5 ms·

How child predator was caught by tiny clue in photo he posted online

23 points by kschua 10y ago

fwn 10y ago
> tiny clue His name.
- cpncrunch 10y ago
  Which they had to unblir.
  - dogma1138 10y ago
    unblurring isn't as hard as you would imagine, especially the "automated blur" where you simply select an area and hit "blur". The blur function is a fixed function which can be reversed with pretty decent results. There was a similar case where faces were masked using Photoshop's swirl blur function and you could simply reverse it for positive identification. The "manual" tools like the blur/smudge brush are harder since you don't know how it was done and how many times but you can still try to reverse it. There is a reason why no one is redacting documents with blur ;)
    - cheriot 10y ago
      The article referred to motion blur not photo editing blur.
    - Overtonwindow 10y ago
      Clarification: Didn't the article say it was motion blur?
      - soylentcola 10y ago
        I doubt the guy used a blur filter/tool to attempt redaction of the text on the pill bottle. More likely than not, it was plain old camera motion blur from too long an exposure. The same sort of blur you see from less-capable cameras in low light where there's no option to open the aperture wider to let in more light. Instead, you expose longer and risk blur due to the motion of a handheld shot.
    - raverbashing 10y ago
      Photoshop (gaussian) blur != Swirl blur (which isn't actually a blur) != Photographic (motion) blur/(focus) blur
dx034 10y ago
I can imagine that the ability to extract fingerprints from photos could have security implications with fingerprint sensors becoming more widespread. I'm aware that it's already possible to get fingerprints but this would make it much easier.
- Overtonwindow 10y ago
  Some researchers did exactly this with the German Defense Minister. [1] Using photos and video they lifted the fingerprint and recreated it. [1] http://www.dw.com/en/german-defense-minister-von-der-leyens-fingerprint-copied-by-chaos-computer-club/a-18154832 http://www.dw.com/en/german-defense-minister-von-der-leyens-...
- s_kilk 10y ago
  Same goes for most biometric security. Basically, if the security relies on scanning some visible part of the person (face, iris, fingerprint), then it can be bypassed with a photograph of the same. I recall the Windows 10 facial-unlock thing being bypassed by a facebook pic of the owner, printed out on paper.
  - revelation 10y ago
    I thought some of the Windows 10 laptops have Intel RealSense cameras with depth perception that can fix this exact problem Not sure if they use them for that, of course
  - FungalRaincloud 10y ago
    Facial recognition is worse than that - I know people whose kids can unlock their devices. That's bad enough, but I know one person whose dog can unlock his device, I guess proving the old saying that dogs resemble their owners.
tjic 10y ago
I'm thrilled at the success in putting some child abusers behind bars. ...but we have to remember that these stories are the result of press releases and active press management by law enforcement, as part of a two pronged strategy to (a) build popular trust for law enforcement (b) increase the willingness of the public to hand law enforcement new technological tools. The same technology that helps authorities pull a name off a pill bottle to capture an evil man can also help authorities pull a name off a pill bottle to capture a recreational drug user (and make his children grow to adulthood without a father) or - in some countries, or in our own in the future - capture a thought criminal who shows insufficient deference to the police state. The criminal justice system, financed by our tax dollars, dedicates huge amounts of money and labor to presenting their case for expanded powers to the public. As someone once said (I think I read this on a blog somewhere): when the authorities spend this much time convincing us about the right way to understand an issue, the actual levers of power pass through the voters, and go back to the government.
- abz10 10y ago
  The problem isn't that police are getting better at enforcement (rec drug laws) the problem is that it's illegal and enforcement is discretionary. If everyone who did rec drugs was immediately arrested it would quickly become legal. Similar to illegal downloads of music. Because of selective enforcement you end up with rasist effects, blackmail, corruption etc. By taking away this discretion (as much as possible) you'll end up with laws that match society beliefs. Not only would pedophilia still be illegal but the UK royal family would be unable to prevent the police from investigating sick fucks like Jimmy Saville who spent many decades abusing hundreds of the UKs most vulnerable children.
joewee 10y ago
Is there open source software that performs similar photo analysis / forensics?
DanBC 10y ago
There are other efforts that you can contribute to. One example is TraffickCam: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=12058357 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=12058357 You take photos of hotel rooms, which are then used to identify locations.

