Laptop Spy Scandal Administrator Just "Loved" Violating Students' Fourth Amendment Rights
from the surveillance-state-soap-opera dept
Earlier this year a school outside of Philadelphia was busted giving students laptops that included hidden software that covertly allowed school officials to turn on the cameras and monitor the students -- no matter where they were. The not-so-brilliant scheme came to light when one child was disciplined for behavior that was only captured thanks to these laptops. Not surprisingly, a fairly huge scandal was born, followed by a lawsuit against the school district. The school district has long claimed that the surveillance system was only used to locate missing laptops. But a new motion (pdf) filed as part of the lawsuit now claims that not only were thousands of photos taken, many were taken of students who never reported their laptops missing. Meanwhile, the lawyer claims to have e-mails from the plan administrator (who has been pleading the fifth) highlighting how she was really having a great time watching student "soap operas" unfold:
"Back at district offices, the Robbins motion says, employees with access to the images marveled at the tracking software. It was like a window into "a little LMSD soap opera," a staffer is quoted as saying in an e-mail to Carol Cafiero, the administrator running the program. "I know, I love it," she is quoted as having replied."
One family involved in the suit provided evidence that their 15-year-old son was photographed more than 400 times over the course of two weeks last fall (his laptop was neither missing or stolen), but their lawyer provided just one surprisingly well lit and framed (for a laptop) photo taken of their son sleeping. The school district has subsequently issued a statement admitting the system took photos, but denying that they engaged in any deliberate wrong doing or that the photos were used for any "inappropriate purposes." Senator Arlen Specter, engaged in a heated battle for re-election, used the story as a springboard to call for tougher federal wiretap laws. Specter went so far as to hold a hearing near the school, where one parent insisted that warnings would be enough:
"Bob Wegbreit said a warning might suffice to let families know the district might activate webcams without a student's knowledge. Students could then choose to keep the computers in other parts of the house, instead of their bedrooms, said Wegbreit, whose group fears the lawsuit will damage the upscale district's finances and reputation."It might be a little too late for that, Bob (besides, "warnings" don't trump that whole Fourth Amendment thing). Even if you could somehow argue the project didn't violate the Fourth Amendment, it remains mind boggling that anybody, at any level in the district, would think that off-site covert photography of students was a bright idea for any reason. As more and more schools offer kids laptops and netbooks, this case acts as a reminder to parents and students to ask questions as these kinds of programs are developed elsewhere. It's also a warning shot to administrators who think protecting their property (or personal amusement) trumps a student's right to privacy at home. You do start to wonder where people could possibly be getting the idea that surveillance with no recourse to law or common sense is a good idea.
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Filed Under: fourth amendment, lawsuits, schools, spying
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Who wants an easy lawsuit settlement?
1) Point laptop webcam at crotch
2) Cry foul over kiddie pics
3) Sue
4) Profit!!!
I'm sure there are plenty of guys out there who would consider that a fair trade.
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You know...
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Re: You know...
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Educationalists are generally educated. They all have college degrees to prove it. But they tend to graduate from the bottom third of their classes. Anyone who is genuinely bright goes and does genuinely bright things. But those who can't, teach instead.
My wife is a psychologist who works in the public schools and she shocked at how utterly ignorant and closed minded these people are.
And you have realize that administrators are merely former teachers, who were taken out of the classroom because they were poor teachers. Good teachers are never promoted out of the classroom, only those who can't teach get to become administrators.
So think about it, those who do, do. Those who can't, teach. And those who can't teach, administer teachers. It's a very scary system.
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I can't say I disagree with you about administrators, though.
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Yes, but what percentage of the entire population of public school teachers are made up of "talented people in industry." .01%? Show me some stats that these people make up a statistically relevant portion of the public teaching population, otherwise, it's just BS.
"Your "bottom third" probably only applies to people who go to teaching straight out of college"
And that's where the vast majority of public teachers come from. Which is my point. Thanks for pointing out exactly what I've already said.
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No, not really. The problem is that the 'teachers' colleges' focus on "teaching," and not on the subjects that they're purporting to teach. Where I grew up there were a lot of private schools that prided themselves on the number of PhDs on staff, and I'm sure they had better results than a school that hired exclusively from the teacher mills. Pedagogy should be a summer course, and the rest of your education should be in the subject you claim to be able to teach.
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My mom worked in a school district for 25 years and shared this exact sentiment, using exactly those words no less.
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I'm not a teacher, but I think I might raise my educator dukes at that statement if I were. :)
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If you were, you'd lack the intelligence to know you were insulted.
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It's the Administrators, Mostly
Most of the teachers are pretty good and actually understand what's what. The administrators and school boards often have no clue or are all about "maintaining control". They are also often pretty conservative, compared to most teachers. Especially the elected school boards.
So it's almost always the administrators that end up causing the uproars like this, not the teachers.
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More detail on that angle to come I'm sure.
