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Uber Used Another Secret Software To Evade Police, Report Says (bloomberg.com)

schwit1 shares a Bloomberg report: In May 2015 about 10 investigators for the Quebec tax authority burst into Uber Technologies's office in Montreal. The authorities believed Uber had violated tax laws and had a warrant to collect evidence. Managers on-site knew what to do, say people with knowledge of the event. Like managers at Uber's hundreds of offices abroad, they'd been trained to page a number that alerted specially trained staff at company headquarters in San Francisco. When the call came in, staffers quickly remotely logged off every computer in the Montreal office, making it practically impossible for the authorities to retrieve the company records they'd obtained a warrant to collect. The investigators left without any evidence.

Most tech companies don't expect police to regularly raid their offices, but Uber isn't most companies. The ride-hailing startup's reputation for flouting local labor laws and taxi rules has made it a favorite target for law enforcement agencies around the world. That's where this remote system, called Ripley, comes in. From spring 2015 until late 2016, Uber routinely used Ripley to thwart police raids in foreign countries, say three people with knowledge of the system. Allusions to its nature can be found in a smattering of court filings, but its details, scope, and origin haven't been previously reported. The Uber HQ team overseeing Ripley could remotely change passwords and otherwise lock up data on company-owned smartphones, laptops, and desktops as well as shut down the devices. This routine was initially called the unexpected visitor protocol. Employees aware of its existence eventually took to calling it Ripley, after Sigourney Weaver's flamethrower-wielding hero in the Alien movies. The nickname was inspired by a Ripley line in Aliens, after the acid-blooded extraterrestrials easily best a squad of ground troops. 'Nuke the entire site from orbit. It's the only way to be sure.'

226 comments

  1. If a remote network command can thwart police ... by cascadingstylesheet · · Score: 2

    If a mere remote network command can thwart police ... er, well, insert devastating finish here.

  2. No problem by Opportunist · · Score: 2

    We'll take all the computers in your office. No evidence? Guess we'll return next week when you bought new equipment.

    By the way: Due to legal regulations, everything confiscated is forfeited. You pay your tax. One way or another.

    Welcome to Europe.

    --
    We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
    1. Re:No problem by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Cheap zero clients for the win. Take all you want, nothing ever leaves the corporate network.

      Thank you for using Uber for your tax efforts. Hell, we'll even buy them back from you on eBay.

      Welcome to Internet, idiot pig.

    2. Re:No problem by Z00L00K · · Score: 1

      With no network connection it's not possible to do a remote access to log out the users.

      And if the visits are frequent enough then it would be pretty stressful.

      Remember that the tax authorities always are right even if they are wrong.

      --
      If builders built buildings the way programmers wrote programs, then the first woodpecker would destroy civilization.
    3. Re:No problem by Opportunist · · Score: 2

      Even the cheapest clients add up over time.

      And yes, you buying them back would be pretty useful, for, well, we have no real use for the computers other than finding someone to sell them to, so... we could also just agree that you pay every time we come and we forgo the process of carrying your shit out and back in again. Saves us the hassle and you the time, it's just so win-win...

      --
      We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
    4. Re:No problem by SuperKendall · · Score: 2

      Even the cheapest clients add up over time.

      So do write-offs from seized equipment, that you can declare at any value you can document...

      Any good accountant could turn seized equipment into a revenue stream.

      --
      "There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley
    5. Re:No problem by rickb928 · · Score: 1

      Surprisingly, Europe has not yet annexed Canada.

      Well, surprising to you maybe. Not me. The Brits gave it up, the Crown not so much. And before you ask, Quebec isn't yet a part of France. Ask the French, and they will make it clear. Crystal. Clear.

      --
      deleting the extra space after periods so i can stay relevant, yeah.
    6. Re:No problem by sexconker · · Score: 1

      "Cheap" clients, plus monitors, keyboards, mice, conference room camera and mic setups, all networking gear and cabling, every flash drive found on the premises, every surge protector, every copier, fax machine and printer, etc.

      Plus haul in a few employees and hold em as long as possible, threaten them with charges like obstruction of justice, destroying evidence, etc. Not sure what applies in Canada, but I"m sure there's plenty they could do if they wanted to.

    7. Re:No problem by sexconker · · Score: 1

      You don't know how deductions work, do you? Further, how many more writeoffs does Uber need to zero out its profit? Oh wait, they're burning cash like mad already?

      And no, you don't get to declare "any value you can document", you only get to declare the actual cost, often up to specific maximums.

    8. Re:No problem by BasilBrush · · Score: 2

      Last time I looked Quebec was in North America.

    9. Re:No problem by x0ra · · Score: 1

      Quebec might as well be part of France, same statist mentality both side of the Atlantic...

    10. Re:No problem by x0ra · · Score: 1

      Politically wise, they are very much in Europe.

    11. Re:No problem by quarrel · · Score: 1

      Re: forfeited stuff

      Where in Europe is this the case?

      It certainly doesn't appear to be EU regulations. I know of lots of regulatory "raids" (you'd be amazed at the breadth of reasons that companies get raided, often not hanging or even moral-outrage stuff) and this isn't the general case.

    12. Re:No problem by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      We'll take all the computers in your office. No evidence? Guess we'll return next week when you bought new equipment.

      By the way: Due to legal regulations, everything confiscated is forfeited. You pay your tax. One way or another.

      Welcome to Europe.

      Sigh.

      You do realize that giving the government this kind of abusive power doesn't work on just Uber, right? That they will then use this power on anyone. Case in point, civil asset forfeiture, where the police can just seize property or money without due process in order to punish drug dealers. And lo and behold, it turns out they abuse this power and just steal from regular people.

      So by now giving police the power to simply seize all the property in a search warrant (no longer a search warrant, but a seize/steal warrant), you're giving the government power to take all your possessions regardless of whether you're actually found guilty. Of course this won't be abused. What could go wrong.

      And all this so you can satisfy your moral outrage that Uber is the most evil company in existence and needs to be destroyed at any cost.

    13. Re:No problem by Opportunist · · Score: 1

      Write-offs mean jack shit when you already pay no tax. And write-offs only reduce your profit and hence your taxes, they aren't magically money you needn't pay.

      --
      We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
    14. Re:No problem by Opportunist · · Score: 1

      Takes a bit of creative warrant writing, I give you that, but our judges generally know how to word it that you'll never see your computers again.

      --
      We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
    15. Re:No problem by Opportunist · · Score: 1

      Odd. Hasn't happened over here.

      Maybe because you first of all would need to corrupt our judges. Which isn't as easy as in the US due to the way judges get appointed.

      --
      We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
    16. Re:No problem by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I know...i keep checking as well...
      "Nope...still here.......fuck...."

    17. Re:No problem by omnichad · · Score: 1

      If they're already going to these lengths, a cellular modem would be easy to add to their arsenal. If the main Internet feed cuts out, ping HQ and send over ingress/egress security cam photos. They could still lock down.

    18. Re:No problem by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      most of the French people I've spoken to are to some extent horrified by Quebec, except the mangled French they speak, that's apparently hilarious

    19. Re:No problem by Hognoxious · · Score: 1

      In some jurisdictions you can't write off fines and penalties. Whether having your shit seized would be treated in a similar way as that is anyone's guess.

      --
      Confucius say, "Find worm in apple - bad. Find half a worm - worse."
    20. Re: No problem by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Yeah, Europe has been a shining example of morality...

      Nevermind that your economy was founded on picking gold teeth from the bottom of ovens.

    21. Re: No problem by Opportunist · · Score: 1

      Picking gold teeth from the bottom of ovens or having black slaves pick cotton for you, it's all good...

      --
      We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
    22. Re:No problem by Z00L00K · · Score: 1

      I include the phone system as a factor in "no internet access".

      --
      If builders built buildings the way programmers wrote programs, then the first woodpecker would destroy civilization.
    23. Re:No problem by omnichad · · Score: 1

      You can say you include it, but if you're the authorities you won't really know. Any single employee could be taking money from the company to buy a personal hotspot on a personal plan. And hide that with a hotplug computer up in the ceiling tile or really anywhere. If the authorities cut the main cord and the only one they know about, there's still a way to leak out data and receive remote commands.

    24. Re:No problem by Z00L00K · · Score: 1

      I was more considering shutting down the phone network for anything but emergency traffic.

      --
      If builders built buildings the way programmers wrote programs, then the first woodpecker would destroy civilization.
    25. Re:No problem by omnichad · · Score: 1

      For the entire city, every provider?

  3. Annoying Trend by ScentCone · · Score: 2, Informative

    I'm seeing more and more references to "a software." Would you like to buy a software with your hardware? How will you be using your mobile device to update your time sheet ... will you be using a software? And, "Uber used another secret software." Ugh.

    --
    Don't disappoint your bird dog. Go to the range.
    1. Re: Annoying Trend by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Thereâ(TM)s a hardware in my pants!

    2. Re:Annoying Trend by jabberw0k · · Score: 1

      I have an information for you! Do you want a clothing with that? =ugh=

    3. Re:Annoying Trend by OzPeter · · Score: 1

      I'm seeing more and more references to "a software." Would you like to buy a software with your hardware?

      Sure .. can you inbox me with the details?

      --
      I am Slashdot. Are you Slashdot as well?
    4. Re:Annoying Trend by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      There must be a training somewhere that would help media people use proper grammar.

    5. Re:Annoying Trend by Brett+Buck · · Score: 1

      It's an affectation, quasi-Europhile.

    6. Re:Annoying Trend by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      Sure .. can you inbox me with the details?

      What address do I inputted?

    7. Re:Annoying Trend by RightwingNutjob · · Score: 1

      No, it's msmash, quasi-literate. Again.

    8. Re:Annoying Trend by ScentCone · · Score: 2

      Not an affectation. It's the sort of thing that non-native English speakers say when they haven't mastered plural/single idioms and such. Like, "You have a lot of nice camera gears!" And that gets seen often enough in the intellectual wasteland of social media, and poisons the well badly enough that it makes it into /. postings.

      --
      Don't disappoint your bird dog. Go to the range.
    9. Re: Annoying Trend by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      How many times have you been told to stop posting with your iPhone?

    10. Re:Annoying Trend by AmiMoJo · · Score: 1

      Now you know the pain we feel every time someone talks about Legos.

      --
      const int one = 65536; (Silvermoon, Texture.cs)
      SJW, n: "Someone I don't like, and by the way I'm a fuckwit" - AC
    11. Re:Annoying Trend by fisted · · Score: 1

      Ohhh, now everything makes sense. I'm seeing more and more references to "blockchain" [without article] like it was a product or so instead of a data structure; I kept wondering where the fucking article went. It's hiding in a software! We should try to lure it back.

    12. Re:Annoying Trend by fisted · · Score: 1

      But Ivan, that is question, not information.

    13. Re:Annoying Trend by fisted · · Score: 1

      You have a lot of nice camera gears

      My nice collection of camera gears begs to differ. Most are from the drive that moves the objective.

  4. Comment removed by account_deleted · · Score: 1

    Comment removed based on user account deletion

  5. Most tech companies by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Most tech companies don't expect police to regularly raid their offices

    Every non-government entity should treat the government as an adversary. Government agencies want to compromise everything.

    1. Re:Most tech companies by Opportunist · · Score: 3, Insightful

      If your government is your adversary, I guess it's time to overthrow it and install one that is elected by the people for the people.

