[Nettime-bold] Announcement of CarnivorePE "Personal Edition"

[US Department of Art & Technology <press@usdept-arttech.net>]

Title: Announcement of CarnivorePE "Personal Edition"

US Department of Art & Technology

PO Box 32265 Washington, DC

http://www.usdept-arttech.net

press@usdept-arttech.net

Press Secretary

For Immediate Release:  April 24, 2002

Announcement of RSG's Release of

CarnivorePE "Personal Edition" Data Detection Tool

WASHINGTON, DC - The US Department of Art & Technology, in conjunction with Radical Software Group (RSG) and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), is announcing today the availability of the CarnivorePE "Personal Edition" detection tool to perform packet sniffing on a local area network. CarnivorePE was created by RSG, an artist-collective that has been producing client applications since last year that openly taps networks for aesthetic, social and politically-motivated purposes. CarnivorePE is inspired by DCS1000 (known by its nickname "Carnivore"), software used by the FBI to perform electronic wiretaps. The tool is available at: www.rhizome.org/carnivore.

CarnivorePE uses personal computers to transmit data streams to one or more client systems. Pioneering a new platform for surveillance systems, the detection tool allows users to examine networks to identify the presence of specific data types and thereby unleash their computers to conduct the musicalization of network traffic, deconstruct media, trigger words, and investigate streaming bits to expose their true content-information.

Last year, RSG made available the first edition of the Carnivore tool that surpassed other network sniffing techniques, including Etherpeek and SurfWatch. This current release updates the tool to include the ability to detect sustainable encounters and designable futures. CarnivorePE greatly improves on the original FBI DCS1000 wiretapping software, openly monitoring Web communications as well as serving data to any recipient for real-time analysis.

RSG also continues to work aggressively with other government agencies and industry to provide timely and effective warnings and countermeasures to the increasingly damaging threats posed to the U.S. cyber infrastructure.

As with earlier RSG exploits, there is currently no way for the technology industry to contain this "open source" project. Rather, development depends on a community-wide effort to detect data streams, thereby increasing the number of computers that can be used to reshape the way individual and organizations collaborate and share information. For that reason, RSG strongly encourages widespread use of its detection tool, as artist-generated, data-revealing client applications increasingly become available - a mega-media portal through the blending of mediums.

Any anti-CarnivorePE related activity should be reported to the RSG Watch and Warning Unit, or computer emergency response support organizations, as appropriate. RSG can be reached at (+1 917 514 5815), or by e-mail at rsg@rhizome.org

********

Carnivore is created by RSG, an all-star collective of computer artists hand selected from cities around the world. Carnivore is their first public release.

The US Department of Art and Technology is the principal conduit for facilitating the artist's need to extend aesthetic inquiry into the broader culture where ideas become real action. It also serves the psychological and spiritual well-being of all Americans by supporting cultural efforts that provide immunity from the extension of new media technologies into the social sphere.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) prides itself on obedience to the Constitution of the United States; surveils the identity of those they protect; and upholds values that must be vigorously defended.

URLs:

RSG CarnivorePE: http://www.rhizome.org/carnivore

US Department of Art & Technology: http://www.usdept-arttech.net

Federal Bureau of Investigation: http://www.fbi.gov/

Contact: Press Secretary of the US Department of Art & Technology

press@usdept-arttech.net

# 01-099