23 points by kschua 10y ago

fwn 10y ago

> tiny clue His name.

cpncrunch 10y ago
Which they had to unblir.
- dogma1138 10y ago
  unblurring isn't as hard as you would imagine, especially the "automated blur" where you simply select an area and hit "blur". The blur function is a fixed function which can be reversed with pretty decent results. There was a similar case where faces were masked using Photoshop's swirl blur function and you could simply reverse it for positive identification. The "manual" tools like the blur/smudge brush are harder since you don't know how it was done and how many times but you can still try to reverse it. There is a reason why no one is redacting documents with blur ;)
  - cheriot 10y ago
    The article referred to motion blur not photo editing blur.
  - Overtonwindow 10y ago
    Clarification: Didn't the article say it was motion blur?
    - soylentcola 10y ago
      I doubt the guy used a blur filter/tool to attempt redaction of the text on the pill bottle. More likely than not, it was plain old camera motion blur from too long an exposure. The same sort of blur you see from less-capable cameras in low light where there's no option to open the aperture wider to let in more light. Instead, you expose longer and risk blur due to the motion of a handheld shot.
  - raverbashing 10y ago
    Photoshop (gaussian) blur != Swirl blur (which isn't actually a blur) != Photographic (motion) blur/(focus) blur

dx034 10y ago

I can imagine that the ability to extract fingerprints from photos could have security implications with fingerprint sensors becoming more widespread. I'm aware that it's already possible to get fingerprints but this would make it much easier.

Overtonwindow 10y ago
Some researchers did exactly this with the German Defense Minister. [1] Using photos and video they lifted the fingerprint and recreated it. [1] http://www.dw.com/en/german-defense-minister-von-der-leyens-fingerprint-copied-by-chaos-computer-club/a-18154832 http://www.dw.com/en/german-defense-minister-von-der-leyens-...
s_kilk 10y ago
Same goes for most biometric security. Basically, if the security relies on scanning some visible part of the person (face, iris, fingerprint), then it can be bypassed with a photograph of the same. I recall the Windows 10 facial-unlock thing being bypassed by a facebook pic of the owner, printed out on paper.
- revelation 10y ago
  I thought some of the Windows 10 laptops have Intel RealSense cameras with depth perception that can fix this exact problem Not sure if they use them for that, of course
- FungalRaincloud 10y ago
  Facial recognition is worse than that - I know people whose kids can unlock their devices. That's bad enough, but I know one person whose dog can unlock his device, I guess proving the old saying that dogs resemble their owners.

tjic 10y ago

I'm thrilled at the success in putting some child abusers behind bars. ...but we have to remember that these stories are the result of press releases and active press management by law enforcement, as part of a two pronged strategy to (a) build popular trust for law enforcement (b) increase the willingness of the public to hand law enforcement new technological tools. The same technology that helps authorities pull a name off a pill bottle to capture an evil man can also help authorities pull a name off a pill bottle to capture a recreational drug user (and make his children grow to adulthood without a father) or - in some countries, or in our own in the future - capture a thought criminal who shows insufficient deference to the police state. The criminal justice system, financed by our tax dollars, dedicates huge amounts of money and labor to presenting their case for expanded powers to the public. As someone once said (I think I read this on a blog somewhere): when the authorities spend this much time convincing us about the right way to understand an issue, the actual levers of power pass through the voters, and go back to the government.

abz10 10y ago
The problem isn't that police are getting better at enforcement (rec drug laws) the problem is that it's illegal and enforcement is discretionary. If everyone who did rec drugs was immediately arrested it would quickly become legal. Similar to illegal downloads of music. Because of selective enforcement you end up with rasist effects, blackmail, corruption etc. By taking away this discretion (as much as possible) you'll end up with laws that match society beliefs. Not only would pedophilia still be illegal but the UK royal family would be unable to prevent the police from investigating sick fucks like Jimmy Saville who spent many decades abusing hundreds of the UKs most vulnerable children.

joewee 10y ago

Is there open source software that performs similar photo analysis / forensics?

DanBC 10y ago

There are other efforts that you can contribute to. One example is TraffickCam: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=12058357 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=12058357 You take photos of hotel rooms, which are then used to identify locations.