The FBI is busy hunting terrorists, but universities could end up footing the bill.
Recent changes to the Communications Assistance for Law Enforcement Act of 1994 will require any company or organization that provides Internet access to update its network to ensure that the FBI can obtain easy surveillance access for counterterrorism purposes.
Most universities, including Penn, provide Internet access, and all technological changes necessary for compliance will have to be completed at the organization's expense.
The act was originally intended to apply to telephone networks, but the Federal Communications Commission decided to update the act in response to the rapidly growing popularity of sending voice communications over the Internet.
Albert Gidari, a Seattle-based attorney, represented Educause -- an organization representing a number of universities, including Penn -- in a lawsuit related to the act. He believes that the FBI has taken advantage of "the sweeping language" of the FCC's revisions to include universities and businesses within the regulations.
"I don't think anyone included universities in their minds, per se" when the law was adjusted, Gidari said. "It's like finding a $10 bill on the road. You'd pick it up," he added, referring to what he believes are the FBI's attempts to take advantage of powers it had not originally sought.
Deke Kassabian, a senior technology director with Penn's Information Systems and Computing, said it is too early to tell precisely what impact the new standards will have on the University because it is unclear what universities will have to do to comply.
"Unless there are changes, Penn and other institutions would have to comply within 18 months," Kassabian said in an e-mail interview from a conference in Chicago. "I can tell you that many of [those present in Chicago], representing a number of prominent higher-education institutions, still have more questions than answers."
Key among these questions is how much compliance will cost the University.
Kassabian said that the worst-case scenario for Penn could involve "several million dollars in network-upgrade expense."
"It's my hope that as the situation becomes more clear over the next few months, Penn and other institutions of higher education will be asked for a modest increase in capabilities ... and that the cost to Penn will be substantially lower" than initially predicted, Kassabian added.
Also unclear is how the changes will affect the privacy of Penn students.
The Assistance for Law Enforcement Act "has always applied to telephone comm- unications, including all telephone communications at Penn, so the ability for a law-enforcement organization to get a court order for wiretap access for telephone calls hasn't really changed," Kassabian said.
However, the act "could potentially be applied to other forms of communications. This part is new and not yet well understood," he added.
Some groups are not waiting for answers.
The Center for Democracy and Technology, a nonprofit organization that deals with civil-liberties issues, joined yesterday with a series of public-interest and business concerns to file an appeal of the FCC ruling with the U.S. District Court of Appeals in Washington.
Dave McGuire, a spokesman for the center, said his organization considers the changes to be an "unfunded mandate" out of line with the act's original purpose.
The FBI "has not shown that it needs this new power," McGuire said. "It is not supported by any evidence provided by the FBI."