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Consent exception
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Re: Consent exception
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Uh oh
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I'm not saying it was a good thing, but it wasn't "unknown" like everyone seems to think it was, all of this school owned equipment has tracking software or remote access software. These are unix machines that ship with SSH(off but it's one check box), how would "cat /dev/cam >> pic1.jpg && scp pic1.jpg admin@school_admin_comp:/pic1.jpg" not do the same thing this software did?
Again this is a problem, but not "without them knowing". I may be expecting too much, but how many people would operate a large power tool without under standing how it works. yep no physical harm done here, but look at all the other harm.
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It would accomplish the same end, of course, but I'm not sure how that helps your argument.
This was absolutely unknown. Sure, everyone was told the capability was there, but what was unknown was that it was being used in ways that weren't disclosed.
Your cell phone can be activated and used to eavesdrop and track you without any indication that it's happening, even when it's "off." Are you saying that if the government did so against you for nefarious purposes, you would say that the use was not unknown? Would you be as sanguine about that as about this?
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Do you have a copy of the agreement handed to the parents to sign? does it say something along the lines of "machines are equipped with tracking software for locating and monitoring the device"? if so that seems to leave open what happened. It's a huge mistake, but not really unknown.
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They do not, in detail. Your contract simply says something along the lines of them cooperating with law enforcement. However, the law does.
"if so that seems to leave open what happened."
As you say about the cell phone, the instance is unknown. The parents were informed of capability, but told that it was only used when tracking down stolen laptops. This laptop was not stolen. And, judging by the video in a previous post, as well as comments made by school official now and earlier, most or all of the other non-stolen laptops were monitored in this way as well.
So, this use was unknown, unauthorized, illegal, and a violation of the fourth amendment.
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Cameras were to be used solely to locate stolen laptops.
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ps and its just like a dweeb to rant on about what he would have done in such a situation whilst talking in third person geek. were talking about school children and parents that may or may not be tech savvy. So all the BS about IDS and traffic logging is just air trapped in your ass....
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Seriously though, you're exactly right. For 99% of those kids and their parents he may as well have been speaking a language he made up (like the acronyms I made up in the previous paragraph). They probably had no idea that you could remotely activate the cameras. It probably never even crossed their minds. Just because some nerd with hindsight on his/her side comes up with a plan, that doesn't mean any of those people would have even come CLOSE to that same solution. Hell, I probably wouldn't have and I understood what he said. My solution would have been "The teachers are making you use that for homework? Go do your damned homework on it then."
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How does, "Ducttape that shit, son!" strike you?
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The problem is...
The problem is that it's unrealistic, and (I would argue) wrong to require or expect ordinary people to have this level of interest or ability. Most people aren't huge nerds like us. What you are saying, in effect, is that no parents should ever take a school up on an offer to let their kids use school computers at home.
What the parents did was to believe a trusted authority figure when that authority figure was bald-faced lying to them. Now, one could say that we should never trust authority figures (and I am very sympathetic to that point of view), but practically speaking, we all do to varying degrees. And we have to, or society would grind to a halt and/or devolve into anarchy.
Your police analogy isn't really relevant, as in most people's eyes, there's quite a difference between the police and the school. Far fewer people trust the police than the school.
There's a huge 4th amendment issue, as the standard is "reasonable expectation of privacy." "Reasonable" as in "what an average, reasonable person would expect." I think your average reasonable person expects that when the school says they're not invading your privacy, they're not.
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Ok, go get your wife/daughter (are they hot?) a macbook, give it to me, then I will give it back.
Dont blame me when your wife and daughter's pics are all over the internetwebs with their clothes off.
Still no 4th issue?
"Of course I would probably have made it connect to my network on it's own net, with all traffic logged and fed into an IDS. If after a week or two it seems to be behaving then maybe, maybe i let it into my real network."
These parents did not have that option. They had no way of knowing, or SHOULD even have to think about something like that.
"How many of you would take a computer (with cam/mic) that is being maintained by the police into you home?"
Are you an idiot? No, really, because it appears so.
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Ok, go get your wife/daughter (are they hot?) a macbook, give it to me, then I will give it back.
sure, you get the "guest" account with "bios" password and no admin rights, even after i got it back it would probably be wiped. Computers are not toasters and should not be treated as such.
Still no 4th issue?
Nope not really, i assume the computer has been compromised. Also the constitution applies to the government not private individuals, mostly.
These parents did not have that option. They had no way of knowing, or SHOULD even have to think about something like that.
They had an option to prevent it from doing things in the home, leave out of the home, or keep it turned off, a bit of tape. If it is too much work what they needed was an appliance not a general purpose personal computer.
Are you an idiot? No, really, because it appears so.
Who cares who is maintaining it? if it's not yours it could be doing anything. I was picking a group that would prompt a reaction.
I'm not condoning the actions of the school, just the raising of 4th amendment and the whole "we had no idea that it was doing that" hysteria seems out of place. I think the school should be taken to the cleaners over this. More than just the one admin, but anyone that knew the system was capable of doing this, or approved funding for it (i'm looking at you school board). This seems way overblown. I would like to see a verbatim copy of the agreement signed to take responsibility for the computer, it may have a clause like "machine is equipped with software to assist in locating it should it be deemed necessary by the administrator(s)."