      Oh wait...

      --
      We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
    2. Re:Most tech companies by borcharc · · Score: 4, Insightful

      This could just be as easy a using desktop virtualization and pulling the plug on access when needed. Keep the servers backing it in a different, more friendly country. There is no reason to have any data on local computers.

    3. Re:Most tech companies by Alypius · · Score: 3, Insightful

      We routinely describe our legal system as "adversarial" without rancor; it's the same reason why people are advised not to speak with investigators without legal counsel present.

    4. Re:Most tech companies by Flozzin · · Score: 1

      If you treat the government as an adversary, trying to undermine them, then I would say you are more of a parasite to the country. I see no reason for those types of companies to be dissolved. They want to take advantage of the government infrastructure and exploit its people but not give back their due. If you disagree with what a government does, you should not interact with them, or you should work to get the laws changed. They are instead just disregarding the portions of the law they do not like, and actively trying to circumvent the government.

      --
      "Cowardice in a race, as in an individual, is the unpardonable sin." --Teddy Roosevelt
    5. Re: Most tech companies by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      And corporate whores like you who think you can suck a meaty cock to 1%land deserve a bullet. Dont worry, your corptocracy will ensure that bullet costs the government $300.

      Freeeeedumbs!

    6. Re:Most tech companies by ScentCone · · Score: 1

      In fact the very structure of our government, as chartered in the constitution, is as a three-way adversarial arrangement of checks and balances. It's by design.

      --
      Don't disappoint your bird dog. Go to the range.
    7. Re:Most tech companies by HornWumpus · · Score: 1

      No. We should try and neuter the current one first. Get it back to minding it's business, as intended.

      We know the euros don't understand 'limited government', don't care.

      --
      John McAfee 'It was like that time I hired that Bangkok prostitute; to do my taxes, while I fucked my accountant'
    8. Re:Most tech companies by rickb928 · · Score: 1

      "If you treat the government as an adversary, trying to undermine them, then I would say you are experienced in dealing with them."

      There, FTFY

      --
      deleting the extra space after periods so i can stay relevant, yeah.
    9. Re:Most tech companies by gfxguy · · Score: 1

      Constituents aren't part of the adversarial government triangle of checks and balances. At least, they're not supposed to be.

      Then again, even congress (senators vs. representatives) was supposed to be adversarial (not necessarily, but they were supposed to represent different entities). Things have greatly changed in the U.S. (and elsewhere, of course). Our constitution has been subverted to the point where I guess the government does consider us "adversaries." Given that point, I say "bully for Uber."

      --
      Stupid sexy Flanders.
    10. Re:Most tech companies by gfxguy · · Score: 1

      I have to agree with rickb928 - a lot of people have reached a breaking point with government taxes and rules and regulations. It's not that they don't want to pay anything at all (well, there is that, too), it's that it's gotten to the point where all the rules and tax laws have gotten too burdensome - and not just for companies, but for people. Consider that not only are you paying taxes, but the more complicated the laws get the more you have to pay accountants to figure it all out for you... the "burden" of taxation is higher than some percentage of your income.

      --
      Stupid sexy Flanders.
    11. Re: Most tech companies by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I'm a G-Man. It's just that the game is more fun if everybody knows they're playing.

    12. Re:Most tech companies by ScentCone · · Score: 1

      Constituents aren't part of the adversarial government triangle of checks and balances. At least, they're not supposed to be.

      Sure they are. Depending on the situation, a constituent might have the executive, or legislature, or courts working on their behalf "against" one or both of the other branches. You might have your congressional representative helping you out with the IRS, or you may ask the courts to help you out with something the executive branch is or isn't doing.

      --
      Don't disappoint your bird dog. Go to the range.
    13. Re:Most tech companies by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The country is the citizens, not the gub'mnt. Laws are the citizens behavior, not corporate stool or Semite spew ! The Gub'mnt is the peoples tool for crushing seditious, parasitic Trotsky scum, foreign invaders and Rawlsian panders. Let the crushing begin.

    14. Re:Most tech companies by Daemonik · · Score: 2

      99% of the "complexity" of regulations, is because business people are cheating bastards who spend more time thinking up ways to steal a dishonest buck than make an honest one, and the Government response to that.

    15. Re:Most tech companies by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      This could just be as easy a using desktop virtualization and pulling the plug on access when needed. Keep the servers backing it in a different, more friendly country. There is no reason to have any data on local computers.

      Listen, asshole ... if American companies find it so onerous to comply with the laws of other countries .. then American companies should feel free to fuck the hell off and stay home.

      A more friendly country? We're talking about Canada here, not some banana republic with random and arbitrary laws.

      It's really simple: If you can't adhere to the laws of a country, don't do business in that country.

      I understand the entire business model of Uber is deciding that laws don't apply to them, but they don't have some fundamental right to do business in other countries. Uber are apparently a criminal entity, and should be treated as such.

      Can we come to your country and go to great lengths to ignore your laws and avoid paying taxes in your country? Or is that reserved for self entitled American assholes?

      You're a fucking idiot.

    16. Re:Most tech companies by anegg · · Score: 1

      I don't know about your government, but the U.S. government was initially established with the expectation of an adversarial relationship between the government and the governed. The government was granted an enumerated list of limited powers, and (before too long) the constitution was amended with an explicit set of rights (the so-called "bill of rights") that although not intended to be a complete list of rights held by the people and the states apart from the federal government, captured a number of expected government overreaches and labeled them "off limits" right up front. The folks involved in setting up the U.S. federal government were deeply suspicious of government power at the same time that they knew a government was necessary.

    17. Re:Most tech companies by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Yeah, like when you use encryption to communicate with government infrastructure but aren't handing over all your data back to the government. Don't be a parasite, support the 702 reauthorization!

      The government is your enemy, and you should do everything you can to circumvent it. Don't talk to the cops, don't send more money to the IRS than the law requires, and don't give them your passwords when they come knocking.

    18. Re:Most tech companies by anegg · · Score: 1

      I know people who failed to treat the government as an adversary, who were asked by the police to come in and talk to them, and who did so because they had "nothing to hide" and wanted to cooperate. They ended up in jail for the weekend (with no evidence to hold them but the police knew they couldn't get out until a court hearing on Monday and wanted to "soften them up" and try to wring a confession out of them) and although they ultimately prevailed in the legal battle, they lost their college degree (college dumped them during the spring semester of their senior year after they were charged but without any conviction [or evidence beyond a psychological profile]) and several years of their life.

      Don't t think for a minute that any agent of a government has your best interests at heart. I believe that you should be honest and ethical in your dealings with your government, but not non-adversarial. Avail yourself of any/all legal protections while complying as much as is required with legal orders (and just understanding what orders are legal can present a challenge, because government agents are not above issuing non-legal orders that they hope you don't realize aren't legal; they (in some cases) aren't even legally required not to lie to you, nevermind how they are allowed to strongly imply or mislead by omission).

      I'm speaking in general here... obviously there are bad actors, both individuals and corporations, and I don't want to see those bad actors get away with illegal actions. I believe that people and corporations should follow the law, even if they disagree with those laws. But there is a big difference between acting illegally, and merely maintaining an adversarial stance when dealing with someone/something.

    19. Re:Most tech companies by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Can we come to your country and go to great lengths to ignore your laws and avoid paying taxes in your country?

      Can't stop you from trying.

    20. Re:Most tech companies by gfxguy · · Score: 0

      No, they're not - it's because businesses lobby for special favors, they buy off politicians and get really complicated tax laws enacted that they can take advantage of. It's not just the businesses - it's a destructive symbiotic relationship between the businesses and special interests and the government. Year after year, the tax laws get more and more complicated - even the laws that affect individuals, as companies lobby to get individuals tax breaks for buying their products, or tax penalties for those who don't.

      --
      Stupid sexy Flanders.
    21. Re:Most tech companies by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Or the citizens may decide to refresh the tree of liberty with the blood of patriots and tyrants.

    22. Re:Most tech companies by Opportunist · · Score: 4, Insightful

      We prefer to have a government that does its job. We understand that there are certain requirements for this to be possible. That means that taxes have to be paid to fund what they're supposed to do, and we also need to give them the ability to do it. It's pretty much the same that I'd expect to get at work. If I'm supposed to do a project, I need funding and I need the ability to command people to do what I need them to do to make the project work out. If I get neither money nor power, well, I will not be able to do my project, will I?

      Oddly it seems that in the US, the government is supposed to not do anything. At least when listening to people claiming that taxation is theft and that the police shouldn't have any kind of power. How the hell are they supposed to do their job if that's what you expect from them? So in return, they try to force this onto you, to take by force what's not given, so they can do what they perceive as their job. And they overdo it by quite a margin.

      Maybe that's the main difference. We try for cooperation, in the US, confrontation seems to be rather the norm.

      --
      We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
    23. Re:Most tech companies by MoaDweeb · · Score: 2

      Your blood first.

      --
      New Zealanders are well balanced with a chip on each shoulder. One represents Australia, the other the rest of the world
    24. Re:Most tech companies by Daemonik · · Score: 3, Insightful

      So you're saying large businesses use all the tools available to them to stab their competitors in the back, including sweetheart legislation. And your solution is to remove all the constraints on businesses rather than impose more constraints on bigger businesses.. riiiight... totally logical... also, that doesn't refute my argument that cheating bastard corporations are why regulations are so complex, it pretty much proves it.

    25. Re:Most tech companies by borcharc · · Score: 1

      When I say a more friendly country, I mean Russia or some other place that is adversarial to the West. The US, Canada, and most of Europe are banana republics already, stop kidding yourself.

    26. Re: Most tech companies by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      We're literally armed with hundreds of millions of guns in adversarial composure with our government, by design... What the fuck are you talking about?

    27. Re:Most tech companies by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The SS just did its job. So did the NKVD.

      US Government is informed by the realization that when it comes to abuse of government power the question is "when? not "if?". The Europeans still cling to an obsolete concept of the perfectability of human nature.

    28. Re:Most tech companies by david_thornley · · Score: 1

      In general, treat law enforcement as an adversary, although not an enemy. It's normally OK to call for a police officer if you need one, but when they're taking the initiative while investigating you they are not trying to be your friend, no matter how it may sound.

      There's no general reason to treat the rest of the government as an adversary.

      --
      "When you have eliminated the unacceptable, whatever is left, however improbable, must be the truthiness" - Holmes
    29. Re:Most tech companies by david_thornley · · Score: 1

      I used to hate doing my state income taxes. (There was the time I calculated the taxes twice, and my wife once. We sent in the lowest of the three different dollar amounts. I'm not going to commit fraud, but I will understand that which is not clear in my favor.) My Federal income taxes cost me more, but they were a lot easier to do. Then my state simplified the process, and now it doesn't bother me.

      Taxes in the US are generally pretty low, but the tax laws and regulations can be onerous.

      --
      "When you have eliminated the unacceptable, whatever is left, however improbable, must be the truthiness" - Holmes
    30. Re:Most tech companies by david_thornley · · Score: 1

      The SS just did its job. So did the NKVD.

      I think you'll find that both went beyond their job requirements, and I don't mean that as compliments. It may be worth noting that nobody was forced to work in concentration camps or death camps or murder squads. If you had qualms, you could say so, and be transferred somewhere else with no penalty.

