Unnamed Administration sources reported that Daniel Golding said:
Well, what's a "peering point"? Most traffic does not traverse public
peering points, domestically. So, in order to look at enough traffic to make
it worthwhile, the .gov would have to optically tap all the private peering
x-connects between major carriers. That is a major endevour, and would
surely be eventually discovered (probably sooner, rather than later). And,
of course, the equipment needed to actually look at that data, at line rate,
would be difficult to conceal.There are also numerous rules against doing this sort of thing domestically.
a) I commented on the Pentagon zone-of-control issue, and don't
feel competent to speak on most aspects of backbone sniffing.
Ask folks who run backbones and peering points.
b) That said:
There WERE also numerous rules against doing....
Spend some time reading about both the so-called Patriot Act
<http://www.aclu.org/congress/l110101a.html> and Ashcroft policy
of late. See EPIC, EFF, and ACLU's pages on same, for starters.
When the best-protected personal data you have is your Blockbuster
account, and your public library & medical records are open to any
knuckle-dragger WITHOUT a warrant....
...and protesting same can make you too an enemy-combatant; detained
without charge in a brig...
You may wish to review your thinking.
This is way OT for NANOG. If you want to come back on topic; what's
your own NOC's SOP for when the G-men knock on the door at midnight
waving paper & steel?