NSA Web Site Puts 'Cookies' on Computers(big brother is watching)
The National Security Agency's Internet site has been placing files on visitors' computers that can track their Web surfing activity despite strict federal rules banning most of them."Considering the surveillance power the NSA has, cookies are not exactly a major concern," said Ari Schwartz, associate director at the Center for Democracy and Technology, a privacy advocacy group in Washington, D.C. "But it does show a general lack of understanding about privacy rules when they are not even following the government's very basic rules for Web privacy."
Until Tuesday, the NSA site created two cookie files that do not expire until 2035 likely beyond the life of any computer in use today.Daniel Brandt, a privacy activist who discovered the NSA cookies, said mistakes happen, "but in any case, it's illegal. The (guideline) doesn't say anything about doing it accidentally."
The Bush administration has come under fire recently over reports it authorized NSA to secretly spy on e-mail and phone calls without court orders.Since The New York Times disclosed the domestic spying program earlier this month,
President Bush has stressed that his executive order allowing the eavesdropping was limited to people with known links to al-Qaida.
Until Tuesday, the NSA site created two cookie files that do not expire until 2035 likely beyond the life of any computer in use today.Daniel Brandt, a privacy activist who discovered the NSA cookies, said mistakes happen, "but in any case, it's illegal. The (guideline) doesn't say anything about doing it accidentally."
The Bush administration has come under fire recently over reports it authorized NSA to secretly spy on e-mail and phone calls without court orders.Since The New York Times disclosed the domestic spying program earlier this month,
President Bush has stressed that his executive order allowing the eavesdropping was limited to people with known links to al-Qaida.