This report provides an overview of federal law governing wiretapping and electronic eavesdropping under the Electronic Communications Privacy Act (ECPA). It also appends citations to state law in the area and the text of ECPA. It is a federal crime to wiretap or to use a machine to capture the communications of others without court approval, unless one of the parties has given his prior consent. It is likewise a federal crime to use or disclose any information acquired by illegal wiretapping or electronic eavesdropping. Violations can result in imprisonment for not more than five years; fines up to $250,000 (up to $500,000 for organizations); civil liability for damages, attorneys' fees and possibly punitive damages; disciplinary action against any attorneys involved; and suppression of any derivative evidence. Congress has created separate, but comparable, protective schemes for electronic communications (e.g., email) and against the surreptitious use of telephone call monitoring practices such as pen registers and trap and trace devices. Each of these protective schemes comes with a procedural mechanism to afford limited law enforcement access to private communications and communications records under conditions consistent with the dictates of the Fourth Amendment. The government has been given narrowly confined authority to engage in electronic surveillance, conduct physical searches, and install and use pen registers and trap and trace devices for law enforcement purposes under ECPA and for purposes of foreign intelligence gathering under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act.

2012 edition. Issued biennially. Contains a discussion of the Privacy Act's disclosure prohibition, its access and amendment provisions, and its agency recordkeeping requirements. Provides reference to, and legal analysis of, court decisions interpreting the Act's provisions.

Reproduction of the original: The Right to Privacy by Samuel D. Warren, Louis D. Brandeis

When it comes to computer crimes, the criminals got a big head start. But the law enforcement and IT security communities are now working diligently to develop the knowledge, skills, and tools to successfully investigate and prosecute Cybercrime cases. When the first edition of "Scene of the Cybercrime" published in 2002, it was one of the first books that educated IT security professionals and law enforcement how to fight Cybercrime. Over the past 5 years a great deal has changed in how computer crimes are perpetrated and subsequently investigated. Also, the IT security and law enforcement communities have dramatically improved their ability to deal with Cybercrime, largely as a result of increased spending and training. According to the 2006 Computer Security Institute's and FBI's joint Cybercrime report: 52% of companies reported unauthorized use of computer systems in the prior 12 months. Each of these incidents is a Cybecrime requiring a certain level of investigation and remediation. And in many cases, an investigation is mandates by federal compliance regulations such as Sarbanes-Oxley, HIPAA, or the Payment Card Industry (PCI) Data Security Standard. Scene of the Cybercrime, Second Edition is a completely revised and updated book which covers all of the technological, legal, and regulatory changes, which have occurred since the first edition. The book is written for dual audience; IT security professionals and members of law enforcement. It gives the technical experts a little peek into the law enforcement world, a highly structured environment where the "letter of the law" is paramount and procedures must be followed closely lest an investigation be contaminated and all the evidence collected rendered useless. It also provides law enforcement officers with an idea of some of the technical aspects of how cyber crimes are committed, and how technology can be used to track down and build a case against the criminals who commit them. Scene of the Cybercrime, Second Editions provides a roadmap that those on both sides of the table can use to navigate the legal and technical landscape to understand, prevent, detect, and successfully prosecute the criminal behavior that is as much a threat to the online community as "traditional" crime is to the neighborhoods in which we live. Also included is an all new chapter on Worldwide Forensics Acts and Laws. - Companion Web site provides custom tools and scripts, which readers can download for conducting digital, forensic investigations - Special chapters outline how Cybercrime investigations must be reported and investigated by corporate IT staff to meet federal mandates from Sarbanes Oxley, and the Payment Card Industry (PCI) Data Security Standard - Details forensic investigative techniques for the most common operating systems (Windows, Linux and UNIX) as well as cutting edge devices including iPods, Blackberries, and cell phones

In an age where electronic communications are changing in front of our eyes, the potential to do harm using mobile phones, satellite telephones and other means of communications rivals the good they do. On the other hand, law enforcement needs up-to-date tools (laws) to cope with the advances, the population must be protected from undue intrusions on their privacy. This book presents an overview of federal law governing wiretapping and electronic eavesdropping. It includes a selective bibliography fully indexed for easy access.