--- Neil Johnson <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > On Sun, 2004-12-05 at 20:58 -0500, Steve Thompson wrote: > >[PROMIS] > Yes, I have found that puzzling too. > > Articles I have read refer to the original version being "in the public > domain". You'd think the source code would be "out there" somewhere.
If that's true, then the government couldn't have stolen it. However, I suspect that mainfraim code of any sophistication is rarely released into the public domain. I imagine the author would be able to clear that up, assuming he has no financial reason to falsify its history. > The least "Tin Foil Hat (TM)" version of the story I found is at Wired > > http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/1.01/inslaw.html > > Which gives this description: > > "Designed as case-management software for federal prosecutors, PROMIS > has the ability to combine disparate databases, and to track people by > their involvement with the legal system. Hamilton and others now claim > that the DOJ has modified PROMIS to monitor intelligence operations, > agents and targets, instead of legal cases." Interesting. > I find the claims made about this software (it's ability to reconcile > data from many different sources "automagically" ) pretty vague and > frankly, a little far fetched, based on what I know about software, > databases, etc. No kidding. Databases are _hard_ to write efficiently, let alone to arbitrarily integrate. > (And that's not even including the "modifications" supposedly made to > install a TEMPEST back door in later versions). Perhaps I am stupid. I don't know how one would go about modifying application software to include a 'back door' that would presumably enhance its suceptibility to TEMPEST attacks. Isn't tempest all about EM spectrum signal detection and capture? Regards, Steve ______________________________________________________________________ Post your free ad now! http://personals.yahoo.ca
