Letter to the Editor

Your June 12 article, "GSA fleshes out intrusion net plan," states that the Federal Information Detection Network (FIDNet) "first caught the attention of the non-vendor community last July when a newspaper erroneously reported that the program would monitor both federal and private-sector networks."

Based on information I had at the time and details I have learned since this story was first reported last year, I am confident that the original intent of FIDNet, as described in a leaked copy of the draft National Infrastructure Assurance plan, was to collect information from both the government and the private sector, with the latter providing information via private-sector information sharing and analysis centers.

Internet surveillance information from both sources would have been collected and fused by a central repository at the General Services Administration and forwarded as required to the FBI. This much was admitted to by a senior White House source.

I believe I was the first person to report on the wide surveillance aspects of FIDNet for the Paris-based Intelligence newsletter. This was subsequently reported by The New York Times. I continue to stand by my original story.

Wayne Madsen

Senior Fellow

Electronic Privacy Information Center