FutureWire - futurism and emerging technology

Tuesday, November 23, 2004

Keylogging Not Prohibited by Wiretap Laws

A federal judge in California has thrown out criminal charges against a man accused of using a keystroke logging tool to spy on his employer. The judge declared that "keylogging" did not fit the criteria for communications protected under the Wiretap Act because the information did not travel over a network.

Rest assured that this is only a temporary situation. Industries of all sorts will certainly lobby Congress to close this loophole, and the current business-friendly legislature will comply. In the meantime, beware of what you type over a LAN... and especially be careful when using wireless keyboards and mice, as those signals can be intercepted very easily.

Sources: SecurityFocus, Slashdot