According to CNET, the FBI is another agency on the growing list of government officials using technology to fight terrestrial crime. In this case, the FBI received a court order to install spyware on a MySpace account that has been accused of engaging in bomb threats.

The Spyware

The Spyware, called CIPAV, was a sniffer designed to report the IP address and a connection log of the computer’s user back to the FBI. This information was used to verify the fact that Josh Glazebrook, the owner of this computer, was indeed making these threats using the machine.

The fallout of this investigation was that Josh was sentenced to 90 days in juvenile detention after pleading guilty to all charges.

Web 2.0 Roundup

The story itself, while interesting, is even more important because of the questions it raises. Just how widespread is this type of tracking? It seems like a great use of technology, if it is only being used by federal officials with warrants. However, the misuse of this sort of tactic is a serious violation of privacy.

Another question is how the Spyware was delivered, and generally how savvy these agencies are in propagating malware through the net. I am sure this won’t be the last time that Spyware is used in this way, it will be interesting to see how this form of cyber warfare evolves.

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