I was reading through some security articles today when I came across a mention of the Quantico Circuit. The name sounds intriguing so I searched it up.

The telecom company’s people told Pasdar, who they’d brought in for the project, that the unusual backdoor conduit was called the “Quantico Circuit” and “should not be firewalled”. Pasdar was concerned that the channel, code named for the FBI academy in Northern Virginia, was an open door to his client’s “core network,” giving unrestricted access to the cellular phone company’s “billing system, text messaging, and fraud detection”. The conduit made it possible, for example, “to tap into any conversation on any mobile phone supported by the carrier at any point”.

Are you thinking what I’m thinking? This is like something out of Digital Fortress. What a coincidence.

Though I haven’t verified the source, I wouldn’t be surprised if it’s true. Especially after the recent amendments to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA).

References

• The Quantico Circuit Caper
• Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act
• FISA Amendments Act of 2008