Technibble article about a client getting arrested.

[rchase14]

I just read from my inbox an article from Technibble about the PC tech that got a client arrested......but this article does not appear on Technibble. I assume it was deleted for legal reasons? Did anybody else get this article in their email?

 

[TechOneCS]

I got it too.

'twas interesting. Guy reacted much more quickly than I would have.

I have a real estate background, and my initial inclination when seeing things I maybe shouldn't is to shut up about it and pretend I didn't see it (client privacy is very important - I see clients' Quickbooks files quite frequently).

This, however, is a bit different. Obviously child porn is illegal and morally wrong, so I hope I would react in a similar fashion, though I'm not sure taking the guy's stuff (HD and laptop) is the way to go. Could it be considered theft if it was removed from client's property under false pretenses, or could the evidence be thrown out of court since it was (initially) obtained without a warrant? (IANAL) Perhaps the best thing would be to finish the job, then wish the client a good day and call the cops as soon as you leave the client's?

I dunno...just thinking out loud.

 

[Daifne]

http://www.technibble.com/forums/showthread.php?t=6872

 

[Methical]

Yes that was quite an interesting story !

Don't know what the laws are like in your country..

But the dude did state that he did work for the Police Department; so I guess he was in the right?

Even if he wasn't in the right, I don't think the Police would charge him (even if he didn't work for the PD) because he stole someones Laptop/HDD full of kiddie porn. Good on him for doing so!

I would of done the same thing in his shoes...

 

[rovr138]

When I read that he worked for the Police Department what I thought was that he worked as an employee (officer or something). But after reading again, I think that what he meant was that they use his services.


I'm not really sure :/

 

[angry_geek]

Hi all. I can't say much about this as there is an ongoing federal and local investigation, and everyone involved is under a gag order from the court.

All I did was discover the offense and report it. No offense there. It's akin to seeing a murder and reporting it. You don't have to be police officer to be a witness to a crime. At the house, I was there (and listed on all appropriate paperwork) as an agent of the police. I have a contract with several of the PD's around here including the one in question. There were no illegalities in what I did or in the ensuing investigation. Since this happened, I have been named a consultant in the investigation. The whole thing could take a year or more to come to fruition, but I will update as I can.

Just remember, don't look the other way when you see something wrong. Do the right thing; follow your conscience.

 

[rchase14]

I understand your position......I too support a local police department....we have had weird stuff like this happen on work PCs but never on someone's home PC. I hope that never does happen.....but if it does, I will not hesitate to follow in your footsteps.

Great job!

 

[MLCS]

I purposely make sure I'm not looking for any data on my customers system that is personal. Pictures, videos, documents. I'm looking for system files only. My job is to fix the computer and get it back to them. I want to feel right when I tell customers that their files are completely confidential and I have no desire or business looking through them.

Now when it comes to stuff like this though I'm torn. Because I despise child porn sicko bastages with a passion. Honestly they're probably better off if I never do find anything, because I get a bit heated over stuff like that and would hate to see myself get in trouble for doing something stupid. But if the client was stupid enough to say have it as a background image on their desktop, or something in plain view I couldn't fix the computer without seeing, I'm pretty certain I'd report it anyway!

But this leads to a more important question for me...

As techs, we do a lot of drive imaging and backups before we even work on a machine. I only usually keep their files on my backup drive for 30 days after the repair is finished. But what if there's illegal or sensitive material on the drive and we back it up?

What I'm getting at here is what if there's child porn on our backup drives and we don't even know it. What if that porn is found on our drives? Are we held responsible in a situation like that??? I would be interested in finding out more along info like this. If it's on our backup drives it's on our property and under law we are responsible. But what can you do to prevent it without looking through it all, which is ridiculous?

 

[purple_minion]

I purposely make sure I'm not looking for any data on my customers system that is personal. Pictures, videos, documents. I'm looking for system files only. My job is to fix the computer and get it back to them. I want to feel right when I tell customers that their files are completely confidential and I have no desire or business looking through them.

Now when it comes to stuff like this though I'm torn. Because I despise child porn sicko bastages with a passion. Honestly they're probably better off if I never do find anything, because I get a bit heated over stuff like that and would hate to see myself get in trouble for doing something stupid. But if the client was stupid enough to say have it as a background image on their desktop, or something in plain view I couldn't fix the computer without seeing, I'm pretty certain I'd report it anyway!

But this leads to a more important question for me...

As techs, we do a lot of drive imaging and backups before we even work on a machine. I only usually keep their files on my backup drive for 30 days after the repair is finished. But what if there's illegal or sensitive material on the drive and we back it up?

What I'm getting at here is what if there's child porn on our backup drives and we don't even know it. What if that porn is found on our drives? Are we held responsible in a situation like that??? I would be interested in finding out more along info like this. If it's on our backup drives it's on our property and under law we are responsible. But what can you do to prevent it without looking through it all, which is ridiculous?

Personally I encrypt every image I take to not only protect from say losing a drive or something, but also for something like this. Fortunately it's not like the UK where they can force you into revealing passwords. Also if you use a unique password for each image even with a keylogger, camera, microphone, etc they won't get any passwords unless you use that specific password. I haven't come up with a system for making unique passwords yet, I was thinking of perhaps keepass. I have read that the only thing really stopping the legal system from forcing you to turn over passwords is the fact that they exist in your mind, unlike a physical item like keys to a safe. Apparently the speculation is that if your password is written down they might "force" you to give them the paper. If it's in your head then they can't make you testify or something to that effect. Also if they install a keylogger they would get ALL your passwords from keepass, so might not be the best idea as well. It would make it a simple matter to delete the encrypted file, as well as overwrite the password in keepass. Not sure what kind of time frame it would be anyone to come knocking on your door. I'd think that encrypting backups would stop random people accidentally stumbling over hidden files like kiddie stuff. I'd also hope that the fact that you follow the guidelines of not violating personal privacy by looking at all personal images and running a legitimate computer repair business would shield you from prosecution.

Sorry, I'm tired so I might not make much sense. I have thought about this actually so I'd love to hear others thoughts on this as well.

 

[krutoi]

I only usually keep their files on my backup drive for 30 days after the repair is finished. But what if there's illegal or sensitive material on the drive and we back it up?

Perhaps it could be as simple as maintaining a log book of images with client ID & dates so that it is clear that this data belongs to whomever it belongs to. Seems that would provide a decent amount of protection.

 

[@ncient geek]

Perhaps it could be as simple as maintaining a log book of images with client ID & dates so that it is clear that this data belongs to whomever it belongs to. Seems that would provide a decent amount of protection.

Legally you can not keep backup data as soon as your client leaves your shop or you leave the site (unless you are properly mandated to do so by this client in writing !! and you are sure that the client is authorised to mandate you).

 

[thor999]

Whereupon I am COMPLETELY for getting these scumbags off the street, I am wary of the possible repercussions of doing something like this myself (trust me, it wouldn't keep me from doing what you did!) as in, how could they turn this around on you? I know you snapped pics at the location and all, but what would be a surefire way (at least in the legal sense) of keeping them from convincing a jury they were your pics to begin with, then getting you investigated? Certainly not picking on you in any way, I STRONGLY commend you for your actions, I just want to be prepared, as PC techs, its bound to happen to us sooner or later, is it not? I remember the eMule days, where you could submit a search query for "porn" and almost 100% of the hits would be for child porn, clearly stated in the title of the dl, and there were many. So, what would you guys do if this happened to you? Any attorneys or paralegals here?

 

[angry_geek]

It was in an encrypted folder created by the owner with the owner's password. The forensic guys can tell when it was created as well as when it was accessed.