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A perfect example of how security theater can do more harm than good.

by Zikes 12y ago

freehunter 12y ago
And a good example of how a lack of technical knowledge is dangerous. Why would they endorse a product if they weren't sure of it's effectiveness? These are government agencies, and they have access to technical resources that could verify the claims of the salesmen. Imagine firemen handing out smoke detectors (like they often do) without verifying that they actually detect smoke. It would be a catastrophe.
- vodenspaw 12y ago
  Isn't the example more like: Firemen handing out smoke detectors that will detect fires regardless if there is a fire or not? Hmm... Give false positive enabling software to law enforcement that will be disseminated to "Concerned Parents", then spend time investigating "Crimes against children." What is the rate of which this software has been used to investigate crimes? Who designed and programmed this software?
  - Yen 12y ago
    More like, Firemen handing out smoke detectors that not only beep whether or not there's smoke, but also occasionally light your house on fire.
    - roflc0ptic 12y ago
      Yes, this is the correct metaphor. It leaves users vulnerable to things the cops are supposed to be trying to protect users from. What's unclear is, do the cops get access to the keylogged information? Then the metaphor gets silly. It's like... firefighters giving you a smoke detector so they can spy on you in case you're setting fires, which also happens to sometimes cause fires independently.
      - roflc0ptic 12y ago
        Oh, actually, I hadn't read far enough. It doesn't look like it sends it back to the cops.
  - samrift 12y ago
    No. Firemen have incentive to prevent fires. Home fires don't increase their revenue stream and in fact put them at risk of injury or death. Police are not mandated to prevent crimes, and have no external incentives to do so (I state external because some officers want to reduce crime due to morals/ethical beliefs). In fact, in can be argued by looking at civil forfeiture laws and federal programs paying officers directly for certain arrests, that preventing crime is actually against their best interests both organizationally and individually. However, handing out a tool that always indicates suspicious activity and allows them to invade privacy.. well, that fits in exactly with the behavior that laws and rules surrounding them have encouraged.
  - duskwuff 12y ago
    > What is the rate of which this software has been used to investigate crimes? Zero. It's not a forensic tool; any "evidence" collected with it would be inadmissable in court. (And, as the EFF notes, its search functions are pretty much useless anyway - most major OSes have considerably better search built in.)
- wtracy 12y ago
  Since this product opens users up to all kinds of identity theft, it's worse than that. It's like a fire alarm with a flashing light that triggers epileptic seizures.
  - mmastrac 12y ago
    Even worse, it could be a firm alarm that has the ability to start fires on its own. And you don't know if there are any arsonists working for the company that might remotely trigger a fire for their own pleasure.

A perfect example of how security theater can do more harm than good.

by Zikes 12y ago

A perfect example of how security theater can do more harm than good.

And a good example of how a lack of technical knowledge is dangerous. Why would they endorse a product if they weren't sure of it's effectiveness? These are government agencies, and they have access to technical resources that could verify the claims of the salesmen. Imagine firemen handing out smoke detectors (like they often do) without verifying that they actually detect smoke. It would be a catastrophe.

vodenspaw 12y ago
Isn't the example more like: Firemen handing out smoke detectors that will detect fires regardless if there is a fire or not? Hmm... Give false positive enabling software to law enforcement that will be disseminated to "Concerned Parents", then spend time investigating "Crimes against children." What is the rate of which this software has been used to investigate crimes? Who designed and programmed this software?
- Yen 12y ago
  More like, Firemen handing out smoke detectors that not only beep whether or not there's smoke, but also occasionally light your house on fire.
  - roflc0ptic 12y ago
    Yes, this is the correct metaphor. It leaves users vulnerable to things the cops are supposed to be trying to protect users from. What's unclear is, do the cops get access to the keylogged information? Then the metaphor gets silly. It's like... firefighters giving you a smoke detector so they can spy on you in case you're setting fires, which also happens to sometimes cause fires independently.
    - roflc0ptic 12y ago
      Oh, actually, I hadn't read far enough. It doesn't look like it sends it back to the cops.
- samrift 12y ago
  No. Firemen have incentive to prevent fires. Home fires don't increase their revenue stream and in fact put them at risk of injury or death. Police are not mandated to prevent crimes, and have no external incentives to do so (I state external because some officers want to reduce crime due to morals/ethical beliefs). In fact, in can be argued by looking at civil forfeiture laws and federal programs paying officers directly for certain arrests, that preventing crime is actually against their best interests both organizationally and individually. However, handing out a tool that always indicates suspicious activity and allows them to invade privacy.. well, that fits in exactly with the behavior that laws and rules surrounding them have encouraged.
- duskwuff 12y ago
  > What is the rate of which this software has been used to investigate crimes? Zero. It's not a forensic tool; any "evidence" collected with it would be inadmissable in court. (And, as the EFF notes, its search functions are pretty much useless anyway - most major OSes have considerably better search built in.)
wtracy 12y ago
Since this product opens users up to all kinds of identity theft, it's worse than that. It's like a fire alarm with a flashing light that triggers epileptic seizures.
- mmastrac 12y ago
  Even worse, it could be a firm alarm that has the ability to start fires on its own. And you don't know if there are any arsonists working for the company that might remotely trigger a fire for their own pleasure.