Connect with us

Hi, what are you looking for?

SecurityWeekSecurityWeek

Security Infrastructure

Telco Sued by DOJ for Questioning National Security Letter

A telecommunications company in California, believed to be Credo – a company that resells wireless spectrum – is being sued after they challenged one of the FBI’s ultra-secret National Security Letters (NSL) and its accompanying gag order.

A telecommunications company in California, believed to be Credo – a company that resells wireless spectrum – is being sued after they challenged one of the FBI’s ultra-secret National Security Letters (NSL) and its accompanying gag order.

For those who are not familiar, National Security Letters are laws that allow the FBI to bypass the courts and issue letters on their own authority to telecoms and financial organizations, which demand information on their customers.

In addition, the recipient of an NSL is permanently blocked from discussing the letter, so neither the public or the intended targets of the letter – namely the organization’s customers – will know when they were issued, what the NSLs requested, or why. The secrecy, the FBI explains, is to prevent targets of an investigation from learning that they are – targets of an investigation.

Challenging an NSL is rare it seems, as this most recent example is only the second time it’s happened. Publically that is. According to the records released by the EFF, in this latest example, the FBI says that by challenging the NSL and the gag order, the unknown telecommunications company “violates federal law.”

“[The] Defendant has stated its objection to compliance with the provisions of, and has not complied with, a National Security Letter that was lawfully issued pursuant to 18 U.S.C. § 2709. Defendant’s failure to comply with a lawfully issues National Security Letter interferes with the United States’ vindication of its sovereign interests in law enforcement, counterintelligence, and protecting national security.”

In an interview with Wired’s Kim Zetter, the EFF’s Matt Zimmerman, called the DOJ’s charge intense.

“It’s a huge deal to say you are in violation of federal law having to do with a national security investigation. That is extraordinarily aggressive from my standpoint. They’re saying you are violating the law by challenging our authority here.”

Advertisement. Scroll to continue reading.

You May LikeThe Political Push to Secure The Internet – The Info at the Heart of the Matter

In somewhat related news, within his Op Ed for the Wall Street Journal, President Obama called on Congress to take cybersecurity seriously, while protecting the privacy of individuals.

“It doesn’t take much to imagine the consequences of a successful cyber attack. In a future conflict, an adversary unable to match our military supremacy on the battlefield might seek to exploit our computer vulnerabilities here at home. Taking down vital banking systems could trigger a financial crisis. The lack of clean water or functioning hospitals could spark a public health emergency. And as we’ve seen in past blackouts, the loss of electricity can bring businesses, cities and entire regions to a standstill,” the President wrote

President Obama’s remarks come on the same day that Senators Lieberman, Collins, Feinstein, and Rockefeller introduced a revised version of their previously proposed cybersecurity legislation. The revision adds privacy protections for consumers, and removes a controversial mandate for security standards.

In a statement, Senator Lieberman somewhat admitted that the revised bill lacks teeth.

“While the bill we introduced in February is stronger, this compromise will significantly strengthen the cybersecurity of the nation’s most critical infrastructure and with it our national and economic security,” he said.

“This compromise bill creates a public-private partnership to set cybersecurity standards for critical American infrastructure, and offers the reward of some immunity from liability to those who meet those standards. In other words, we are going to try carrots instead of sticks as we begin to improve our cyber defenses. This compromise bill will depend on incentives rather than mandatory regulations to strengthen America’s cybersecurity. If that doesn’t work, a future Congress will undoubtedly come back and adopt a more coercive system.”

You May LikeThe Political Push to Secure The Internet – The Info at the Heart of the Matter

Written By

Click to comment

Daily Briefing Newsletter

Subscribe to the SecurityWeek Email Briefing to stay informed on the latest threats, trends, and technology, along with insightful columns from industry experts.

SecurityWeek’s Threat Detection and Incident Response Summit brings together security practitioners from around the world to share war stories on breaches, APT attacks and threat intelligence.

Register

Securityweek’s CISO Forum will address issues and challenges that are top of mind for today’s security leaders and what the future looks like as chief defenders of the enterprise.

Register

Expert Insights

Related Content

Management & Strategy

Hundreds of companies are showcasing their products and services this week at the 2023 edition of the RSA Conference in San Francisco.

Security Infrastructure

Comcast jumps into the enterprise cybersecurity business, betting that its internal security tools and inventions can find traction in an expanding marketplace.

Security Infrastructure

XDR's fully loaded value to threat detection, investigation and response will only be realized when it is viewed as an architecture

Funding/M&A

Identity and access governance vendor Saviynt has closed a $205 million financing round.

Cloud Security

The term ‘zero trust’ is now used so much and so widely that it has almost lost its meaning.

ICS/OT

Security orchestration, automation and response (SOAR) provider Swimlane on Monday announced the launch of a security automation solution ecosystem for operational technology (OT) environments.

Identity & Access

The National Security Agency (NSA) has published a series of recommendations on how to properly configure IP Security (IPsec) Virtual Private Networks (VPNs).