NSA patent can locate Internet users

NSA patent can locate Internet users
By UNITED PRESS INTERNATIONAL
Published September 22, 2005


WASHINGTON -- Internet users thinking they can hide anonymously may soon get an
awakening.

On Sept. 20 the United States awarded patent 6,974,978. The patent was filed on
December 29, 2000 by Stephen Mark Huffman and Michael Henry Reifer, with the assignee being
United States of America as represented by the director of the National Security Agency.

According to the patent's abstract, the invention is a "Method for geolocating
logical network addresses on electronically switched dynamic communications networks, such as
the Internet, using the time latency of communications to and from the logical network
address to determine its location.

"Minimum round-trip communications latency is measured between numerous stations on
the network and known network addressed equipment to form a network latency topology map.
Minimum round-trip communications latency is also measured between the stations and the
logical network address to be geolocated. The resulting set of minimum round-trip
communications latencies is then correlated with the network latency topology map to determine
the location of the network address to be geolocated."


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