EC-Council: Computer Hacking Forensic Investigator(CHFI-V10) |
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Module 1 : Computer Forensics in Today's World |
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| Notes available : 31 |
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Note ID: 139
Electronic Communications Privacy Act
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The Electronic Communications Privacy Act of 1986 (ECPA) was enacted by the United States Congress to extend restrictions on government wire taps of telephone calls to include transmissions of electronic data by computer (18 U.S.C. § 2510), added new provisions prohibiting access to stored electronic communications, i.e., the Stored Communications Act (SCA, 18 U.S.C. § 2701), and added so-called pen trap provisions that permit the tracing of telephone communications (18 U.S.C. § 3121). ECPA was an amendment to Title III of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 (the Wiretap Statute), which was primarily designed to prevent unauthorized government access to private electronic communications. The ECPA has been amended by the Communications Assistance for Law Enforcement Act (CALEA) of 1994, the USA PATRIOT Act (2001), the USA PATRIOT reauthorization acts (2006), and the FISA Amendments Act (2008).
The ECPA, as amended, protects wire, oral, and electronic communications, while such communications are being made, are in transit, and stored on computers. The Act applies to email, telephone conversations, and data stored electronically.
ECPA has three titles, which are discussed below:
Title I
Often referred to as the Wiretap Act, Title I prohibits the intentional, actual, or attempted interception, use, disclosure, or "procurement of any other person to intercept or endeavor to intercept any wire, oral, or electronic communication." Title I also prohibits the use of illegally obtained communications as evidence.
Exception: Title I provides exceptions for operators and service providers for uses “in the normal course of his employment while engaged in any activity which is a necessary incident to the rendition of his service" and for "persons authorized by law to intercept wire, oral, or electronic communications or to conduct electronic surveillance, as defined in section 101 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) of 1978." It provides procedures for federal, State, and other government officers to obtain judicial authorization for intercepting such communications and also regulates the use and disclosure of information obtained through authorized wiretapping.
Title II
Also called the Stored Communications Act (SCA), Title II protects the privacy of the contents of files stored by service providers and of records held about the subscriber by service providers, such as subscriber name, billing records, or IP addresses.
Title III
Title III addresses pen register and trap and trace devices and requires government entities to obtain a court order authorizing the installation and use of a pen register (a device that captures the dialed numbers and related information to which outgoing calls or communications are made by the subject) and/or a trap and trace (a device that captures the numbers and related information from which incoming calls and communications coming to the subject have originated).
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