its an intrusion detection system that can't and won't be used to identify attackers.

Former prime minister and leader of the government-appointed 'Vulnerabilities Committee' Kåre Willoch said he didn't know of the initiative until early this week, but lends his support to such security measures on a general basis.

Articles:

http://www.digitoday.no/dtno.nsf/wframe/mainstory (in Norwegian)

Translation tool available here (does, admittedly, produce some very strange results at times...)

http://www.translation-experts.com/intert.htm

Call Justice Department press officer Bjorn Talén, tlf +47 22 24 51 09 or me (journalist Per Christian Stokke) at 47 982 16 685 for details.

Regards,

per christian k stokke
reporter   digitoday.no
per.christian.stokke@digitoday.no

http://digitoday.no

+47 23 08 06 85   +47 982 16 685