      --
      "When you have eliminated the unacceptable, whatever is left, however improbable, must be the truthiness" - Holmes
  6. Uber. by ledow · · Score: 5, Interesting

    So... obviously they were sued for contributory acts towards the obstruction of justice, no?

    If not, why not?

    Literally, the guy who phoned it in has deliberately obstructed justice, whether or not the company policy says to do it, or whether the system is entirely operated remotely, or even whether the data asked for was to hand. You can go to jail for decades for that offence alone, whether or not anything is found, which would make anyone think twice about paging that number, no?

    I'm more concerned not that Uber did this (they're scumbags, we get the idea already), but that a manager would press it (and in Canada) at personal risk of imprisonment, and that no action was taken about it (whether or not they later provided the data).

    If you're trading in Canada, you're liable to their laws and they are able to seize related equipment and data with your co-operation or not, and performing a deliberate act with the express intention of removing said access can only be construed as obstruction of justice and/or contempt of court depending on the court order. It's not even "open to interpretation"... it's quite clear that the only reason to use a facility that cuts off the system should the police come knocking is to stop the police seeing things you don't want them to see but that they may well be otherwise entitled to see.

    Uber are scumbags because courts like this allow them to be.

    1. Re:Uber. by bluefoxlucid · · Score: 3, Insightful

      I've always defended Uber against accusations of not having insurance (they documented that every driver is covered by a $1M policy while driving for Uber) and against being treated as a taxi (in the same way GrubHub, Eat24, and Delivery.com aren't restaurants or delivery services, but a service connecting an independent delivery restaurant with an independent customer).

      Then, all kinds of bullshit started coming out of Uber.

      I still say Uber as a business model is fine and sensible: you're using their service whether you're a driver or passenger. Nobody is trying to drive a stake into Lyft these days for doing the same sort of business (well, almost nobody).

      I haven't come out to defend Uber in a long, long time because nobody's been attacking them based on what kind of business they want to pretend Uber is. Uber shit its own pants this time, and it never stopped shitting. Sexual harassment, corporate espionage, invasions of privacy, and now they've taken it all the way up to bona fide organized crime with countermeasures in place to impede investigators. They have a great business model, but they've ruined it with terrible business ethic.

    2. Re:Uber. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Insightful

      I don't know how it is in Canada but in the US a search warrant does not obligate you to preserve evidence or assist in the search in any way. Being served with a subpoena triggers a requirement to preserve evidence but a police raid is not a subpoena. Notifying the San Francisco main office that a raid is in progress isn't obstruction and the San Fran office is outside of Canadian jurisdiction anyway. I don't see how Canada could go after anyone unless their laws are nastier than I already understand them to be.

    3. Re:Uber. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      And once the records have been suppeoned, isnt not turning them over, regardless of where they located contempt of court?

    4. Re:Uber. by dwillden · · Score: 2

      The only problem is the authorities have to know if someone makes that call and who made it to prosecute. I guess if they have a stingray setup they can track every mobile call or text to see who did it if they use that kind of notification method. But then again it could be passed off as simple as someone talking to another office at the time the police arrive saying to the other end, "Oh the Police are here I better go see what's up". Or a simple IM sent to another office. The remote participant then notifies the Ripley team. Or it could even be a Warrant canary style notice, someone closes a running chat or data feed. The loss of that feed while everything else is still up and running triggers the alert and the response.

      Yes it is obstruction, but it can be very hard if not impossible to identify who did it.

      --
      I'm too lazy to compose a creative sig.
    5. Re:Uber. by cayenne8 · · Score: 2

      Sexual harassment,

      Was anyone ever taken to court, charged and convicted of Sexual Harassment, or is this just another case of accusation and the label sticking?

      --
      Light travels faster than sound. This is why some people appear bright until you hear them speak.........
    6. Re:Uber. by Registered+Coward+v2 · · Score: 2

      If you're trading in Canada, you're liable to their laws and they are able to seize related equipment and data with your co-operation or not, and performing a deliberate act with the express intention of removing said access can only be construed as obstruction of justice and/or contempt of court depending on the court order. It's not even "open to interpretation"... it's quite clear that the only reason to use a facility that cuts off the system should the police come knocking is to stop the police seeing things you don't want them to see but that they may well be otherwise entitled to see.

      Uber are scumbags because courts like this allow them to be.

      While I agree with you, as TFA points out there is a hazy line between obstructing justice and not allowing access to material not in the warrant; as it points out in other cases Uber complied with the warrant after they had a chance to review it. A warrant should not be grounds for a fishing expedition just as a company should be eld accountable if they destroy evidence once they know it may be part of an investigation.

      Doesn't mean Uber is not a bad actor but I do not think such things are cut and dry either.

      --
      I'm a consultant - I convert gibberish into cash-flow.
    7. Re:Uber. by bluefoxlucid · · Score: 2

      It's a case of lots of complaints and circumstantial evidence from people testifying to the media, and the CEO at some point kind of suggesting he might step down because he let it go farther than it should. I think. So much of this shit has come through that I'm not 100% sure which specifics go where anymore, well aside from Uber's CEO mailing out to Corp-all that he's not allowed to have sex with anyone at company parties.

    8. Re:Uber. by ScentCone · · Score: 1

      And once the records have been suppeoned, isnt not turning them over, regardless of where they located contempt of court?

      Yes (or of congress, etc). Unless you're Hillary Clinton. And then it's just "a matter."

      --
      Don't disappoint your bird dog. Go to the range.
    9. Re:Uber. by HornWumpus · · Score: 1

      It's a fair cop. I do have contempt for courts. Particularly the ones with no jurisdiction, but not only.

      If I were Uber, I'd fax them a copy of my junk. Go 'no presence, except drivers' in many nations. It's tough to be a 'half-outlaw'. Go for it Uber. Create your own payment system to avoid the inevitable attacks on money flows.

      --
      John McAfee 'It was like that time I hired that Bangkok prostitute; to do my taxes, while I fucked my accountant'
    10. Re:Uber. by rickb928 · · Score: 1

      And in the midst of this, does Lyft have the same problems with government and such?

      --
      deleting the extra space after periods so i can stay relevant, yeah.
    11. Re:Uber. by Cajun+Hell · · Score: 1

      Same here. Uber is starting to look like scum, but I think the basic idea is still pretty damn cool.

      --
      "Believe me!" -- Donald Trump
    12. Re:Uber. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I've always defended Uber against accusations of not having insurance (they documented that every driver is covered by a $1M policy while driving for Uber) and against being treated as a taxi

      See, the problem here is what you think doesn't fucking matter.

      The only thing which matters in terms of Uber and insurance or if they're a car-for-hire service is the laws where Uber operates. Those laws exist, were passed in their jurisdiction, and apply as written.

      Neither you not Uber get to define which laws apply, despite this being the entire asshole business model of Uber -- to loudly proclaim like a child that the laws don't apply to them because they're special.

      Never taken an Uber, never will. At this point any jurisdiction should pretty much be arresting Uber employees and charging them like the fucking crooks they are.

      Fuck Uber, they're entire business model seems to be essentially being a criminal enterprise. No legitimate company has a well practiced plan to scorch their records in the face of a valid, legal subpoena -- but criminal organizations sure as fuck do.

    13. Re:Uber. by PReDiToR · · Score: 1

      Dunno.

      DDG might know?

      --

      Do not meddle in the affairs of geeks for they are subtle and quick to anger
    14. Re: Uber. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Because criminality is just fine and dandy as long as you can avoid prosecution through destruction of evidence.

    15. Re:Uber. by BasilBrush · · Score: 1

      An employee phoning head office to tell them the police have arrived is not a crime. It's perfectly reasonable behaviour. What the head office choose to do with that information is not the responsibility of the employee doing the phoning.

    16. Re: Uber. by HornWumpus · · Score: 1

      Exactly. Certainly better than 'strong central government', based on megadeaths in the 20th century.

      --
      John McAfee 'It was like that time I hired that Bangkok prostitute; to do my taxes, while I fucked my accountant'
    17. Re:Uber. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I don't like Uber but not liking a company isn't generally a reason to start making up or aggressively over-stepping the boundaries of laws. A warrant gives you the right to collect evidence, it doesn't necessarily follow that doing something that may restrict the information that can be accessed by someone enforcing a warrant is a criminal act; so unless you've got a strong understanding of the laws in the jurisdictions this happened in and the details including location of the data access was restricted to then you're making massive leaps based on nothing but what you think should be right.

      If I have a server in the US and the UK police wish to access my UK PC with a warrant it may not, and most likely does not, mean that I can't inform a team in the US who will revoke my access to the US systems (which wouldn't be covered by a UK warrant).

    18. Re:Uber. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I'm not sure that would be true under all jurisdictions. If in your jurisdiction it is criminal to destroy data covered by a warrant (which you are aware of) and you have knowledge that making that call would, or is likely to lead to, that then you could conceivably be guilty. A lot of countries have laws that make it clear that you can be prosecuted for actions relating to a crime someone else commits; an extreme example would be a member of a criminal organisation reporting a person who was a 'threat' knowing this would lead to someone else killing them (they don't have to kill the person themselves).

    19. Re:Uber. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Go 'no presence, except drivers' in many nations. It's tough to be a 'half-outlaw'. Go for it Uber. Create your own payment system to avoid the inevitable attacks on money flows.

      And then hopefully police would arrest any Uber driver, confiscate their car, and throw them in jail. Maybe have standing Interpol warrants for any employees of the company so as soon as they step out of the US they get extradited?

      If Uber wants to be "full-outlaw", they should go all in and accept the attrition of drivers. See who still wants to drive for them.

      If a company ran by assholes wants to say "fuck you and your laws", they should be treated as the criminal organization they are. Uber aren't some Robin Hood characters, they're just greedy douchebags. But a shocking amount of people seem to hold them up as the epitome of something good ... those people I assume are also crooks, assholes, and douchebags.

      Maybe every other country on the planet should set up a bunch of corporations whose sole purpose is to take a cut of people committing crimes in America then? Just essentially turn crime syndicates into corporate franchises? Maybe a little kidnapping and ransom for good measure because if we're going full outlaw, the real money isn't in being an illegal cab company. And if we're going for that, assassinations for hire, that's lucrative too. Bank robbery .. blackmail .. extortion .. human trafficking .. there's a lot of growth opportunities there.

      Do you see any limits on this corporation as outright criminal enterprise? Child porn? Genocide? One assumes the sky is the limit for corporations whose entire raison d'etre is to break the law. Fuck it, you're already in the business of ignoring the law anyway.

      Fuck you. You sound like as much of a sociopathic asshole as the people who fucking run Uber.

    20. Re:Uber. by bozzy · · Score: 1

      "They have a great business model, but they've ruined it with terrible business ethic."

      They'd have a great business model if they were actually making a profit while acting ethically. At the moment they are doing neither.

    21. Re:Uber. by HornWumpus · · Score: 1

      Hasn't worked yet. Gypsy cabs are _much_ older than Uber. Fuck you too, bootlicker.

      --
      John McAfee 'It was like that time I hired that Bangkok prostitute; to do my taxes, while I fucked my accountant'
    22. Re:Uber. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The manager should only do a little time. He is a patsy for the execs calling the shots. Every higher-up involved with that decision needs to go to jail. I bet most of them don't even work for Uber anymore, and I bet some have left the county.

