Einstein 3 Won't Read E-Mails

Following privacy concerns raised by the Center for Democracy and Technology, a Homeland Security official says the so-called Einstein 3 intrusion-detection system will not be able to read e-mails.

According to Nextgov, Phil Reitinger, deputy undersecretary for the department's National Protection and Programs Directorate, says the system will determine whether electronic communications entering the networks contain viruses or other malware, but otherwise it's not concerned with the content of e-mails. Reitlinger explains:

No person would look at any particular piece of data unless a signature was matched and indicated that an attack was in progress.

Einstein 3 will be used solely with federal civilian networks. Military networks are protected by the Defense Department.