Hundreds of Police Agencies Distributing Spyware and Keylogger

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Hundreds of Police Agencies Distributing Spyware and Keylogger

Posted by Soulskill on Wednesday October 1, 2014 @04:26AM from the you-can-trust-us dept.

realized sends this news from the EFF: For years, local law enforcement agencies around the country have told parents that installing ComputerCOP software is the "first step" in protecting their children online. ... As official as it looks,ComputerCOP is actually just spyware, generally bought in bulk from a New York company that appears to do nothing but market this software to local government agencies. The way ComputerCOP works is neither safe nor secure. It isn't particularly effective either, except for generating positive PR for the law enforcement agencies distributing it.

As security software goes, we observed a product with a keystroke-capturing function, also called a "keylogger," that could place a family's personal information at extreme risk by transmitting what a user types over the Internet to third-party servers without encryption. EFF conducted a security review of ComputerCOP while also following the paper trail of public records to see how widely the software has spread. Based on ComputerCOP's own marketing information, we identified approximately 245 agencies in more than 35 states, plus the U.S. Marshals, that have used public funds (often the proceeds from property seized during criminal investigations) to purchase and distribute ComputerCOP. One sheriff's department even bought a copy for every family in its county.

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Uhhhh by Anonymous Coward · 2014-10-01 04:30 · Score: 1

Isn't this a crime?
1. Re: Uhhhh by mrbill1234 · 2014-10-01 04:34 · Score: 5, Informative
  
  Only for some
  http://www.wired.com/2014/10/s...
2. Re:Uhhhh by davester666 · 2014-10-01 05:31 · Score: 2
  
  only if you don't tell the person using the computer what it does....oh, wait...
  
  --
  Sleep your way to a whiter smile...date a dentist!
3. Re: Uhhhh by Anonymous Coward · 2014-10-01 08:02 · Score: 1
  
  Wow, that sucks.
  --This comment filtered by ComputerCOP to ommit certain phrases such as "fucking sucks"--
who is doing the spying? by Anonymous Coward · 2014-10-01 04:32 · Score: 3, Interesting

this could go two ways - one, the computerCOP software enables the police to spy on people. two, the computerCOP software opens up so many vulnerabilities that malware authors swoop in and scoop up the data. I could see either being plausible, or both even. Any insights here, not just conjecture?
1. Re:who is doing the spying? by MickyTheIdiot · 2014-10-01 04:58 · Score: 4, Insightful
  
  I did not RTFA of course, but another possibility is to give the ability to dump kiddie porn on a target's computer to create more suspicion and give them leverage and a PR boost. I used to think the Police were above such things and that the "plant a gun" meme was rare, but as we have seen in St. Louis and making public records available that show the victim might not be a great guy... maybe this happens more than we think.
2. Re:who is doing the spying? by Anonymous Coward · 2014-10-01 05:55 · Score: 0
  
  Of course. But why not comment on it anyway?
3. Re:who is doing the spying? by NoImNotNineVolt · 2014-10-01 06:07 · Score: 4, Interesting
  
  I've had law enforcement officers plant "something" in my car during an anything-but-routine traffic stop. In the end, no arrests were made, and the law enforcement officers settled for merely assaulting one of my passengers.
  
  Disclaimer: The corruption of this municipal police force was documented by CBS News' program 60 Minutes in the year 2000, which is right around the time of the incident I described. They may not be representative of law enforcement officers elsewhere.
  