    23. Re:Uber. by Actually,+I+do+RTFA · · Score: 1

      not having insurance (they documented that every driver is covered by a $1M policy while driving for Uber)

      It's worth pointing out they have a $1M policy when a passenger is in the car. While they are driving to pick up a passenger, they are probably not covered by their personal (non-corporate) insurance and they are not covered by Uber's policies.

      --
      Your ad here. Ask me how!
    24. Re:Uber. by Wrath0fb0b · · Score: 1

      I mean, if you say "it's not open to interpretation" then I guess that's the final word and we can't have this discussion anymore.

      But here's a parting thought anyway: a manager on site typically has no idea who their uninvited visitors are or why they are there. In the case of a compromise of physical security, it's not rational to start asking questions or inspecting credentials/documents -- by that point it's too late. The proper security posture is to assume the worst and then revise your estimates "upwards" if necessary because it is impossible to revise downwards.

    25. Re: Uber. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Yes, anarchy has worked out so well compared to governments.

      News flash: the rest of us are perfectly well aware that the foundation of government is violence, and that one of its purposes is to kill people. Occasionally even a lot of people. What you seem to be confused about is the possibility of removing violence from the human condition. Not going to happen. Nor are you going to make it a smaller problem, because that just means "less competitive". Government is defined as a monopoly on violence. You don't get to choose whether you're coerced, only how.

      Now fuck off before we throw you in prison for your stupid anarchism.

    26. Re:Uber. by stephanruby · · Score: 1

      Literally, the guy who phoned it in has deliberately obstructed justice

      What the article says may have been true years ago, but it's not true now (at least not in my area). The way Uber HQ maintains security now is actually much more sophisticated than that. The thin client. That part is still true, but there is no pager, no number, nothing like that.

      Uber HQ knows what's going on in the local offices simply because they're constantly listening in through real-time audio conferencing (for all I know they could be using constant video-conferencing too) in addition to the real-time screen-sharing as well.

      I've witnessed this first hand this multiple times as an Uber driver. Ask a question the frontline employee doesn't know how to answer and you'll see that the front line employee puts his headset on and starts having a conversation with a remote supervisor who already knows the answer and who is already looking at the same remote screen as he does. And if there is a commotion in the office, you can bet the remote supervisor will hear it (if not see it) himself in real-time. No one needs to tell him about it.

    27. Re:Uber. by bluefoxlucid · · Score: 1

      Tricky. At the time, you're not being paid to drive when you're driving to pick up. You also aren't performing a commercial service yet (carrying a passenger). You could argue that you're driving to work, but not yet using the vehicle to perform a commercial service. By contract law, the contract is actually still voidable: if you don't show up and they haven't paid yet, nothing was exchanged, so no contract was actually initiated.

      It's like if you're driving your personal vehicle to an autocross track and get struck. Your insurer can't claim you were "racing" because you weren't on the track yet.

    28. Re:Uber. by david_thornley · · Score: 1

      You can get in trouble for destroying evidence during a legal search. You don't have to take any action to preserve evidence or cooperate in any way, but actively interfering in the process is illegal.

      --
      "When you have eliminated the unacceptable, whatever is left, however improbable, must be the truthiness" - Holmes
    29. Re:Uber. by david_thornley · · Score: 1

      The real question is whether the driver is properly insured, and that's question for the policy in question. If your insurance policy doesn't cover you for some situation, and no other insurance applies, then it's illegal to drive in that situation. You can nitpick as you like, but it's pointless without having the text of the actual policy.

      I'd expect insurance policies to consider driving for Uber to be commercial driving, no matter what you're doing. It's been around for a while. The insurance company can write the policy that way, and the driver can pay for that policy, find another policy, meet the criteria for self-insurance, or stay home. If the driver is on the public road without an active insurance policy, that's an illegal act.

      --
      "When you have eliminated the unacceptable, whatever is left, however improbable, must be the truthiness" - Holmes
    30. Re:Uber. by Actually,+I+do+RTFA · · Score: 1

      I might understand that case before your first fare. However, driving between fares is a clear part of your job. I'm still at my job while on a coffee break, for instance. And I think the insurance company lawyers are well versed enough in the laws to not pay.

      --
      Your ad here. Ask me how!
    31. Re:Uber. by bluefoxlucid · · Score: 1

      I'm saying that "driving to pick a passenger up" is not "driving for Uber", but rather "driving to the location where you will begin driving for Uber". You're not yet performing a commerical service with your vehicle.

      Some pizza places make drivers use their own vehicles. Imagine if your insurer claimed that the drive between your house and your job was work because, at some point in the future, you would begin using your car to transport commercial cargo. Lawyers would put a brick up your insurer's ass.

      So until your customer sits his ass down in your vehicle and you're on a public road, you're just... driving. You're not carrying a commercial passenger, thus you're not doing anything proscribed by your insurer's contract.

    32. Re:Uber. by bluefoxlucid · · Score: 1

      You're not an Uber employee, so you're taking on a series of jobs.

      You are an Uber employee, so Uber's insurance must cover you for driving for Uber--the entire time you're driving for Uber.

      Pick one.

    33. Re:Uber. by Actually,+I+do+RTFA · · Score: 1

      I'm pretty clearly stating the second. However, Uber's insurance doesn't cover you driving to get a far. I'm stating that it must and it doesn't. That's the problem.

      --
      Your ad here. Ask me how!
    34. Re:Uber. by david_thornley · · Score: 1

      As I said, that will depend on what the policy says. I don't know enough to comment other than that. Are you sufficiently familiar with policies to make a blanket statement?

      --
      "When you have eliminated the unacceptable, whatever is left, however improbable, must be the truthiness" - Holmes
    35. Re:Uber. by bluefoxlucid · · Score: 1

      It actually depends on a lot of other stuff, like whether the courts say your policy is valid.

    36. Re:Uber. by cas2000 · · Score: 1

      Uber HQ knows what's going on in the local offices simply because they're constantly listening in through real-time audio conferencing (for all I know they could be using constant video-conferencing too) in addition to the real-time screen-sharing as well.

      I was thinking it would be a good thing if the pager numbers were published (and updated as they changed) by some whistleblower so that "concerned citizens" could "test" it whenever they felt like it....but this is even better. All it needs is a speaker outside of Uber offices transmitting what sounds like a police raid in progress and the criminal scum will DOS themselves.

      if the auto-shutdown is done by AI rather than human intervention, it could even be done with frequencies that humans can't hear (as in the recent alexa/google home/etc hacks).

  7. Re:If a remote network command can thwart police . by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Funny

    If a mere remote network command can thwart police...

    It was written by jerks and evil geniuses.

  8. Pretty common police 'tactic' for digital evidence by Wrath0fb0b · · Score: 5, Informative

    Normally if police want records, they have to subpoena them and the company has a chance to contest the subpoena in front of a neutral judge. The judge can sustain the subpoena, quash it entirely or tweak just parts of it depending on their view of what is relevant to the ongoing investigation and any other claim of privilege. Most importantly, after any challenges are made and ruled on, the subpoena requires the positive action of the company to produce the responsive documents. The judge overseeing the case can penalize the company and the principles for not producing the records fast enough, for withholding responsive documents. This includes fines to induce compliance (usually a per-day fine) and contempt proceedings for gross misconduct.

    Increasingly, the police see all this judicial process as an impediment rather than part of working in a country that respects rule of law. So instead they get a warrant and try to seize all the records they want that way. A warrant is usually pretty broad ("any electronic devices capable of holding evidence" really means anything with a circuit board) and lets them shift through at their leisure. It's also something they can do and execute without notifying the company until it happens and litigate after the fact. But importantly, warrants (generally) do not require the company to actively assist anything. And if the police miss something relevant, that's on them, whereas in the subpoena case it's the company's responsibility to ensure that all responsive records are found.

    So there are tradeoffs: the warrant is quicker but doesn't guarantee that you'll get anything meaningful -- it just entitles the police to search/seize whatever they find. The subpoena can drag on in court, but once upheld requires the company to do the heavy lifting and deliver the responsive records directly to the police.

    [ And before we get all up about "Uber is evil" and so .., I'll just leave this here ]

  9. Can they spin that off as a service? by SuperKendall · · Score: 0

    Having a company that can remote-wipe all of your systems with a single SMS actually sounds like a really handy service for a lot of people.

    Maybe add an option for an additional fee to buy you a plane ticket to the Bahamas and a pair of sunglasses with a facial recognition confusion pattern.

    --
    "There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley
    1. Re:Can they spin that off as a service? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      It was included in your Windows 10 free upgrade.

    2. Re:Can they spin that off as a service? by Arkham · · Score: 1

      Having a company that can remote-wipe all of your systems with a single SMS actually sounds like a really handy service for a lot of people.

      Honestly, most MDM products can do this. I know AirWatch can.

      --
      - Vincit qui patitur.
  10. Confiscate by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    If the police actually cared they would have simply hauled off every piece of electronics in the building for this.

    1. Re:Confiscate by Asgard · · Score: 1

      ... which would be pointless if the data was held remotely and the local access keys have been wiped or disabled.

  11. Seems pretty standard to me by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Why should the police have access to remote resources just because someone was logged in?

  12. Lots of companies have that by nospam007 · · Score: 2

    Did you think PriceWaterhouse et al would just give you everything just because some lowly policeman has a piece of paper?
    They protect their clients with teeth and nails, like everybody.

    1. Re:Lots of companies have that by Dale512 · · Score: 2

      Accounting does NOT have an equivalent of attorney-client privilege. So yes, I would expect that PW would hand over everything with a proper documentation and then challenge it after the fact.

    2. Re:Lots of companies have that by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Yeah we have this at my little nothing company too. What most companies don't have is a protocol to pull it off across a whole site in a few minutes. At most companies it will take hours, if not days, for an IT monkey to wipe somebody's phone/laptop after they report it lost.

    3. Re:Lots of companies have that by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Informative

      Subpoenas require you to hand over evidence, this was not a subpoena. This was a warrant, you are not required to assist with a warrant. So no, PW would not "hand over everything" for a warrant. The cops have to come and get it. If all the computers are locked, they are on their own getting it.

      There is a big difference.

    4. Re:Lots of companies have that by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You quite dumb in the ways of the world, grasshopper.

    5. Re:Lots of companies have that by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      What clients do you think Uber is protecting, and why do those 'clients' need protecting? Have they done anything?

    6. Re:Lots of companies have that by rickb928 · · Score: 1

      Excellent. And we've come full circle, where this is a similar argument for or against encryption. The difference is, can the corporation (or individual, actually) delete data upon being served a warrant, or are they immediately guilty of obstruction etc. because they were aware of the warrant? Are they under any obligation to NOT destroy evidence when asked for it?

      I'm even more glad I'm not a lawyer.

      --
      deleting the extra space after periods so i can stay relevant, yeah.
    7. Re:Lots of companies have that by edtice1559 · · Score: 2

      They can delete up on being served a warrant. They absolutely cannot upon being given a subpoena.

