5 ms·

ABC News uses iCloud to track a stolen iPad to TSA officer's home

54 points by ashishgandhi 14y ago

thesis 14y ago
Someone is going down... hard time! You can't take photos/movies of TSA checkpoints! At least I'm sure that's how the story will eventually be flipped.
- culturestate 14y ago
  I know you're joking, but it's actually stated TSA policy[1] to allow photography of checkpoints. Whether that policy is followed, however... 1. http://blog.tsa.gov/2009/03/can-i-take-photos-at-checkpoint-and.html http://blog.tsa.gov/2009/03/can-i-take-photos-at-checkpoint-...
  - pyre 14y ago
    I was in a 'lock-down' at Newark a while back and was told that I could use my video camera, so long as I didn't point it at the 'secure area' (basically at the checkpoint).
qwertzlcoatl 14y ago
One of ten. That's it. They conducted just ten sting operations before a TSA agent stole one of their target iPads.
- NegativeK 14y ago
  Ten. That's their sample size.
- sp332 14y ago
  Well, they did target places where items had been reported stolen before.
AngryParsley 14y ago
The headline gave me a slightly incorrect impression. ABC news left valuables at checkpoints as part of a sting operation. While it's still inexcusable, taking a lost item isn't quite as bad as actively stealing. I think the legal term is "theft by finding": http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theft_by_finding http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theft_by_finding. I guess the TSA agent didn't know that iPhones, iPads, and many other tablets and smartphones can be tracked and wiped remotely. There is a large risk to stealing them and little reward. I bet theft rates will decrease as word of these anti-theft features spreads.
- NegativeK 14y ago
  Except not only is it theft by finding, it's also in their training to turn in lost goods. It's not just the law; it's very clearly their job.
- cek 14y ago
  What an outrageous thing to say! This guy stole the iPad. Period. You also seem to be implying that his "mistake" was taking something easy to track. Wow.
  - AngryParsley 14y ago
    No. I'm saying not only was his action inexcusable, wrong, and illegal, it was also stupid. I'm not sure why people downvoted me and replied with such stern disagreement. I used as many hedge-words as I could ("slightly incorrect", "isn't quite as bad", etc) and was describing my subjective impression. In no way did I blame ABC for the loss of their iPad, and I called the TSA agent's action inexcusable. We're on the same side here.
    - scott_s 14y ago
      Don't worry, I assumed the same thing you did about his actions, and I think it's important to make what he did clear.
  - 13rules 14y ago
deleted 14y ago
[deleted]
ronaldj 14y ago
As much as I hate the TSA, this sort of reads like entrapment.
- 13rules 14y ago
  Do you know how many things are left behind at checkpoints? On a flight I was on once the lady next to me realized she had left her laptop at the checkpoint. It happens all the time. If TSA agents can't overcome the desire to take what is not theirs, they have no business doing that job.
  - JoeAltmaier 14y ago
    True. But TSA turnover must be huge, and screening for honest people is no easier today that it has ever been. I'm surprised it doesn't happen more often.
    - 13rules 14y ago
      Totally. You're basically hiring people for a job that no one who is actually qualified for wants. It's the security equivalent of an IT help desk.
lostlogin 14y ago
It does, but given that its quite hard to tell the TSA guys from police (well, it was for me) as their uniforms and behavior certainly seem police-ish, it's bad. They appear like police, behave like police, but when confronted with a situation they can exploit, 10% of the time (in a crazy small sample) they will exploit you. People in positions of authority receive harsher treatment on New Zealand law if they abuse their positions. I hope it's the same in the US.
- DrJ 14y ago
  Not in the US, mostly they get a "administrative" leave and go on vacation until things die down. Small pawns however are fired, but that's about it.
  - creativityland 14y ago
    Sadly this is true in most instances...
imjared 14y ago
This seems like a typical "gotcha" story. TSA has approximately 60,000 employees and to show that one stole something, or even one hundred have stolen things, doesn't raise any real red flags to me. I wish it didn't happen but I don't think this can really be used as an overarching critique of TSA. If we want to argue against TSA, let's keep arguments framed around invasive procedures, general incompetence, or the cost/benefit ratio that they seem to provide.
- DanBC 14y ago
  This is an employee that's supposed to be preventing crime. Showing that some of them are involved in crime is a reasonable thing to do. Unattended items have some[1] risk of being bombs. I want airport employees to treat unattended items as if a customer has lost something (probably the case) or as if they're bombs (so at least those continued loops telling me not to leave anything unattended don't go to waste). [1] Has any unattended item even been a bomb?

