FEDS DEMAND WEB FIRMS TURN OVER PASSWORDS
Feds tell Web firms to turn over user account passwords
If the government is able to determine a person’s password, which is typically stored in encrypted form, the credential could be used to log in to an account to peruse confidential correspondence or even impersonate the user. Obtaining it also would aid in deciphering encrypted devices in situations where passwords are reused.
“I’ve certainly seen them ask for passwords,” said one Internet industry source who spoke on condition of anonymity. “We push back.”
http://news.cnet.com/8301-13578_3-57595529-38/feds-tell-web-firms-to-turn-over-user-account-passwords
Feds tell Web firms to turn over user account passwords
Secret demands mark escalation in Internet surveillance
by the federal government through gaining access to user passwords,
which are typically stored in encrypted form.
The U.S. government has demanded that major Internet companies
divulge users’ stored passwords, according to two industry sources
familiar with these orders, which represent an escalation in
surveillance techniques that has not previously been disclosed.If the government is able to determine a person’s password, which is typically stored in encrypted form, the credential could be used to log in to an account to peruse confidential correspondence or even impersonate the user. Obtaining it also would aid in deciphering encrypted devices in situations where passwords are reused.
“I’ve certainly seen them ask for passwords,” said one Internet industry source who spoke on condition of anonymity. “We push back.”
http://news.cnet.com/8301-13578_3-57595529-38/feds-tell-web-firms-to-turn-over-user-account-passwords