    8. Re:Lots of companies have that by MoralCharacter · · Score: 1

      Encryption enters into this point of the circle very little unless Quebec's law enforcement intend to hack into a database outside of the country. The article states the machines in the office were logged out of the network remotely. There is zero mention of HOW they were logged out. It could have been they were simply logged out normally (but remotely), or just as likely they were logged out because something like revoked access rights to the network - which would result in a machine being logged out too. Whomever put together and installed Ripley - and given it's intended use - likely didn't just log the machines out using the standard logout process. They would have done it irreparably (at least for as long as the raid was going on). Doing it this way would probably be even easier than running a logout script on each individual computer - just ban the raided offices IP addresses. Simple, low effort, efficient, and logs all critical systems out simultaneously. Police would have no way to prove an employee had obstructed the raid using Ripley rather than it being a coincidence that the computers just happened to lose access to all relevant remote documents when they raided. Again, this is because it's all handled remotely - out of their jurisdiction and their reach. Keep in mind that it WOULD be hard to finger who called in the Ripley activation if they could prove it because they probably weren't in the same room as the whistleblower when it was triggered. Look, it's unlikely Uber is using tiny offices. Police would have access to important computers the moment they burst through the entrance. If you're going to go as far as to put a system like Ripley in place, you're also probably not putting workstations with access to sensitive data within reach of a smash and grab in the lobby. Police would have needed to gain access to any areas of the building closed off by things like security clearance locks as well - a common security feature of tech offices. (Even my workplace with 100 employees has three areas behind RFID access locks). An employee would have the time it takes them to reach critical systems to phone it in or otherwise signal for it. Another post listed several ways to do it - closing a specific application on a computer, using a voip call, they could even have just had a big red novelty button with a RasPi in it that calls in a Ripley strike and then plays the song Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap for comical effect.

    9. Re:Lots of companies have that by mjwx · · Score: 1

      Did you think PriceWaterhouse et al would just give you everything just because some lowly policeman has a piece of paper?

      Absolutely they would .

      That "lowly policeman" caries the authority of the entire court system with that "piece of paper" (oh how Chamberlainian of you... or maybe you were channelling Dubya). PwC's (Pricewaterhouse Cooper), et al. primary responsibility is to protect its own arse, just like everybody. Without handing over everything included in the warrant, they will become and be charged as an accessory. Even if they refuse to hand over pertinent information that was not expressly requested in a warrant but PwC knew was illegal and related to the requested information, they can still be tried as an accessory. Public prosecutors will try to nail anyone acting as an accessory for just this reason.

      --
      Calling someone a "hater" only means you can not rationally rebut their argument.
  13. Normal security policy by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Sounds like good security to have a system in place to kick machines off your network remotely. This is against physical intrusion into your system. And it worked.

    It's a completely different matter that it happened to be the police with a warrant - obstruction of justice?

  14. Uber is a criminal organization ... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    I'm sorry, but Uber exists to decide laws don't apply to it, and no legitimate organization has in place a procedure to burn their computers remotely in the event of a police raid.

    Uber is pretty much the definition of a company which needs to be brought down, because it's little more than a criminal conspiracy.

    Uber has already drawn criminal inquiries from the U.S. Department of Justice for at least five other alleged schemes. In February, the New York Times exposed Uberâ(TM)s use of a software tool called Greyball, which showed enforcement officers a fake version of its app to protect drivers from getting ticketed.

    This is fucking insane. This is essentially pre-planned obstruction of justice, which should presumptively lead to the maximum penalty.

    I'm of the opinion that every employee of Uber should be carted off to jail and left there. Certainly in any jurisdiction where they've done this shit. EVERYTHING this company is pretty much intended to sidestep the law.

    Quebec and any other jurisdiction should go straight to "Uber is illegal, and we will arrest any employees and drivers".

    Absolutely un-fucking-believable. This is pretty much the worst example of a company ran by sociopaths I've ever heard of, and pretty much has no legitimacy whatsoever.

  15. They won by rsilvergun · · Score: 3, Interesting

    they managed to evade labor law long enough to get entrenched, buy off the necessary politicians and win. Nobody discusses forcing them to comply with minimum wage law. Nobody mentioned that there are millions of commercial drivers without the necessary insurance to protect passengers. No unemployment insurance, no OSHA. Nobody making sure their drivers don't work 30 hours straight off amphetamines, only the most casual background checks....
    They've managed to erode several hundred years worth of hard fought worker & consumer protections in about 20 years...

    --
    Hi! I make Firefox Plug-ins. Check 'em out @ https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/youtube-mp3-podcaster/
    1. Re:They won by ghoul · · Score: 1

      20 years? Try 10

      --
      **Life is too short to be serious**
    2. Re:They won by Kohath · · Score: 1, Flamebait

      Which is excellent. Someone finally beat the corrupt self-dealing government insiders at their own game. Cheers to Uber. Most of the world is now free to give others car ride for money. Uber won that freedom for us all.

    3. Re:They won by phantomfive · · Score: 1

      Good point. All the negativity around Uber lately has completely centered on things that can be blamed on the ex-CEO, while the company moves forward making tons of money.

      --
      "First they came for the slanderers and i said nothing."
    4. Re:They won by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      they managed to evade labor law long enough to get entrenched, buy off the necessary politicians and win. Nobody discusses forcing them to comply with minimum wage law. Nobody mentioned that there are millions of commercial drivers without the necessary insurance to protect passengers. No unemployment insurance, no OSHA. Nobody making sure their drivers don't work 30 hours straight off amphetamines, only the most casual background checks....

      They've managed to erode several hundred years worth of hard fought worker & consumer protections in about 20 years...

      Caution: the below promotes tolerance and is therefore not suitable reading for those on the left.

      All Uber have eroded, if anything, is the notion that these "consumer protections" must be enforced everywhere. If you don't like Uber, don't use them and don't drive for them. Recognise that millions of people around the world voluntarily interact with Uber and have enough respect for your fellow man to not simply dismiss all of Uber's drivers and customers as idiots. Live and let live.

    5. Re:They won by david_thornley · · Score: 1

      As long as there's an Uber driver on the road, I'm potentially involved. If an Uber driver hits me while on the way to pick up a passenger, my insurance has to pay for the damages, because the driver is unlikely to have commercial insurance and Uber won't cover it. If an Uber driver has been working for thirty-six hours straight to try to make money, the driver is more likely to hit me if I'm in the area.

      If millions of people around the world hired mob enforcers, I'd still want the mob out of business.

      --
      "When you have eliminated the unacceptable, whatever is left, however improbable, must be the truthiness" - Holmes
  16. it's not completely clear cut by supernova87a · · Score: 3, Interesting

    When exactly does it become obstruction of justice? After you're informed and instructed not to interfere with an investigation? Or before?

    If you delete a file on your laptop in the course of a normal day that no police is interested in, clearly that cannot be obstruction of justice. Even if 2 weeks later someone tells you that file was relevant to some investigation.

    If you actively push a police investigator with a valid warrant away from your computer and type a command to erase the laptop, clearly that could be called obstruction of justice.

    Now, how about if you erase your file after you read in the news that your general industry is being investigated for some wrongdoing? How about as you see the police pull up to your house? They haven't given you any notice that your files are of interest to "justice". How about as they knock on the door?

    Where is the line drawn?

    1. Re:it's not completely clear cut by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Interesting

      The law actually does define it quite clearly in all of your clear cut examples.

      Intent.

      If you delete a file because you no longer need it and it's uglying up your desktop, then you've committed no crime. If a LEO comes knocking and you delete it because you don't want them to find it, congrats, you're going to jail if they find out. If you read about your industry getting investigated and delete it because you're done with it, you're fine. If you read about your industry getting investigated and delete it "just in case we get investigated and we really don't want them to find it", congrats, you're going to jail if you get found out.

      The intent behind your deletion is everything. Regular house keeping with no ill intent, you're fine even if it does have evidence of illegal behavior. Deleting it because you know it contains evidence of illegal activity and you don't want to get caught, you're fucked if you get caught.

    2. Re:it's not completely clear cut by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      How about as you see the police pull up to your house?

      How about as you see someone that looks like they're probably the police, pull up to your house?

      How about as you see police pull up, but you're not sure whether or not they're correctly operating within their jurisdiction, and so far (admittedly, it's only been seconds) they haven't explained how they're legit, haven't shown a warrant that they may or may not have, etc.

    3. Re:it's not completely clear cut by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      It becomes obstruction of justice when the cops have a subpoena instead of a search warrant.

    4. Re:it's not completely clear cut by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      So, calling Ripley seems an action likely to result in the files getting deleted.

      If so, the making the call is like doing the delete.

      If this happened after the cops knocked and showed the warrant, then what was the intent?

    5. Re:it's not completely clear cut by Pascoea · · Score: 1

      So, calling Ripley seems an action likely to result in the files getting deleted.

      Read the article. (I know, I know) Nothing was deleted. All of their computers/devices are encrypted, this protocol just logs out the user/shuts down the machine. No data deleted, the police just can't get to it at that time.

    6. Re:it's not completely clear cut by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      It is not illegal to inform your manager of a lawfully executed court order.

    7. Re:it's not completely clear cut by h4ck7h3p14n37 · · Score: 1

      If you read about your industry getting investigated and delete it "just in case we get investigated and we really don't want them to find it", congrats, you're going to jail if you get found out.

      Nope, that's legal too. Plenty of places destroy business records so they can't be subpoenaed. Libraries started destroying patrons' borrowing records when the FBI started to come calling for them.

      The only time you get into legal trouble for destroying records is _after_ you've been asked for them (legally).

    8. Re:it's not completely clear cut by PPH · · Score: 1

      How about as you see police pull up,

      How do you know that they are cops? Toy badges and uniforms are cheap.

      --
      Have gnu, will travel.
    9. Re:it's not completely clear cut by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      But, but, but! You didn't tell me not to have sex with Jennifer! Jennifer is just not "another woman", and you only told me not to have sex with "another woman".

      Don't play the victim or the ignorant fool. If you knew, or you should have known, you just screwed yourself.

      When exactly does it become obstruction of justice?

      Mens rea. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/...
      Whether the Court can prove it or not, that is another story.

    10. Re:it's not completely clear cut by david_thornley · · Score: 1

      Plenty of places destroy business records so they can't be subpoena'd. They have policies saying to delete this at that time. That's perfectly legal. Libraries started deleting checkout records after return of the materials after the Patriot Act was passed. Again, this is a policy put in place, and it's perfectly legal. It doesn't matter how much the policy is tailored to possible legal trouble it's a policy.

      In neither of these cases is anyone deleting anything because they think it might be involved in an investigation. They're deleting things because there's a published policy to delete them at such and such a time. They may have to suspend the policy and keep records longer than the policy say once they're legally informed to do so.

      If it were legal to delete anything up until there's a specific request to preserve information, there'd be no need to have a formal retention policy, which companies tend to have.

      --
      "When you have eliminated the unacceptable, whatever is left, however improbable, must be the truthiness" - Holmes
  17. Re:Pretty common police 'tactic' for digital evide by Moof123 · · Score: 1

    Increasingly companies with deep pockets can evade the law through continual delays, impediments, and endless appeals, twisting the law to delay justice until it is moot. If a company like Uber can delay their judgement day a few years through these vile tactics it lets them illegally get the leg up on competitors and an opportunity to lobby for rule changes or even stack a few legislatures with candidates more favorable to them. Basically illegal actors can stay solvent longer than justice can stay effective.

    I'd like to see the right to a speedy trial applied in BOTH directions. The public who is impacted should have a right for these sort of asshats to be tried in a time effective fashion. A burglar doesn't politely asked to hand over any evidence in his house some time in the next year or two, why should these modern bandits get so much more benefit simply because they are huge?

