Associated Press: FBI Develops Eavesdropping Tools. At least one antivirus software company, McAfee Corp., contacted the FBI on Wednesday to ensure its software wouldn’t inadvertently detect the bureau’s snooping software and alert a criminal suspect.
Brett Glass writes, “I have just removed all Network Associates products from my workstations and network servers, and will no longer recommend them to my clients or readers.”
I agree. It will also be my policy, barring an absolute guarantee from Network Associates, which owns McAfee, that it will not do this.
But we have to ask something further. What will Symantec and the other antivirus companies do about this? Will they, too, alter their software to leave all of us vulnerable not just to the FBI but any hacker who finds a way to mimic the signature of the FBI’s surveillance tools?
What’s next?