  --
  Chuuch. Preach. Tabernacle.
Another New York scam by Anonymous Coward · 2014-10-01 04:40 · Score: 1

I wonder how much they've made off the public by selling this toxic crap under the guise of "safety"
1. Re:Another New York scam by Anonymous Coward · 2014-10-05 08:14 · Score: 0
  
  Could have just as easily been a company incorporated in Delaware. Hating on New York just shows that you're completely missing the point in favor of petty surface details that probably fit your personal boogeyman narrative.
PIGS by Anonymous Coward · 2014-10-01 04:41 · Score: 2, Insightful

Fuck the po-lice
1. Re:PIGS by Noah+Haders · 2014-10-01 04:52 · Score: 0, Troll
  
  ^ amen.if I had to choose between police installing spyware and gun nuts making their own automatic rifle receivers, I would gladly choose the latter. the police are out of control. They kill at least 400 people a year, likely more because they don't keep good statistics. how many people do gun nutters shoot?
2. Re:PIGS by MickyTheIdiot · 2014-10-01 04:54 · Score: 3, Insightful
  
  Yeah, replying to a troll isn't good, but in a time when most sane people that the power of the police, the SOPs of the police, and the hiring practices of the police need a makeover it is yet another black eye. I support GOOD police officers, but it appears that the bad has penetrated every level of police procedure.
3. Re:PIGS by mrchaotica · 2014-10-01 05:12 · Score: 2
  
  [I]n a time when most sane people [believe] that the power of the police, the SOPs of the police, and the hiring practices of the police need a makeover it is yet another black eye
  Indeed: "fuck the police" is now something even middle-class white men say!
  
  --
  "[Regarding the 'cloud,'] ownership was what made America different than Russia." -- Woz
4. Re:PIGS by Anonymous Coward · 2014-10-01 09:18 · Score: 0
  
  If a "GOOD Police officer" knows about any illegal actions by other officers then they are no longer "GOOD". They are the worst.
  
  The greatest Evil is when the Good do nothing.
5. Re:PIGS by Opportunist · 2014-10-01 09:41 · Score: 0
  
  Probably the same. But at least they usually shoot either themselves or each other.
  
  --
  We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
6. Re:PIGS by Opportunist · 2014-10-01 09:45 · Score: 1
  
  And this is what actually is the threat here. The police used to be the "serve and protect" kind of guys. Ya know, back when I was young, there was still a lot of respect and also trust in them. Seeing a policeman walking down the road was something that made you feel safe, secure, protected. It was really a good feeling to know that these people are out and about, you could approach them for aid and even when they knocked at your door, for most people this wasn't something that concerned them. At worst it could mean that someone you knew is either in hospital or had an accident or something like that.
  That has changed a lot in the past decade or two.
  
  --
  We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
7. Re:PIGS by whoever57 · 2014-10-01 12:14 · Score: 1
  
  My personal "aha moment" came when I was talking to a policeman that I knew in a social setting. I mentioned an article that the local paper had published. In the article, the reporters described their experience of going around local police stations asking for information that the police were required to provide under state law. In a few cases, the reporters were given the information, but mostly the responses ranged from "no" to opening an investigation on the reporters.
  To get to the point -- the response of the policeman, of whom I had no knowledge if he was personally involved in failing to provide the information, was to go from pleasant conversation to *very* frosty. Why? Once can speculate, but perhaps most likely is simply that he considered solidarity with his colleagues more important than the fact that the police were routinely breaking state law.
  
  --
  The real "Libtards" are the Libertarians!
8. Re:PIGS by Opportunist · 2014-10-02 22:39 · Score: 1
  
  How long until the old Soviet "cleansing era" joke becomes topical again?
  Midnight, a loud banging on the door.
  "Open up! Open up! It's your neighbor, don't worry, you're not in danger, your house is just on fire!"
  
  --
  We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
Wow by Anonymous Coward · 2014-10-01 04:48 · Score: 0

They make you pay for that too? Class action incoming...
1. Re:Wow by Opportunist · 2014-10-01 09:40 · Score: 1
  
  Why? We all pay a lot more for the NSA which does basically the same job.
  
  --
  We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
Wasn't a report of the fbi charging a comapny by Anonymous Coward · 2014-10-01 04:50 · Score: 0

a few days ago for this sort of thing on mobile phones - well if the computer has VOIP then all those donut eaters will have to arrest themselves.
Perfect example by whoever57 · 2014-10-01 04:52 · Score: 3, Insightful

If anyone ever wanted an example of why LEO agencies cannot be trusted, this is it.