  18. Safer to assume wrongdoing on their part by edgedmurasame · · Score: 1

    At the rate the company is going, they're asking to be put under the equivalent of a consent decree.

    --
    "Forget the engineers." -Carly Fiorina, briber of MIT Technology Review.
  19. Then take the network infrastructure. by edgedmurasame · · Score: 1

    Kind of hard to do business when your company has no infrastructure capable of doing it.

    --
    "Forget the engineers." -Carly Fiorina, briber of MIT Technology Review.
    1. Re:Then take the network infrastructure. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      "Quick! Grab their wireless signals!!"

      (Keystone cops running around with Faraday butterfly nets)

      "Whaddaya mean mesh network?!...well...shutdown their internet provider then!!"

      etc....

  20. Uber and evil? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Well, not in Estonia.

  21. Disingenuous: cf forced arbitration clauses by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Was anyone ever taken to court, charged and convicted of Sexual Harassment, or is this just another case of accusation and the label sticking?

    Yeah, because that's really an option for someone when Uber has a mandatory arbitration clause in their contracts disallowing you from taking your case to court. It makes a good soundbite to hollar "no court cases, no convictions, so innocent" but the reality is very different, and not just at Uber. If we ever get a government that cares about humans more than corporations again, we need to ban contract clauses that allow people to sign away their constitutional rights to speak out, to sue for redress, etc., but until then corporations like Uber will continue to bury their dirt, and those they've wronged, in arbitration where the outcome is a foregone conclusion that favors those who pay the bills--namely the corporation, and not the wronged individual.

    1. Re:Disingenuous: cf forced arbitration clauses by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      we need to ban contract clauses that allow people to sign away their constitutional rights to speak out, to sue for redress, etc.,

      It already is illegal. You CAN NOT sign away essential rights. However if you do accept the arbitration, that counts as a judgement and attempting to sue afterward fails on double-jeopardy grounds. On the other hand, if you refuse the arbitration, you have terminated your contract (which, depending on the situation, may be more unpleasant than accepting the arbitration).

    2. Re:Disingenuous: cf forced arbitration clauses by gfxguy · · Score: 2

      You're wrong, though - you can put an arbitration clause in your contract for civil matters, but not criminal matters. Sexual harassment is a criminal offense.

      --
      Stupid sexy Flanders.
    3. Re:Disingenuous: cf forced arbitration clauses by sexconker · · Score: 1

      Yeah, because that's really an option for someone when Uber has a mandatory arbitration clause in their contracts disallowing you from taking your case to court.

      If someone rapes or tries to rape you, no forced arbitration clause is going to prevent shit. (Unless the someone raping you is the government.)

    4. Re:Disingenuous: cf forced arbitration clauses by cayenne8 · · Score: 1

      Uber has a mandatory arbitration clause in their contracts disallowing you from taking your case to court.

      Err...that does NOT apply to criminal charges.

      Now, unless you are only looking to win $$ in a settlement and not have justice served, well, I think that speaks more about the alleged victim, doesn't it?

      --
      Light travels faster than sound. This is why some people appear bright until you hear them speak.........
    5. Re:Disingenuous: cf forced arbitration clauses by david_thornley · · Score: 1

      Suppose I'm a private US citizen, and someone commits a crime against me. I can't prosecute the criminal for the crime. That's done by the government, with the county attorney's office deciding who to prosecute. If it harms me (and crimes against me generally do), I can sue the perpetrator in civil court for damages.

      Moreover, criminal convictions are by proof beyond a reasonable doubt, and civil cases are decided by preponderance of the evidence. If I've got strong but not conclusive evidence that X did Y to me, I can win in a civil suit, but there may not be enough evidence for it to be worth prosecuting.

      --
      "When you have eliminated the unacceptable, whatever is left, however improbable, must be the truthiness" - Holmes
  22. Isn't... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    ... all that the very definition of "obstruction of justice"?

  23. Re:Pretty common police 'tactic' for digital evide by hey! · · Score: 3, Insightful

    There is another salient difference between a warrant and a subpoena: a subpoena requires the cooperation of the target. The writ obtains that cooperation viathreat of punishment -- in fact that's the root of the word: sub poena -- under punishment.

    However that threat is empty if you're never caught.

    If subpoenas truly compelled a suspect to turn over evidence, you'd never have to do anything like a high stakes drug raid. You'd simply have the court issue a writ ordering the suspect to turn over all the drugs and related records and wait for your evidence to show up at the court on the appointed date.

    So the choice of search warrant and subpoena in the case of a company like Uber depends on your estimate of their willingness to risk defying the law.

    --
    Post may contain irony: discontinue use if experiencing mood swings, nausea or elevated blood pressure.
  24. Big problem by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Big problem: that's a shitty way to treat every single suspect, most of which are almost certainly truly innocent (even if Uber isn't).

    It's not a viable policy; that's more of a policy you have if you were trying to bring about a situation where every citizen's duty would to kill every cop they can catch.

    If you advocate government thuggery, then you're advocating that we all need to start murdering cops. This isn't the way forward. We need to evolve policy so that killing cops is always the wrong thing to do, not the right thing to do. Otherwise, we won't be able to have any cops, i.e. you are taking a pro-crime stance.

    1. Re:Big problem by Opportunist · · Score: 1

      You see, our judges tend to be quite level headed and sensible. It usually takes a LOT of convincing to have them write warrants, except for one thing: If they feel you're trying to bullshit them, they can get VERY creative.

      Judges in Europe also tend to have a LOT more leeway when it comes to interpreting the law than in the US. Anything short of simply ignoring the law is pretty much fair game.

      Separation of power is all fine and nice, but at the end of the day, pretty much all the power rests in the hands of our judges. Should they ever get corrupted, we're FUBAR for good.

      --
      We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
  25. Re:Pretty common police 'tactic' for digital evide by rickb928 · · Score: 2

    In this modern world going to a judge and contesting a subpoena pretty much guarantees data being deleted, purged, or just modified.

    A proactive collection followed by challenges is common unless you're politically connected.

    --
    deleting the extra space after periods so i can stay relevant, yeah.
  26. Abuse of process is a MAJOR problem by mi · · Score: 1

    We'll take all the computers in your office. No evidence? Guess we'll return next week when you bought new equipment.

    That's called Abuse of Process — when the very mechanism of justice is used to punish those, who can not be proven guilty.

    Welcome to Europe.

    Europe, where citizens celebrate government's harassment...

    --
    In Soviet Washington the swamp drains you.
    1. Re:Abuse of process is a MAJOR problem by Megol · · Score: 4, Insightful

      That isn't abuse. If there are reason to believe criminal acts are happening and people refuse to co-operate with legal requests the material can and will be confiscated. It isn't punishment nor harassment - it's called an investigation.

      It never cease to amaze me that people don't understand basics and instead push forward legal arguments that aren't generally even internally consistent.

      Police: "We have reason to suspect you are violating rule X and according to law Y we request that you produce the material Z as you are required"
      Unter: "Nope, we don't wanna - it wuld be harrussment"
      Police: "Okay, have a good day"

    2. Re:Abuse of process is a MAJOR problem by mi · · Score: 1

      If there are reason to believe criminal acts are happening and people refuse to co-operate with legal requests the material can and will be confiscated. It isn't punishment nor harassment - it's called an investigation.

      Sure. But what Opportunist proposed is the deliberate confiscation of the suspected computers. Every time, multiple times:

      We'll take all the computers in your office. No evidence? Guess we'll return next week when you bought new equipment.

      That is abuse of process — Opportunist suggests, the weekly confiscations of the new equipment be used as punishment because the prosecutors can not prove any actual wrongdoing.

      It never cease to amaze me that people don't understand basics and instead push forward legal arguments that aren't generally even internally consistent.

      It never ceases to amaze me, how people illiterate in multiple senses of the word can still live seemingly fulfilling lives and are not only allowed outside without minders, but make Internet-postings even on sites purporting to attract intelligence.

      --
      In Soviet Washington the swamp drains you.
    3. Re:Abuse of process is a MAJOR problem by x0ra · · Score: 1

      Europe, where citizens begs for government's harassment...

      FWFY...

    4. Re:Abuse of process is a MAJOR problem by Opportunist · · Score: 1

      That's the difference between the US and Europe. In Europe, governments harass corporations trying to abuse the law, in the US, the governments conspires with corporations to abuse the law to harass the people...

      --
      We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
    5. Re:Abuse of process is a MAJOR problem by mi · · Score: 1

      That's the difference between the US and Europe.

      Yeah, in the US we prove guilt first — if we can — and then punish accordingly.

      In Europe, governments harass corporations

      As I suspected, you are glad for government engaging in harassment...

      the governments conspires with corporations to abuse the law to harass the people...

      This does not even make sense. As don't most of your postings, I might add...

      --
      In Soviet Washington the swamp drains you.
    6. Re:Abuse of process is a MAJOR problem by dywolf · · Score: 1

      Yeah, in the US we prove guilt first — if we can — and then punish accordingly.

      Really? Cause you never held yourself to that standard where Clinton was concerned.

      --
      The guy who said the election was rigged won the presidency with the second-most votes.
    7. Re:Abuse of process is a MAJOR problem by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Really? Cause you never held yourself to that standard where Clinton was concerned.

      So when he talked about the American vs European system as a whole, you attacked him as an individual...

      Of the countless of ways and rebuttals you could have responded, you choose the one that makes you look like the bigger pettier partisan ass..

      (reminds me of how the Ds could have chosen anyone but Hillary to run against Trump)

    8. Re:Abuse of process is a MAJOR problem by david_thornley · · Score: 1

      Yeah, in the US we prove guilt first — if we can — and then punish accordingly.

      That's the theory. In practice, bad things can happen that aren't legally punishment. You can have your stuff searched and seized on probable cause, not proof beyond a reasonable doubt. That's with the government doing the legal thing every step of the way, which doesn't always happen. You can be in a position where you feel compelled to pay a lawyer a lot of money, if you're being investigated. You can be indicted on plausibility arguments; the grand jury is supposed to issue an indictment if the prosecution's case would be sufficient to convict if there was no successful defense. You can be arrested and held on bail.

      --
      "When you have eliminated the unacceptable, whatever is left, however improbable, must be the truthiness" - Holmes
    9. Re:Abuse of process is a MAJOR problem by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      That isn't abuse. If there are reason to believe criminal acts are happening and people refuse to co-operate with legal requests the material can and will be confiscated. It isn't punishment nor harassment - it's called an investigation.

      By your reasoning, we should be able to confiscate most computers used by government and by the legal profession in the USA, a nation where government at all levels routinely violates it's own Bill of Rights - and the legal system has massive legal ethics problems.

      Violation of fundamental rights "under the colour of law" has been a criminal offence under US federal law for a long time.

      It isn't punishment nor harassment - it's called an investigation.

  27. What a heart warming story! by robkeeney · · Score: 1

    Anytime the blood sucking leeches who contribute nothing are thwarted, I cheer.

  28. This sounds like there's a detail missing ... by quietwalker · · Score: 2

    The summary reports, "The investigators left without any evidence." They had a warrant, they could have grabbed the physical machinery. Depending on the type of data, they could have compelled the company to turn over access methods... Why no evidence?

    Ah.

