Similarly, the report did not sufficiently address the question of whether Carnivore is, in fact, necessary or whether the ISPs could provide the FBI would access to the data to which they are entitled. Most disturbingly, the report fails to fully investigate and analyze possible alternatives to Carnivore that may be less invasive of Internet users' privacy rights. This ranges from Internet telephone conversations to electronic mail, to webpage activity, etc. The report confirms this capability. Third, despite repeated assertions to the contrary from the FBI, the report concludes that Carnivore has no effective auditing function that would expose and prevent abuses.
All users are logged in as 'administrator' and no audit trail of action is maintained.
Finally, the review team recommends against the immediate public release of Carnivore source code, out of the fear that Internet users will use the information to exploit its weaknesses. To the contrary, disclosure of the source code would allow for truly independent examinations of Carnivore. Conclusion All in all, this report falls far short of the public disclosure necessary for such a potentially serious threat to individual liberties. If Attorney General Reno is not willing to take those steps, the ACLU will ask her successor to do so.