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ha ha ha, false.
The US Constitution is the supreme law of the land. It enumerates specific, basic rights of individuals, along with rules of government.
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This sort thing is taken to an extreme in Cory Doctorow's LITTLE BROTHER where such laptops are standard everywhere. The hero's solution, a hacked PS3 running an ubersecure Linux. I'll bet Cory's laughing his ass off right now. He should sue the district for copyright infringement. They stole his idea.
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What is so "voluntary" about required laptops that cannot be replaced with ones own? You are obviously not familiar with the story, try reading more.
No real 4th amendment issue.
Yes there is. Apparently you are unfamiliar with 4th Amendment as well.
Of course I would probably have made it connect to my network on it's own net, with all traffic logged and fed into an IDS.
Oh yes, just like any other student out there... oh wait, you are just showing off how much of a geek you are. Move along now.
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And if you had read the story you would understand that you would have been expelled for changing any internet setting in the computer.
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I'm assuming you replied to yourself.
What is so "voluntary" about required laptops that cannot be replaced with ones own? You are obviously not familiar with the story, try reading more.
Yep, but no requirement to turn them on or use them in the home.
Yes there is. Apparently you are unfamiliar with 4th Amendment as well.
Seems like it says "The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized." Looks like they assumed some participation from the people to ensure their security. Again the tricky word is unreasonable
Oh yes, just like any other student out there... oh wait, you are just showing off how much of a geek you are. Move along now.andAnd if you had read the story you would understand that you would have been expelled for changing any internet setting in the computer.
As a note, I am no longer a student, high school was 7 years ago, and college was 2. No internet settings changed on the computer, the DHCP server and related network equipment would be changed. to make it connect that way. If it wasn't getting a DHCP address it probably wouldn't work on my home network anyways. So nope, no need to change settings on the computer to make it work like that. Also there is the concept of a transparent proxy. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Proxy_server#Transparent_and_non-transparent_proxy_server So again no need to adjust the computer at all. As for the data logging it's simply a man in the middle attack(which i feel is fine on my own network). As for those less tech savvy, tape would have helped this out a lot.
I'm sorry(and somewhat offended) that I came off as a 16 year old. Guess that my tin foil hat is a bit too tight.
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Err... No? They were required to do their homework on these machines. Are you suggesting they did all their homework in school? Not plausible.
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This is a Main Line Philly school, with the resources to hire the best and brightest to teach these kids. And they thought THIS was a good idea?
"A little soap opera?" What, are these people 6?
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Time to put a small square of it over the webcam: 5s
Privacy: Priceless
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If I didn't do the install from manufacture disks, who knows what it installed.
Ignorance is not a defense. That said, I hope the administrators(IT and otherwise), and the school board, all loose wages for the year and get fired for this. It was beyond dumb.
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You have missed the point. The kids (and their parents) TRUSTED the school rules which state that random and arbitrary spying on pupils is NOT the intended use (by implying that ONLY where a laptop is missing or stolen will it be utilised). It was based on trust and that trust was abused. Nobody ever agreed to be randomly monitored whenever the voyeur felt like it. It is NOT that it is ignorance, it is simply that it is NOT paranoia. You seem to be finding this rather difficult to grasp.
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Now we have a mid 50's administrator with literally thousands of pics on his network, but are there any crashing doors? port scans? packet sniffing?
The fix is already in, don't expect a conviction of these dipwads. The lesson today class: get in good with the man, and he will get it in you good.
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My understanding was that the admin who dreamed up this little scheme was actually a younger female.
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so admin is pedophile
sick bastard
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Re: so admin is pedophile
A female spy no less.
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very surprisingly well lit & framed
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Just another step?
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Dumbsh**, you work for a school in any capacity, you are teaching kids. By their actions, the administrators and IT people have now taught these kids its OK to abuse 4th amendment rights.
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School laptops
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Better put that duct tape on your cellphone, too... Old, old news. http://www.schneier.com/blog/archives/2006/12/remotely_eavesd_1.html
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Not at all surprised
For them - keeping their taxes in line and preserving their school district's reputation (hence thie kids college prospects) are more important than the right to privacy and the 4th amendment.
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Re: Not at all surprised
And neither have the "democrats", who reign in both the congress and the white house, taken one step to repeal any part of the Patriot act or remove any safe harbors from the equally culpable telcos who provided spy services.
IMO, if you support either side of the Dem-Repub "debate", then you are partially to blame for the state of emergency in which our fundamental rights now exist.
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We should take a lesson from the chinese
Ok i am being sacastic, but i would like to see jail time for the folks responsible. Examples need to be made, so this is not repeated everywhere.
Schools should not be in the business of handing out computers. Desktops in the classroom work just as well as laptops. If the kids need computer time after school that is why there are libraries and computer labs in the schools.
Next is the self taken child porn on the laptops. MMMM now who is responsible for that?
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