    Because what they wanted was not physically present in the jurisdiction the warrant was issued in. They were trying to gain legal-on-their-side but likely considered unauthorized use and access of the company's intranet via an employee's existing login session. Like how some people might consider it totally fair to send themselves a copy of all the email you've ever sent because you left your phone unlocked or a browser open.

    This is all based on an assumption, but I can't think of anything else that fits the bill. If so, that's pretty shady work on the part of the police. Replace 'Quebec' with any other country, or Uber with any other corporation (or agency) and the justification falls apart.

    * It was okay for the _Foreign Government_ to access all the _Domestic Government agency emails_ because they (legally) confiscated a laptop that was still logged in.
    etc.

    You might think this is the right thing to do when the target is someone you feel is morally bankrupt, like drug dealers, terrorists, uber, or westboro baptists, but that justification can just as easily be used by bad actors against peaceful protestors, political opponents, spouses, and so on.

    I'd be more surprised if something like this isn't widely set as policy in any multinational company, especially those with subtle or overt government pressure against them or their country of origin. It's just good policy.

    1. Re:This sounds like there's a detail missing ... by Avidiax · · Score: 1

      Precisely this. Modern companies usually have very little data on-site. It's all in the cloud. They didn't want what was in the office, they wanted the connection to the cloud.

      The authorities actually wanted to raid the datacenter in the U.S., Amazon's cloud, gDrive, etc.

      But that would involve a subpoena, and those are slow and can be contested before the fact. Much easier to show up before lunch one fine day and start twisting arms and making bogus personal threats to employees, deny legal counsel, compel people's passwords, and start digging around a bunch of online data, imaging live machines through the Thunderbolt bus, grab passwords, cookies, keying material, etc.

  29. Shocked by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Uber, doing something sleazy? I'm shocked.

  30. Uber RESISTS - major props by mi · · Score: 1

    Whether or not Uber is breaking laws, those laws should not exist. If I can give you a ride, I can also ask you for money — and we both can use the Internet to arrange the meeting and the payment-transaction. No one is forced to work for Uber and no one is compelled to use them either.

    Major props to Uber for resisting the oppression.

    --
    In Soviet Washington the swamp drains you.
    1. Re:Uber RESISTS - major props by david_thornley · · Score: 1

      If you can give me a ride, you can ask me for money. At that point, it's commercial driving, and you need to be properly licensed and insured. Insurance is the biggie here: you need to have some way to pay at least a minimum amount should you cause an accident. Otherwise, you're endangering people without having the legal right to do so.

      --
      "When you have eliminated the unacceptable, whatever is left, however improbable, must be the truthiness" - Holmes
  31. Common sense to have a tool like that by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    When I worked at Amazon we had a similar tool, and we had specific wikis detailing its use. Since so much of Amazons Cloudfront is in remote Colo facilities, where it has no staff, this tool is essential security measure. From my knowledge it has been deployed it a couple of different times after police executed search on a Colo's other customers, but the warrant gave them access to our cages. We also had police try to enter facilities in other countries trying to get data, and the police had no search warrant or its equivalent, so the tool loaded up ready to be executed. This was all done to protect customer data, the number one priority.

  32. Re:Pretty common police 'tactic' for digital evide by Wrath0fb0b · · Score: 1

    Subpoenas have time limits associated with them. Judges can hand out sanctions for raising frivolous challenges or not responding in a timely manner.

    Remember that whatever rules you empower for the government to go after Uber, they can use to go after anyone else. That's the purpose of the quote from Bolt.

  33. Re:Pretty common police 'tactic' for digital evide by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    You had some credibility until you appealed to "respect for the rule of law" to defend Uber.

  34. Exactly. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    The outrage here is puzzling. If a cop demanded your phoneâ(TM)s password without a warrant, everyone here would be on the side of the person that locks it. Uber wasnâ(TM)t deleting anything, and said they comply with any lawful data request. This is simply remotely blocking fishing expeditions, but hey, Uber BAAAAAAAAAD!

    1. Re:Exactly. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Informative

      Except the cops had a warrant.

    2. Re:Exactly. by Frobnicator · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Except the cops had a warrant.

      Warrants allow for searches and seizures. And that is what police did. But a warrant for the machines doesn't mean the company needs to help officers access accounts, read the data, nor help by decoding or decrypting them.

      There are many legal tools if the authorities want to obtain specific documents and records. An unannounced visit to seize computer equipment is typically the worst of those tools. The searches are often sloppy and (for those who are prepared) the searches are easily overcome by measures like those in the story. Authorities love "snatch and grab" because the surprise often grants access to a wide range of other secondary data, also including ad-hoc statements and access to items that are nearby on whiteboards and both on and inside desks and at the time of the police break-in.

      The company still has a fight ahead, but the policy generally is a strong case that they were protecting user's data rather than obstructing justice. Agents had an order to seize computers, the computers were seized. If agents produce an order to produce specific documents, I'm sure they could be produced. They complied with the requests while also protecting private information of millions of customers. That isn't obstruction.

      If they actually destroyed their data, or if they altered or falsified data, those actions would be obstruction. But locking down records for proper data preservation and basic data security are not obstruction.

      --
      //TODO: Think of witty sig statement
    3. Re:Exactly. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      This isn't data preservation, unless you are implying that Uber offices with specific remote access systems don't backup data regularly offsite. This isn't basic data security; encryption and password access are basic data security. This is very specifically a government authority with court approval for access to those records, being prevented from accessing those records. The software didn't trigger when the person left their computer, it triggered when they sent a text to a specific number. If someone doesn't give up a password to an encrypted hard drive the court says it needs access to, then that person goes to jail. Pretty basic stuff here.

  35. Paging lawyers is what you do when you are raided by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I doubt Uber is the only company that tells their managers to page a response team if they are raided. Usually you want to get a lawyer onsite as quickly as possible. As for them remotely logging off computers... that also seems completely reasonable. The warrant is to take things at the site. Remote logoff only prevents them from accessing things not onsite.

    I am not exactly thrilled with Uber's past business practices, but this is exactly what I would do in this situation.

  36. Once again, Uber is my hero. by jwbales · · Score: 0

    It warms my heart to see the good guys put one over on the bad guys.

  37. Torn by rtkluttz · · Score: 0

    I'm both happy and sad about this. I hate seeing corporations fly above the law, but its about damn time that some body (company) stood up to the pay to play scheme that Taxi and other systems support. I will choose who I want to ride with, thank you very much. I am willing to accept the consequences if I choose poorly. Government needs to stay the hell out of it.

    --
    Digital is, by definition, imperfect. Analog is the way to go.
    1. Re:Torn by PPH · · Score: 1

      The down sides of an unregulated taxi market have already been demonstrated: bodies found floating in the East River. So a government entity steps in and takes over control of the market. Then, the previous players figure out how to game the system. In the end, the government maintains its monopoly on violence, allowing the lower level corruption to continue.

      --
      Have gnu, will travel.
  38. somehow this is news? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    This should be well within the capabilities of any decent IT department for a global company with satellite offices. The reporters are over sensationalizing something that should be a standard procedure, I can think of many scenarios where such abilities would be useful:

    Disgruntled employee
    Office Infected with malware
    Unannounced layoffs
    Device deployment
    Operating system patch management

    To say that this was some super secret procedure is disingenuous and portrays a lack of understanding of fundamental IT concepts. About the only thing secret in this entire story is that the managers were given a number to call if the cops showed up, all of the rest of it is considered standard IT capabilities. Its all just to make a story about a procedure to call the higher ups when the cops show up sensational with a bit of tech wizardry

  39. And so what? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    All that was happening is the the local Montreal computers no longer had access to data in San Francisco. Nothing was destroyed.

  40. Re:Pretty common police 'tactic' for digital evide by Kohath · · Score: 2

    In this time of NSA snooping and privacy concerns, its amazing to see so many people siding with police raiding people and seizing documents by the millions to fish for evidence.

    What was Uber's great crime again? Giving people car rides for money? What kind of person thinks heavy-handed government raids to interfere with car rides are legitimate and just?

  41. Search Warrants exist for a reason. by rsilvergun · · Score: 2

    They're Used to seize evidence when police have a reasonable expectation evidence would be destroyed if subpoenaed. It's up to a judge to decide if that expectation is warranted (pun not intended). In Uber's case we now have definitive proof that they intended from the get go to destroy evidence. They'd built an entire business process around it.

    If we take your ideas to their logical conclusion police lose search warrants as a tool and must rely on subpoenas. But if they're not allowed to do a forceful search they're at the mercy of the person being subpoenaed. I somehow doubt that, if Uber had no fear whatsoever of a search warrant, that they would share incriminating documents.

    --
    Hi! I make Firefox Plug-ins. Check 'em out @ https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/youtube-mp3-podcaster/
    1. Re:Search Warrants exist for a reason. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      What proof? All Uber did was remotely lock their workstations so they couldn't be used by unauthorized personnel.

      You're leaping to conclusions that Uber did this so they could destroy evidence.

    2. Re:Search Warrants exist for a reason. by Wrath0fb0b · · Score: 1

      First, it's not clear to me that any evidence was destroyed. That's a claim that needs to be supported.

      Second, I'm not sure what 'idea' you are thinking that I'm concluding here? I just wanted to make it clear there was a tactical decision that police made, that they make it often and that it comes with both benefits (surprise, access to incidental disclosure, contemporaneous statements, PR) and downsides (no duty to assist in any way, need to do your own forensics, you only get what you catch). I'm not advocating that police are not permitted to use both, at their discretion, when the law permits.

      [ By the way, for the civil liberties minded: in the US a warrant requires probable cause whereas a subpoena doesn't. So in some sense the subpoena is a superior tool because it has a lower burden of proof associated to its issuance. ]

  42. Let me hear you say that again by rsilvergun · · Score: 2

    when you're earning $1/hour living in a shanty town. Yeah, yeah, you'll run your own business. It'll get run out of business by mega corps who can undercut your prices. Then you'll go to work for one of those mega corps for enough food to make it through the day...

    --
    Hi! I make Firefox Plug-ins. Check 'em out @ https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/youtube-mp3-podcaster/
    1. Re:Let me hear you say that again by Kohath · · Score: 1

      You know "I made up a science fiction story" isn't really an argument, right?

  43. Uber seems to be behaving... by rnturn · · Score: 1

    ... like a two-bit criminal organization but instead of keeping their records out of the law's hand by igniting old-fashioned flash paper they're written on with a cigarette, they're using a digital equivalent by killing all the logins to Uber headquarters from the office that's called in. I can't see this scheme working for much longer.

    --
    CUR ALLOC 20195.....5804M
    1. Re:Uber seems to be behaving... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      ... like a two-bit criminal organization but instead of keeping their records out of the law's hand by igniting old-fashioned flash paper they're written on with a cigarette, they're using a digital equivalent by killing all the logins to Uber headquarters from the office that's called in. I can't see this scheme working for much longer.

      True enough. We can't expect a two-bit criminal organisation to exist for long with such tricks when they're being actively attacked by the multi-million dollar criminal organisation that is the Government of Canada. Still, it's pleasing to see situations where defense is cheaper than attack because I believe this is key to a peaceful world.

  44. Re:Pretty common police 'tactic' for digital evide by Shatrat · · Score: 1

    If Uber can be compelled to give access to records without a subpoena, we all can be. I'm not an Uber fan, but I don't have a problem with this behavior.

