FBI Find New Way to Bypass 4th Amendement - "We Got Your Email Pawned Perp"

[GhostShip]

It seems you can fully trust those charged with guarding the rights handed out in the constitution... to undermine them by legal chicanery.

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2008/08/20/cloud_computing_privacy/

Putting aside the security, data storage, data retention, data destruction and other pesky issues associated with doing business in the cloud, one fundamental issue remains: Your data is being hosted, stored and transmitted through a third party. As far as the law is concerned then, that third party has control of your data and may therefore be subject to a subpoena for your data, often without your knowledge or ability to object.

Generally, the Internet service provider (ISP) is required to give the subscriber notice of the subpoena, but the statute allows a delay of up to 90 days if the government just asks for the data and the court finds that "there is reason to believe that notification of the existence of the court order may have an adverse result"

Warshak, like many others, used web-based or third-party provided email services like Yahoo! mail and NuVox communications. Thus, his inbox and outbox were literally out of his hands. If Warshak had used an internal email service that he controlled and the government wanted to get access to the contents of his email, they would have had to do it the old-fashioned way: Obtain a search warrant supported by probable cause,

It used a statute called the Stored Communications Act, which allows the government to require an ISP to hand over the contents of your emails that have been in storage for more than 180 days even without a warrant.

While it seems in this case the guy had something to hide the courts where rather concerned by the implication that a persons constitutional rights where trampled on knowingly by the federal bureau of investigation ( or the "feds" as their enemies call them), who seem to feel they run the country now and your rights are not a matter of concern for them.

In summary then : Ensure you don't use "online" email systems where possible, and as mediadefender found out ,you should never have any expectation of privacy if you do so.

[Trestor]

I'm not sure I understand all of the angles on this. I can see that online email services (like G-Mail, Yahoo Mail and Hotmail) are vulnerable to this, but I'm uncertain whether my own ISP, which holds emails until I download them to my computer, is also vulnerable. It would seem that since they electronically actually have those emails, they are just as vulnerable to the gaze of Inspector Morose as the online variety of email service.
Is there any sort of email setup that takes the third party out of the email equation completely?

[Lagerlout666]

If they are logging every byte that enters and leaves your computer then nothing, you could set up your own email server, and use ssl maybe but probably not.

[GhostShip]

I believe your ISP is covered safely under the warrant required umbrella, this applies only to third party mail services as I read it.