arch/ive/ief (2000 - 2005)
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Italian Cops Attempt Infiltration of Indymedia Chat Server by San Francisco Indymedia Sunday July 22, 2001 at 09:30 AM |
A summary of the Italian cops attempted infiltration of the IMC IRC server.
During actions in Genoa against the G8, Italian authorities have repeatedly attempted to infiltrate an internet chat server used by the Indymedia network.
IRC is an open internet standard which allows people to set up and communicate via "chat forums." Users can login with a nickname and talk back and forth in real time. Independent Media Center, an international network of indymedia journalists, has used IRC as an organizing tool for over a year, according to Espe, a member of the indymedia tech collective.
Italian police have repeatedly tried to access this chat server, presumably to listen in on plans and coverage being provided by Independent Media Center. Indymedia, which is operating a media center in Genoa, has provided in-depth coverage of international and local protests in over 40 cities across the world.
Italian police have logged onto the server under the nickname "crudelia". Indymedia tech collective members have remained vigilant, though. "We know their IP addresses and hostnames," says another anonymous tech collective member. "When we see them come on, we kick them off. Unfortunately, we are really busy during major actions and cannot spend all of our time monitoring police spies."
Italian activists have grown to anticipate this police maneuver. IRC is often used throughout Italy as an organizing tool. The activists report that police often come onto their server, pretending to be fascists or extreme leftists advocating violence. Italian activists have assembled their own form of counter-intelligence, keeping track of hostnames and other clues which can help them identify cyber-cops.
Indymedia tech collective members warn that IRC is never secure. "People can simply idle in chatrooms and log all the traffic within it," says Espe. However, snoops do not have to login or let anyone know they are there to listen in. "Conversations can be sniffed and logged," Espe continues, meaning that anyone can monitor IRC traffic secretly.
Tonight, Italian police brutally attacked the independent media center in Italy, severely injuring more than 20 people and stealing mini-discs and video.