The Yahoo email scanning controversy has gotten a little more intense with the revelation that the scanning program used by the company was not a simple filter, generally used for spam or pornography detection. The program was allegedly much more sophisticated.
According to Reuters, Yahoo used a module for scanning the emails. The module was attached to the Linux kernel for this purpose. The information likely came from three former Yahoo employees. Senator Ron Wyden is now demanding that the government releases the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) order asking for the surveillance.
The Electronic Frontier Foundation has also expressed a similar intent. The foundation has cited the USA Freedom Act to support its demand. It also referred to a statement made by House member John Conyers which specified that the bill is required to make "public disclosure of all significant opinions of the FISA court."
Motherboard claims that the spy tool used by Yahoo was a "buggy" and a "poorly designed" piece of malware. Citing exclusive information from unnamed sources, Motherboard stated that the tool closely resembled a "rootkit" which is a type of malware and offers unencumbered access to hackers.
Yahoo has described the Reuters report "misleading." The company stated that the email scanning as described in the article does not exist on their systems.