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Consumerist lures computer tech into stealing private data
Consumer advocate blog The Consumerist (who's tagline reads "Shoppers who bite back") rigged up a computer with automatic video screen capture software to see just what computer technicians are actually doing to their computer when they bring it in for routine work. The predictable, though unfortunate truth is that not all computer technicians are upstanding citizens. The video that The Consumerist posts is of a technician who browses the user's files looking for saucy photos, and copies them to a USB thumbdrive. He doesn't have to look too far, since the computer has been set up to be as provocative as possible with obviously labeled folders right on the desktop.
Seriously, is anyone actually surprised by how this played out? This is the generation that feels that information should be free, and so should music, television, movies and software, based on the popularity of file sharing networks and bittorent; heck, it's a victimless crime, right? Is it any wonder that people who are put in a position to perform a "victimless" crime like stealing data that the owner can never possibly know was taken actually go ahead and do so?
Yes, it's a clever sting operation, and it's certainly something that more computer users should be aware of. It would have been a far scarier scenario if the sting had involved proving identity theft or financial fraud, both of which are certainly a big risk when handing over your computer to someone you don't know. So of course, take heed and protect your data, but at the same time don't be terrified by the sensationalist hype. That same computer was taken to a dozen computer shops before The Consumerist was able to find a technician unscrupulous enough to actually take files from it. Considering the demographic of big box store computer technicians and the way way the honey pot computer was presented, that's actually a pretty good batting average.
Comments
2
Subscribe to commentsDr RumbleJul 7th 2007 8:27PM
Man, owned.
"Vacation pictures, porn, porn... classical music, aw crap!"
Victor Agreda, Jr.Jul 9th 2007 8:05PM
That really is a pretty good batting average. I mean, putting the folders on the desktop is incredibly low-hanging fruit when most techs have a USB drive around their necks or in their pocket.