--
The real "Libtards" are the Libertarians!
1. Re:Perfect example by AqD · 2014-10-01 05:05 · Score: 1
  
  If anyone ever wanted an example of why LOL agencies cannot be trusted, this is it.
  ..... corrected for you
2. Re:Perfect example by Anonymous Coward · 2014-10-01 05:45 · Score: 0
  
  You first
3. Re:Perfect example by Anonymous Coward · 2014-10-01 06:24 · Score: 0
  
  If anyone ever wanted an example of why LEO agencies cannot be trusted, this is it.
  sorry, I keep reading that as Low Earth Orbit...
4. Re:Perfect example by Anonymous Coward · 2014-10-01 07:17 · Score: 1
  
  revolution doesn't start with slashdot karma, you pussies.
  yes it does. revolutions start with new ideas, and karma pushes good ideas to the top. and sometimes there are no heroes around, so a bunch of pussies need to man up.
Re:Wasn't a report of the fbi charging a comapny by Anonymous Coward · 2014-10-01 04:52 · Score: 0

It's okay when your guy does it!
misleading by Charliemopps · 2014-10-01 04:54 · Score: 4, Insightful

This is a misleading story and summary.
I got the impression the police were distributing this as some kind of internet filter, and secretly using it to monitor your computer.
It's not.
The are advertising it for what it is. A keylogger... so you can spy on your kids.
It's a crappy piece of software, and the company that produced it made some disreputable marketing claims.
The police are not using it to spy on you.
I have a 6yr old. The way I monitor his internet activity is simple. The computers in the living room right next to the couch. I can see everything he's doing, any time hes on it. I have the password so he can't log on without me entering it for him. Every game he plays or site he visits I go checkout myself. Btw, Adventure Time Battle party is his favorite and it's actually pretty fun for adults to.
1. Re:misleading by Nemyst · 2014-10-01 05:00 · Score: 5, Insightful
  
  Except that's not what the summary's saying. TFS says that police agencies are distributing and/or promoting an insecure and not particularly useful piece of software to parents under the guise of "protecting their children". I'm sorry but the police's job isn't to be doing software advocacy, and it especially isn't to promote a specific piece of commercial software, let alone actually buying it for other people without them requesting it. That it's bad at its job and can compromise personal information is just icing on the cake.
2. Re:misleading by jrms · 2014-10-01 05:04 · Score: 3, Insightful
  
  Mod parent up for good parent...ing.
3. Re:misleading by Bonzoli · 2014-10-01 05:06 · Score: 1
  
  That changes if your kids have school computers and need it to do 2-3 hours of homework every night, much of it before you get home at 6pm.
4. Re:misleading by Charliemopps · 2014-10-01 05:39 · Score: 1, Funny
  
  The title of this article:
  
  Hundreds of Police Agencies Distributing Spyware and Keylogger
  I guess you're just smarter than me... My warning is for all us dumb people, so we're not tricked into thinking this keylogger was targeted at us. I understand that you knew immediately what that meant, but those of us with IQ's bellow 200 might have gotten a tad confused.
5. Re:misleading by Spottywot · 2014-10-01 06:40 · Score: 1
  
  I have a similar policy with my 5 yr old boy, apart from the password. I let him choose his own password , of course I know what he typed, but he thinks he has a secret which he thinks is great, and he has his introduction to computer security.
  