54 points by ashishgandhi 14y ago

Someone is going down... hard time! You can't take photos/movies of TSA checkpoints! At least I'm sure that's how the story will eventually be flipped.

culturestate 14y ago
I know you're joking, but it's actually stated TSA policy[1] to allow photography of checkpoints. Whether that policy is followed, however... 1. http://blog.tsa.gov/2009/03/can-i-take-photos-at-checkpoint-and.html http://blog.tsa.gov/2009/03/can-i-take-photos-at-checkpoint-...
- pyre 14y ago
  I was in a 'lock-down' at Newark a while back and was told that I could use my video camera, so long as I didn't point it at the 'secure area' (basically at the checkpoint).

qwertzlcoatl 14y ago

One of ten. That's it. They conducted just ten sting operations before a TSA agent stole one of their target iPads.

NegativeK 14y ago
Ten. That's their sample size.
sp332 14y ago
Well, they did target places where items had been reported stolen before.

AngryParsley 14y ago

The headline gave me a slightly incorrect impression. ABC news left valuables at checkpoints as part of a sting operation. While it's still inexcusable, taking a lost item isn't quite as bad as actively stealing. I think the legal term is "theft by finding": http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theft_by_finding http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theft_by_finding. I guess the TSA agent didn't know that iPhones, iPads, and many other tablets and smartphones can be tracked and wiped remotely. There is a large risk to stealing them and little reward. I bet theft rates will decrease as word of these anti-theft features spreads.

NegativeK 14y ago
Except not only is it theft by finding, it's also in their training to turn in lost goods. It's not just the law; it's very clearly their job.
cek 14y ago
What an outrageous thing to say! This guy stole the iPad. Period. You also seem to be implying that his "mistake" was taking something easy to track. Wow.
- AngryParsley 14y ago
  No. I'm saying not only was his action inexcusable, wrong, and illegal, it was also stupid. I'm not sure why people downvoted me and replied with such stern disagreement. I used as many hedge-words as I could ("slightly incorrect", "isn't quite as bad", etc) and was describing my subjective impression. In no way did I blame ABC for the loss of their iPad, and I called the TSA agent's action inexcusable. We're on the same side here.
  - scott_s 14y ago
    Don't worry, I assumed the same thing you did about his actions, and I think it's important to make what he did clear.
- 13rules 14y ago

deleted 14y ago

[deleted]

ronaldj 14y ago

As much as I hate the TSA, this sort of reads like entrapment.

13rules 14y ago
Do you know how many things are left behind at checkpoints? On a flight I was on once the lady next to me realized she had left her laptop at the checkpoint. It happens all the time. If TSA agents can't overcome the desire to take what is not theirs, they have no business doing that job.
- JoeAltmaier 14y ago
  True. But TSA turnover must be huge, and screening for honest people is no easier today that it has ever been. I'm surprised it doesn't happen more often.
  - 13rules 14y ago
    Totally. You're basically hiring people for a job that no one who is actually qualified for wants. It's the security equivalent of an IT help desk.

lostlogin 14y ago

It does, but given that its quite hard to tell the TSA guys from police (well, it was for me) as their uniforms and behavior certainly seem police-ish, it's bad. They appear like police, behave like police, but when confronted with a situation they can exploit, 10% of the time (in a crazy small sample) they will exploit you. People in positions of authority receive harsher treatment on New Zealand law if they abuse their positions. I hope it's the same in the US.

DrJ 14y ago
Not in the US, mostly they get a "administrative" leave and go on vacation until things die down. Small pawns however are fired, but that's about it.
- creativityland 14y ago
  Sadly this is true in most instances...

imjared 14y ago

This seems like a typical "gotcha" story. TSA has approximately 60,000 employees and to show that one stole something, or even one hundred have stolen things, doesn't raise any real red flags to me. I wish it didn't happen but I don't think this can really be used as an overarching critique of TSA. If we want to argue against TSA, let's keep arguments framed around invasive procedures, general incompetence, or the cost/benefit ratio that they seem to provide.

DanBC 14y ago
This is an employee that's supposed to be preventing crime. Showing that some of them are involved in crime is a reasonable thing to do. Unattended items have some[1] risk of being bombs. I want airport employees to treat unattended items as if a customer has lost something (probably the case) or as if they're bombs (so at least those continued loops telling me not to leave anything unattended don't go to waste). [1] Has any unattended item even been a bomb?