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Given the role that schools have played in destroying the lives of some children by getting authorities involved in "sexting" cases, it would be especially iron

Given the role that schools have played in destroying the lives of some children by getting authorities involved in "sexting" cases, it would be especially ironic if this spying program produced child pornography charges. After all, in many cases, intent isn't required-- people have been arrested for having malware download child porn without the user's authorization or knowledge. Given that precedent, doing something like this and accidentally gathering child porn by taking an irresponsible and already likely illegal action would seem to be enough for the courts. Not being a lawyer, I don't know if this intuition is correct, but it would be an interesting precedent, no doubt.

ErrantX 17y ago
> reople have been arrested for having malware download child porn without the user's authorization or knowledge Do you have a citation for that, out of interest. It's considered something of a myth within LE and I wasn't aware a case like that actually existed.
- cgranade 17y ago
  Sadly, I don't have the citation off the top of my head. For all I know, I could've fallen for an urban legend. If I have, sorry for being gullible!
  - ErrantX 17y ago
    It's cool - I do believe you. [You'll always get suspicion over that story because it is the #1 most common defence (and ironically easy to disprove)] I'd always be interested to see if it actually happened though - it would be useful research.
    - cx01 17y ago
      How is it easy to disprove? The trojan could delete itself after downloading CP. Should be impossible to reconstruct what happened exactly.
      - ErrantX 17y ago
        Of course there is an upper limit to how provable it is. But that is fairly elaborate malware your describing (because if that is all it did it should be fairly apparent - it also has to fake fairly extensive use as well). Mostly it is very easy to see the CP activity (dont forget were not just talking about images on the HDD here but actual activity indicative of behavior). If it were downloaded all together, with no references in, say, web history etc, no thumbnails and nothing in the cache files (which are FULL of rich information) then it would ring alarm bells :) Eventually even the most elaborate malware will make a mistake with activity that is not "normal" - and the investigation is intensive enough to pick this up.
        cx01 17y ago
        I don't think it would be hard. Just create a Windows application that hosts an IE ActiveX control and hides its main window. Or even better: When the user's screen saver is running, start a full-blown IE window and control it through Window messages. The traces would be identical to the case in which the user used IE himself.
- aplusbi 17y ago
  Here is one such case: http://www.scmagazineus.com/malware-to-blame-for-porn-on-state-workers-laptop/article/111407/ http://www.scmagazineus.com/malware-to-blame-for-porn-on-sta... I also recall a case of a teacher whose school computer had malware that ended up displaying porn in the classroom who was arrested and faced up to 40 years in jail. I'm pretty sure she was acquitted.
  - ErrantX 17y ago
    Interesting. Do you know how/if I can get hold of the court documents relating to that?
  - protomyth 17y ago
    If I remember right, she was forced to give up her teacher's license.
    - hga 17y ago
      Search on teacher virus porn, e.g. http://www.daniweb.com/news/story219946.html http://www.daniweb.com/news/story219946.html After the initial conviction was set aside, after 4 delays in sentencing, "[...] facing health problems, Amero pleaded guilty to one count of misdemeanor disorderly conduct, paying a $100 fine and losing her teaching license, just to settle the case."

ErrantX 17y ago

> reople have been arrested for having malware download child porn without the user's authorization or knowledge Do you have a citation for that, out of interest. It's considered something of a myth within LE and I wasn't aware a case like that actually existed.

cgranade 17y ago
Sadly, I don't have the citation off the top of my head. For all I know, I could've fallen for an urban legend. If I have, sorry for being gullible!
- ErrantX 17y ago
  It's cool - I do believe you. [You'll always get suspicion over that story because it is the #1 most common defence (and ironically easy to disprove)] I'd always be interested to see if it actually happened though - it would be useful research.
  - cx01 17y ago
    How is it easy to disprove? The trojan could delete itself after downloading CP. Should be impossible to reconstruct what happened exactly.
    - ErrantX 17y ago
      Of course there is an upper limit to how provable it is. But that is fairly elaborate malware your describing (because if that is all it did it should be fairly apparent - it also has to fake fairly extensive use as well). Mostly it is very easy to see the CP activity (dont forget were not just talking about images on the HDD here but actual activity indicative of behavior). If it were downloaded all together, with no references in, say, web history etc, no thumbnails and nothing in the cache files (which are FULL of rich information) then it would ring alarm bells :) Eventually even the most elaborate malware will make a mistake with activity that is not "normal" - and the investigation is intensive enough to pick this up.
      - cx01 17y ago
        I don't think it would be hard. Just create a Windows application that hosts an IE ActiveX control and hides its main window. Or even better: When the user's screen saver is running, start a full-blown IE window and control it through Window messages. The traces would be identical to the case in which the user used IE himself.
aplusbi 17y ago
Here is one such case: http://www.scmagazineus.com/malware-to-blame-for-porn-on-state-workers-laptop/article/111407/ http://www.scmagazineus.com/malware-to-blame-for-porn-on-sta... I also recall a case of a teacher whose school computer had malware that ended up displaying porn in the classroom who was arrested and faced up to 40 years in jail. I'm pretty sure she was acquitted.
- ErrantX 17y ago
  Interesting. Do you know how/if I can get hold of the court documents relating to that?
- protomyth 17y ago
  If I remember right, she was forced to give up her teacher's license.
  - hga 17y ago
    Search on teacher virus porn, e.g. http://www.daniweb.com/news/story219946.html http://www.daniweb.com/news/story219946.html After the initial conviction was set aside, after 4 delays in sentencing, "[...] facing health problems, Amero pleaded guilty to one count of misdemeanor disorderly conduct, paying a $100 fine and losing her teaching license, just to settle the case."