  --
  In a cybernetic fit of rage she pissed off to another age...
6. Re:misleading by SeaFox · 2014-10-01 06:59 · Score: 2
  
  This is a misleading story and summary.
  I got the impression the police were distributing this as some kind of internet filter, and secretly using it to monitor your computer.
  It's not.
  The are advertising it for what it is. A keylogger... so you can spy on your kids.
  If it's for parents to monitor children, why is the data being sent to a third-party server? It should be staying on the computer for parents to peruse later.
7. Re:misleading by Em+Adespoton · 2014-10-01 08:05 · Score: 1
  
  The other bit of information that's in TFS is that this key-logger is sending the logged information in clear-text to a third party.
  Let me repeat that: it's sending keystrokes in the clear to a third party.
  At this point, it doesn't really matter who it's aimed at, who is supposed to read the information, etc. If keystrokes are being logged and the data is being sent in the clear, then that pretty much means you've got a major security hole in your network. Even if malware authors don't exploit it, it makes ComputerCOP a juicy target for "hackers" worldwide, and it also places employees of the service under undue responsibility to keep your information safe.
  This stuff appears to be more shoddily constructed than the key-loggers dropped by the likes of the Zeus bot-net. Think about that.
8. Re:misleading by Opportunist · 2014-10-01 09:39 · Score: 1
  
  You're actually educating and parenting? What kind of father are you, spending time with your kid and taking an interest in his activity...
  What an alien concept.
  
  --
  We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
9. Re:misleading by sociocapitalist · 2014-10-01 23:28 · Score: 1
  
  This is a misleading story and summary.
  I got the impression the police were distributing this as some kind of internet filter, and secretly using it to monitor your computer.
  It's not.
  The are advertising it for what it is. A keylogger... so you can spy on your kids.
  It's a crappy piece of software, and the company that produced it made some disreputable marketing claims.
  The police are not using it to spy on you.
  I have a 6yr old. The way I monitor his internet activity is simple. The computers in the living room right next to the couch. I can see everything he's doing, any time hes on it. I have the password so he can't log on without me entering it for him. Every game he plays or site he visits I go checkout myself. Btw, Adventure Time Battle party is his favorite and it's actually pretty fun for adults to.
  Do you go to his friends' places with him and monitor over his shoulder then too?
  My kid is ten and has a good head on his shoulders. I've discussed the risks of the net with him and we've discussed several times what he should avoid.
  Teach your kids and they'll be much better protected everywhere they access the net, not just when you're sitting with them.
  
  --
  blindly antisocialist = antisocial
Who watches the watchmen? by kruach+aum · 2014-10-01 05:03 · Score: 3, Insightful

now we know: marketers. I wonder if Alan Moore's snake god already told him.
preinstalled on OEM by Anonymous Coward · 2014-10-01 05:03 · Score: 0

I remember years ago this software was preinstalled on Gateway computers. From their outdated FAQ
http://www.computercop.com/faqstand.html
Q. I have your program on my computer and I did not install it. How did I get it on my machine?
A: ComputerCOP standard comes pre-installed on many Gateway desktop computers.
Parenting by Minupla · 2014-10-01 05:07 · Score: 4, Insightful

It comes down to knowing your kid.
I have a 6 yr old too. If she sees me looking at something on the computer, she'll come up, looking away and say "Daddy, is that kid appropriate?" before looking. I have no concerns that she'll break the rules, so I don't feel the need for any preventive controls. If I had a child with a different temperament I would react differently of course. For what its worth, my day job involves ensuring that people employed by my company are safe on the internet. Generally my 6 yr old is better behaved :)

--
On the whole, I find that I prefer Slashdot posts to twitter ones because I don't get limited to 140 chars before
1. Re:Parenting by plover · 2014-10-01 05:34 · Score: 1
  
  Congrats! Trust is definitely the best way to parent your kids.
  
  --
  John
2. Re:Parenting by Anonymous Coward · 2014-10-01 06:01 · Score: 0
  
  Great! And your daughter is six. Report back in eight or ten years and let us know if anything has changed in her behavior.
3. Re:Parenting by Minupla · 2014-10-01 08:08 · Score: 2
  
  Oh gods, I hope her behavior changes in 10 years! She'll be 16 then!
  
