FBI San Diego, Drug Investigations and 9/11

I just read an interesting post to the Full-Disclosure mailing list. This E-mail list is best described by the About Full Disclourse statement at the top of the subscription page:

"Unlike Bugtraq, this list serves no-one except the list members themselves. We don't believe in security by obscurity, and as far as we know, full disclosure is the only way to ensure that everyone, not just the insiders, have access to the information we need to survive. We will try to operate this list without moderation, as we feel moderation is an impediment to communication." - Len Rose, July 2002.

This is a very good place to start if your are new to security related issues pertaining to computers, just do not panic when reading it.

This mornings list contained a new thread, which can be read in entirety here, and it is worth the read, that is a response letter to Kelly Thorton, whose article in the San Diego Tribune, can be read from the link in the letter, by Jason Coombs:

FBI San Diego, Drug Investigations and 9/11

"Hello, Kelly.

I'm writing in response to your article from today in the San Diego Union-Tribune:

San Diego FBI Officials Call 9/11 Criticism 'Dead Horse'
http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/nation/terror/20050609-2002-terrorfolo.html

I work as an expert witness in civil and criminal court cases involving computer forensics and information security.

In 2003 I became involved as expert witness on behalf of a defendant in a Federal criminal drug prosecution case in San Diego county.

In the course of the law enforcement investigation, which occurred prior to the PATRIOT Act, the FBI computer forensics lab in San Diego assisted the DEA with Internet wiretaps of the suspects' computers, possibly in violation of wiretap laws, which at the time had no reference to Internet type data communications electronic intercepts.

The defendant was tried and convicted, and the case is now pending appeal.

During my review of the case on behalf of the defendant, I was shocked to see how far and how long law enforcement allowed the suspects to operate their drug operation in San Diego.

Instead of arresting the suspects when the FBI and DEA had conclusive proof of crimes, law enforcement seems to have toyed with the suspects, dragging out the investigation and making it absurdly complicated and costly. Law enforcement had proof sufficient to convict several months before the first drug sale occurred in the case, and they sat and watched, as though they were more interested in playing with their shiny new computer surveillance toys than in putting an end to the drug crimes in progress so they could move on to more important things, like the terrorists known to the CIA to be inside our country, who by coincidence lived virtually next-door to these drug offenders in San Diego."

I rather doubt that we will read more of this in other venues, and I have yet to research this myself, but find it compelling enough, from my experience, to wish to follow it further.

--WP