Domestic Policy
Web Bugs: White House Web Site Uses Forbidden Cookies
You go to the White House to express your concerns with the fact that the NSA has been dropping cookies on your computer and ‘Bam’ you are hit again with another subversive cookie implantation. How paranoid is this going to make people? Most are afraid to post replies on certain sites for fear that the government is going to track them down. Now with this revelation their fears will only intensify.
Don’t worry, this time you don’t have cookies to worry about, you have now been infected with Web bugs. A web bug is an object that has been implanted in a Web page, it is usually undetectable to the user, it subversively allows the tracking of the browsing behavior of the user who visited the site that planted the bug. The bug is a small transparent gif image that is set in in an HTML page. When a user opens the page with a graphical browser the image is downloaded. The download requires the browser to request the image from the server storing it; the organization running the server is informed of when the HTML page has been viewed.
Why is this occurring, what is really going on? Well, if you believe the government, they advise that both issues are the results of simple mistakes not intentional snooping or spying. The government has advised that the NSA cookie is the result of a software upgrade setting, a program was updated and a simple setting was not checked, this resulted in the permanent cookie being deployed on visitor’s computers.
The White House cookie is supposedly the result of miscommunication and misunderstanding with one of their software providers. A WebTrend official has advised that they do not use cookie information on individuals across multiple sites, which would be required to track internet usage other than on the White House, or NSA, websites. WebTrends has tried to reassure the public that cookies were not generated when visiting the White House site, but that WebTrends cookies were created when visiting other client sites. On certain government sites WebTrends provides what is known as a WebBug.
WebTrends advised that user experience “web bugs” were used on the government sites, the use of webbugs is not prohibited by the current policy in regards to government sites.
When a visitor accesses a site that utilizes web bug technology, cookies record information on the following information:
Time
IP address of visiting computer
Page URL
Web bug image URL
Visitor’s internet browser type
Previously set cookie value
The use of cookies is rampant throughout the internet; actually their use is pretty convenient for individuals who frequent certain sites where usernames and passwords are required. However, in regards to government agencies, there must me a reason for the use of these permanent cookies, there is policy in place that guards against the government placing tracking technology on unsuspecting computer users machines.
It is now being reported that the White House has also been placing cookies on visitor’s computers.
What started out as an innocent discovery by Cambridge Massachusetts software security expert Richard M. Smith has grown into a proverbial Salem witch hunt? It was actually Mr. Smith who first noticed that the National Security Agency website was downloading long-term cookies to NSA visitors’ computers.
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Three points I think fall from this:
(1) his brings up the topic of accountability on behalf of government agencies, like that of the NSA.
(2) Where are the checks-and-balances here? How can one agency be so divorced from other agencies (or other powers) that this kind of eye watching goes on unchecked?
(3) If this slides because the NSA proclaims, “We didn’t know, it’s not our fault,” it would be ridiculous. This is ridiculous by comparison to all the citizen people who’ve been prosecuted and sent to jail for accidents they’ve made.
Societal complacency is not acceptable in this case and I hope we do what’s right in preventing this type of bugging in the future.
Pseudosig - http://www.farcereport.com
You bring up three very excellent points Pseudosig. The accountability issue is major, so also is the checks and balances. Your last point may be themost vital, what is the reason\excuse. We have heard the reason given tothe media to explain this mishap but what is really going on may be a different issue. I appreciate your thought provoking insight. Your opinions are greatly appreciated. I hope many individuals utilize our governement contacts link to contact their elected officials and voice their opinions.
This has me fired up, if we find this out, what are’nt we learning. When will it end and what is the purpose? How can Repubs support this?
As displayed by our recent poll on the subject, many are concerned about the issue of cookies andweb bugs. However, there are others who feel this steps are o.k. because it provides us with safety and security. I guess there is a balance that must be struck with this issue. However, the question is how far can the government go before our rights are being infringed on. This is definitely a very convoluted subject with no real easy answers.
I don’t really think that it is appropriate to classify the White House or NSA use of browser cookies as “web bugs”. Since when have Internet browser cookies been considered “bugs”? Almost all websites use them for one thing or another…heck Voteswagon uses them. It just depends on what they are used for (Voteswagon uses them for the weekly poll and login/user features).
The issue is that governement sites have regulations barring the use of browser cookies (just for the reasons you are concerned about — privacy), and these sites disregarded the ban and had them in place anyways.
Was it an honest mistake? Maybe. But given the Bush Administration’s recent domestic spying revelation among other things…I doubt it.