  --
  On the whole, I find that I prefer Slashdot posts to twitter ones because I don't get limited to 140 chars before
4. Re:Parenting by Anonymous Coward · 2014-10-01 10:10 · Score: 0
  
  As a parent of a teenager... you joke, but it's a nightmare. The best kids in the world turn evil when they reach puberty.
Distributing Spyware? by Nexus+Unplugged · 2014-10-01 05:13 · Score: 1

Sounds like someone should go to jail. Right?
The Hypocrisy by FrodoOfTheShire · 2014-10-01 05:15 · Score: 5, Interesting

The FBI arrested the CEO of StealthGenie for providing software that can be used for stalking, and here you have a story where Police Agencies are providing stalking software for free.
Does anyone else find this hypocrisy hilarious?
1. Re:The Hypocrisy by Anonymous Coward · 2014-10-01 06:17 · Score: 2, Informative
  
  Not at all. Because the article reads like the police have been duped by the company making this software as well. The company even faked a letter of endorsement from the U.S. Department of Treasury..."In investigating ComputerCOP, we also discovered misleading marketing material, including a letter of endorsement purportedly from the U.S. Department of Treasury, which has now issued a fraud alert over the document."
2. Re:The Hypocrisy by Anonymous Coward · 2014-10-01 07:04 · Score: 0
  
  No, I don't.
3. Re:The Hypocrisy by oxdas · 2014-10-01 07:10 · Score: 3, Insightful
  
  While you might agree or disagree with the laws themselves, the government is not displaying hypocrisy in this instance. The CEO for StealthGenie was not arrested for providing software, but advertising software for an illegal purpose. Since it is legal for parents to spy on their minor children, had StealthGenie advertised their product only for that use, it would have been legal. While duct tape is perfectly legal, it is illegal for me to advertise duct tape as "The best tape for securing your kidnapping victims". This is the same situation as StealthGenie.
  A great example of this in the real world is water bongs. In my community, it is legal to make a bong and legal to sell them. So, every shop that does so advertises them for tabacco use. Now, the shop knows that 99%+ of their customers will use the bong for marijuana, but as long as they don't advertise that, they are fine.
4. Re:The Hypocrisy by Opportunist · 2014-10-01 09:34 · Score: 1
  
  And why is the CEO of said company not in jail yet?
  
  --
  We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
My house was broken into... by Anonymous Coward · 2014-10-01 05:38 · Score: 0

,,,and all my stuff was stolen. So I went to the computer store to have the employees there go arrest the perpetrators of it.
Makes about as much sense as the police advocating software, doesn't it?
It never did work right. by nimbius · 2014-10-01 05:54 · Score: 1, Interesting

I remember receiving a copy of this stuff years ago to help keep me safe and it had several bugs.
1. The binary wont execute on System V release 4 (it came on a music CD i think.) Out of desparation I tried getting it to run on SGI and my trusty DEC but still, nothing. Wine seemed to be the only software that could get the damn thing working (I had to upgrade to a GNU/Linux personal computer)
2. It didnt work with lynx and curl. Even worse, it never worked as promised with my usenet newsreader NetNews. Slrn and Trn also didnt get protected and i was subjected to horribly lude stories on alt.sysadmin.recovery.
3. Id hoped it would finally keep me safe from that damned pirate radio station on 10 meter, but boy was I ever wrong. those tasteless SSTV scans? you guessed it, my sound card picked them right up! what a piece of junk.
4. my FidoNet dialup? I had to talk to the admins but Ben Baker said it wasnt compatible. can you imagine? not even compatible with FIDONET!