    --
    09 F9 11 02 9D 74 E3 5B D8 41 56 C5 63 56 88 C0
  45. Whoosh by SuperKendall · · Score: 1

    You don't know how deductions work, do you?

    I know really well how deductions work, apparently you don't know much about shady accounting practices some companies use.

    And no, you don't get to declare "any value you can document", you only get to declare the actual cost

    Right, "actual cost". Which is verified by what... Starting to understand yet? No? Can't help you friend.

    --
    "There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley
    1. Re:Whoosh by tattood · · Score: 1

      Right, "actual cost". Which is verified by what... Starting to understand yet? No? Can't help you friend.

      Actual cost, verified by the price on the invoice or receipt for the product when you bought it.

      --
      WTB [sig], PST!!!
    2. Re:Whoosh by Cederic · · Score: 1

      Right, "actual cost". Which is verified by what... Starting to understand yet? No? Can't help you friend.

      Receipts.

      Do you actively fucking enjoy being investigated for tax fraud?

    3. Re:Whoosh by SuperKendall · · Score: 1

      Receipts.

      Yes, because a piece of paper that may or may not be from some other company is SO ACCURATE.

      It's not like those can be faked or perhaps the other company is ALSO owned by the same company that owns yours so, you know? You don't know?

      Do you actively fucking enjoy being investigated for tax fraud?

      *I* do not play those games because ended, crossing the IRS is a bad idea. But I have seen companies that, shall we say, fudge things. The fact you are arguing this is not possible makes you retarded. HIGHLY retarded.

      As I said, I really cannot help you.

      --
      "There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley
    4. Re:Whoosh by Cederic · · Score: 1

      No, you'd need to be intelligent, understand what I am and am not arguing and have the fucking sense not to call people retards before you could help me.

      But that's fine, you're probably too old to buy a fucking clue now.

    5. Re:Whoosh by LynnwoodRooster · · Score: 1

      I know really well how deductions work, apparently you don't know much about shady accounting practices some companies use.

      I kind of have to disagree here, I don't think you know how they work. For a deduction to work, you first have to have something to deduct it from - like gross profit. Considering Uber doesn't make any, it's hard to take a deduction. Burning $180 million a month isn't too good of a platform for allowing deductions.

      --
      Browsing at +1 - no ACs, I ignore their posts. So refreshing!
    6. Re:Whoosh by Hognoxious · · Score: 1

      It's not like those can be faked

      Invoices have the supplier's name, address, VAT/reg number etc printed on them. It's not hard to check.

      or perhaps the other company is ALSO owned by the same company that owns yours so, you know? You don't know?

      If they're providing invoices with exaggerated amounts it either won't match their own accounts (in which case they're in deep shit) or they'll be inflating their revenues and paying more tax than they should.

      --
      Confucius say, "Find worm in apple - bad. Find half a worm - worse."
    7. Re: Whoosh by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Are you retarded?

      They make revenue in every place they operate.

      They do not out-spend revenue in every place they operate.

      You sound like a fucking moron...

    8. Re: Whoosh by LynnwoodRooster · · Score: 1

      Revenue != profit. Deductions lower your taxes, which are paid on profit, not revenue.

      --
      Browsing at +1 - no ACs, I ignore their posts. So refreshing!
  46. Re:Pretty common police 'tactic' for digital evide by Pascoea · · Score: 1

    Their tactics would lead a person to believe that this is some lawmaker looking to make life difficult for uber. Had they subpoenaed records it would be a pain for Uber to collect what was demanded, but their operations would continue. If the police use a warrant to "collect evidence" (IE every computer, phone, tablet, etc.) that sure as hell would slow them down for a while.

    From a legal perspective, if the police come barging through my front door demanding my phone I don't believe I'm required to unlock it for them. (And I'm sure as hell not going to do with without consulting a lawyer) Same for my computer. Assuming both are encrypted, that leaves them SoL. As long as the application they have isn't deleting data, I see no harm in a "lock all of my devices" button.

  47. "without evidence"?? If this isn't evidence, ... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    then what is it?

    It's evidence of deliberately obstructing the investigation of something that they, now proven, fully know will be considered criminal.

    Yes, it's still good to assume cops in general will "find" something, and so they shouldn't be allowed to look into anything unnecessarily.

    But uuum, they have a warrant, so they can order them to unlock the systems. And I mean it's not like you can't stick in a PCIe card or something and funnel off all the data past the OS, but using any decryption keys it still has. And if it's not encrypted, just shut the thing down and take out the disks.

  48. Re: If a remote network command can thwart police by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Uber may be evil, but you can never say they aren't creative.

  49. Two words by SuperKendall · · Score: 1

    DOUBLE WHOOSH.

    As I said, I cannot help you, when you choose not to see or think.

    --
    "There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley
  50. Re:If a remote network command can thwart police . by vtcodger · · Score: 1

    Alternatively, if a mere network command can brick Uber in a region ... er, well, insert devastating finish here.

    --
    You can't see ANYTHING from a car, You've got to get out of the goddamned contraption and walk...Edward Abbey
  51. and take the routers and switches as well by Joe_Dragon · · Score: 1

    and take the routers and switches as well. $300-$1000+ per unit a week adds up fast.

  52. lol...wut?! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    "Cheap" clients, plus monitors, keyboards, mice, conference room camera and mic setups, all networking gear and cabling, every flash drive found on the premises, every surge protector, every copier, fax machine and printer, etc.

    (advertisement starts up on youtube clip);

    "Work at Uber and you can work from home!!! Use our teleconference and VPN software with ease!! No crappy commute!!
    We've also gone paperless so no messy printers/copiers/wtfisafaxmachine!!
    We've saved so much on brickandmortar rental space taxes, we're passing on the savings to you!! TAXFREE!!!"

    Plus haul in a few employees and hold em as long as possible, threaten them with charges like obstruction of justice, destroying evidence, etc. Not sure what applies in Canada, but I"m sure there's plenty they could do if they wanted to.

    (advertisement continues...);
    (scene with snow-sprinkled canadian with mounted police boot on his head);

    "...but what about us living in fascist countries with uber-cops kicking down doors looking for eeeeevil profitable businesses that people love to use"
    "[announcer]....Good question my friend!!...Come to Anywhereelseland!! Your Uber job is waiting!! It's warm here!!" ...also i dunno what happened to arcadecity but...yeah...with monero....and hookers :)

  53. That's pretty clever by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Here's hoping a lot more companies put similar policies in place. Uber, as usual, is leading the way and being disruptive (although when I think about it, this seems like a perfectly reasonable response and something that everybody should have in place anyway.)

    Also, score one for "the cloud" because in this case having all your shit stored remotely literally saved the day. Now the police in Quebec can get back to the important jobs of hunting down people who dare to put English signs out in public, killing black people, and helping the locals harass the shit out of anybody who might appear to be Muslim.

  54. Re:Pretty common police 'tactic' for digital evide by Wrath0fb0b · · Score: 1

    The point was, if you go in with a warrant, you take your chances on whether the objects of your search are there. You don't get the active help of the target to preserve/collect/deliver anything.

    In other words, it's a practical choice. Do you want to retain the element of surprise? Fine, that method works like this. Do you want to compel the target to provide you with all responsive documents under pain of sanctions, fine, that method works like this.

  55. Re:Pretty common police 'tactic' for digital evide by Wrath0fb0b · · Score: 1

    So the choice of search warrant and subpoena in the case of a company like Uber depends on your estimate of their willingness to risk defying the law.

    Indeed. Fully agree. Your choice should also depend on your estimate of your ability to actually secure the records that you are after by serving a warrant.

    Uber isn't the only technology company that sees the physical seizure of digital records (not necessarily even by the police, mind you -- and once built an 'unexpected visitor' system is as effective against a thief as it is against a warrant) as a risk. The more they build against it, the more it suggests that working a subpoena through the courts is the way to go.

    The best investigators are patient. Sadly their management sometimes doesn't appreciate the merits of a detailed investigation.

  56. Re: If a remote network command can thwart police by another_twilight · · Score: 5, Insightful

    They're providing cheaper transportation fares despite gov't regulations that protect entrenched taxi companies from upstart competitors

    While avoiding paying taxes and paying their 'workers' less than labour laws require.

    They aren't shouldering a share of the costs of the community/society from which they are making money and they aren't paying enough to their workers to meet the requirements of the law. If the labour laws are poor, incomplete or even corrupt - change them. But a company making an end-run around them is not a useful solution.

    Government created/protected monopolies exist (ideally) in industries where competition would be harmful to the industry and/or society. Taxis are a good example of this. Unregulated competition creates a race to the bottom with desperate drivers in cars that are barely roadworthy competing to find a fare, then having to find a way to milk that fare to cover costs.

    However, these monopolies must be regularly challenged and scrutinised to prevent the sort of entrenched corruption that becomes almost inevitable. To that extent, I think start-ups that challenge monopolies are fantastic. But that becomes a fig leaf when the company is simply exploiting the community (no/low tax) and their workers (avoiding labour laws). The potential benefit of shaking up an entrenched player does not justify breaking the law, nor the sort of exploitation that the regulation/monopoly was created to prevent.

  57. Re: If a remote network command can thwart police by MoaDweeb · · Score: 3, Interesting

    I'm my land the taxi industry was reregulated in 1990 and although there have been numerous small players comes and go the established players are still there with some additions. Cetianly not as profitable.
    this was backed up by regulation: separate endorsements for licence, log books, police checks, in car cameras etc.

    Uber did none of these until recently when the law was changed to help them and they are now fulfilling most of these conditions.

    The other way Uber rip off their competitors is this whole 'ride-sharing' lie, they have the drivers register for GST (the local VAT equivalent) but the drivers pay no GST because no one earns over the $40k that requires a return. (After all they are 'independent contractors eh?)
    Established/ any other taxi company collect & pay GST at an enterprise level so Uber gets a 15% tax-free break.
    That means they are also ripping off the taxpayer but our Republican/ Conservative major political party analogue (National) just sucked their dick and agreed to let them go their way.

    They are not a technology company they are a transportation company using their drivers (through depreciation of their cars etc.) and the taxpayer to fund their lying, duplicitous ways.

    --
    New Zealanders are well balanced with a chip on each shoulder. One represents Australia, the other the rest of the world
  58. Sued? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    WTF? This is straight up felony obstruction of justice.

    Asset forfeiture of their IT system, arrest & prosecution of management. Put them on Interpol list.

  59. Tell that to all the small businesses by rsilvergun · · Score: 1

    who were run out of business by Walmart. As for the wages, tell that to the literally billions of people paid subsistence wages in China, India, Africa, and even wealthy spots like Dubai. America's middle class is an anomaly that came about from the aftermath of WWII and communism. WWII destroyed the world's infrastructure leaving us the only industrialized country for 30 years and communism scared businesses too much to outsource. Both those pressures are gone. Meanwhile the working class didn't just get back from saving the world so they're ready to be shit on all over again. They've stopped demanding education, Unions and better pay and gone back to fighting among themselves over wedge issues.

    Spend some time on google learning about the way the world actually works. Folks like you are patsies being used to prop up the aristocracy. The sooner you learn that the sooner you can stop being taken advantage of.

    --
    Hi! I make Firefox Plug-ins. Check 'em out @ https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/youtube-mp3-podcaster/