--
Good people go to bed earlier.
1. Re:It never did work right. by Anonymous Coward · 2014-10-01 06:29 · Score: 2, Interesting
  
  Your attempt to act "old school cool" has failed.
2. Re:It never did work right. by Anonymous Coward · 2014-10-01 07:42 · Score: 0
  
  now thats funny
No by Anonymous Coward · 2014-10-01 06:36 · Score: 1

Nothing to with socialism, douchebag. This is fascism.
1. Re:No by Anonymous Coward · 2014-10-01 07:33 · Score: 0
  
  Go get a dictionary and look up fascism and look up socialism. They are very different forms of government. Sure maybe some instances of both are on the totalitarian scale of things but that is independent of whether they are fascist or socialist.
  
  Words mean things, use them correctly please.
2. Re:No by Opportunist · 2014-10-01 09:47 · Score: 1, Insightful
  
  Really? Wow, I've been living in a totalitarian state the past decades and didn't even notice it. How odd that I could easily travel to the US.
  Dude, get your facts straight before you make yourself look like a douche. "Socialism" is a big bad word in the US, but the rest of the world uses it to laugh about you and your irrational fear of something you don't even know.
  
  --
  We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
It's 1983 by Impy+the+Impiuos+Imp · 2014-10-01 06:43 · Score: 1

"place a family's personal information at extreme risk by transmitting what a user types over the Internet to third-party serverswithout encryption."
Yes, that's what's the big problem...third parties might eavesdrop on sloppy, 1984-like government spying.
3rd parties.

--
(-1: Post disagrees with my already-settled worldview) is not a valid mod option.
Re:Freesoftwarre! by Anonymous Coward · 2014-10-01 08:58 · Score: 0

Does your software have any security hole?
Re:data being sent by Anonymous Coward · 2014-10-01 09:06 · Score: 0

The article says that the unencrypted data is also flying through the air in the household wifi setup, so anyone nearby (neighbors, man in nearby van, etc) can grab everything too.
quid pro quo? by laughingskeptic · 2014-10-01 09:26 · Score: 1

Why isn't anyone asking why these sheriffs departments are even buying this software with their soft funds? I'll bet there is a campaign contribution that correlates with each of these sales.
1. Re:quid pro quo? by Jumunquo · 2014-10-01 12:59 · Score: 2
  
  There is. It's mentioned in the story:
  "Since 2007, Suffolk County Sheriff Vincent DeMarco’s office in New York, where ComputerCOP is based, has bought 43,000 copies of the software—a fact trumpeted in DeMarco’s reelection campaign materials. ComputerCOP’s parent company directly donated to DeMarco’s campaign at least nine times over the same period.
  Indeed, ComputerCOP markets itself as the “perfect election and fundraising tool.” As part of the package, when a law enforcement agency buys a certain amount of copies, ComputerCOP will send out a camera crew to record an introduction video with the head of the department. The discs are also customized to prominently feature the head of the agency, who can count on a solid round of local press coverage about the giveaway."
who is doing the spying? by AHuxley · 2014-10-01 12:34 · Score: 1

Depends on the city, state or federal funding. In the past 10 or so years huge amounts of funding, contractors and quickly cleared staff having been moving around all over the USA.
Products have been sold, technical support and maintenance is in place for years covering federal and state needs.
Now its up to the locals to find something to do with the cell phone data, maps, voice prints, credit card usage, cctv, gunshot location systems and keystroke-capturing.
The information sorting is done by local or federal staff and then presented to local or federal officials to then put in for more funding or to buy in more private sector systems once new local patterns are found.
The only trick is to keep people buying cell phones and enjoying social media in near real time over decades.
The tracking systems are now in place down to the town, city and state level. The public just has to keep on having tame telco products on them at all times.

--
Domestic spying is now "Benign Information Gathering"
They use Commercial Keyloggers like Relytec Keylog by Anonymous Coward · 2014-10-01 13:03 · Score: 0

They use Commercial Keyloggers like Relytec Keylogger (All In One Keylogger).
http://www.relytec.com
Many parents and law agencies uses these commercial keyloggers.
Re:They use Commercial Keyloggers like Relytec Key by Anonymous Coward · 2014-10-01 15:48 · Score: 0

Thanks for sharing.