Yesterday, I mentioned a couple of computer viruses that scared me and discussed one that hijacks your computer and deposits kiddie porn. Today's virus looks for child pornography on your computer!
A computer virus that was possibly intended to perform a public service, raises legal questions and seems sure to fuel the debate over computer privacy.
This virus, VBS.Noped.a, searches the target's machine for what it suspects may be child pornography and reports the names of files to the police. There are no reports of police officials acting on this kind of results as of yet. Antivirus software companies say it has not yet been distributed widely.
This virus was spotted by computer security companies back in May 2001. It arrived as an attachment to an e-mail message titled, ''FWD: Help us ALL to END ILLEGAL child porn NOW.'' When the recipient opened the attachment, child pornography statutes appeared on screen. The program then searched the user's hard drive for picture files that have pornographic-sounding names and then sent an e-mail message and a list of suspect files to a law enforcement agency picked at random from the program's database.
The message sent to the police said:: ''Hi, 'This is Antipedo2001. I have found a PC with known child pornography files on the hard drive. I have included a listing below and included a sample for your convenience.''
The virus also sent out copies of itself to addresses in the victim's e-mail address book.
Besides the program's invasive nature, the virus's search software was apt to falsely identify files as containing child pornography solely based on the filename. Police acting on these false results would cause irreparable harm to innocent computer owners.
Law enforcement agencies cannot search an individual's computer without a warrant, but they can and do use anonymous tips as part of their probable cause. A Justice Department lawyer said that law enforcement officials could legally conduct a search based on the tip, but added, ''That's a very different question from 'would law enforcement ever open an investigation based on that information?' ''
Perhaps the most troubling aspect of this is the havoc that the virus could wreak on the reputation of people with no involvement in child pornography.
There is no limit as to how far this information could spread. Local news organizations could receive information and report that a parent was under investigation as a for certain sex crimes. All this would be the result of an unwarranted and illegal entry to your private computer.
There were no known filtering-analysis programs that could accurately determine whether an image is of child pornography when this virus first appeared back in 2001. Now we have better methods for detecting child pornography based on hash marks and registered images.
Scary stuff!
Showing posts with label computer virus. Show all posts
Showing posts with label computer virus. Show all posts
Wednesday, November 11, 2009
Tuesday, November 10, 2009
Did the dog really eat my homework?
I almost want to throw my computer away after learning about a couple of stories this week regarding computer viruses.
Computer viruses can wipe out your hard drive, trash your data, steal your personal information, and take over your computer, but this virus might be the worst: This virus can make you an unsuspecting collector of child pornography. Viruses can store illegal pictures and videos by the malicious programs better known for stealing personal information. In this scenario, it's your reputation that's stolen.
Pedophiles are using virus-infected PCs to remotely store and view their collections without fear of being detected. These viruses can also cause your computer to surf illegal Web sites. The result is that you get kiddie porn on your computer — and might not realize it until police knock at your door with a warrant.
An Associated Press investigation found cases in which innocent people have been branded as pedophiles after their co-workers or loved ones stumbled upon kiddie porn placed on a PC through a virus. This type of defense has been tried with mixed results in the past and it is one which is viewed with skepticism by law enforcement. It will costs potential victims hundreds of thousands of dollars to prove their innocence.
One case occurred when a victim's employer became suspicious after the Internet bill for his state-issued laptop showed that he used 4 1/2 times more data than his colleagues. A technician found pornographic images of children in the PC folder that stores images viewed online. The victim was fired and charged with possession of child pornography, which has a potential of sentence of up to five years in prison. He endured death threats, his car tires were slashed and he was shunned by friends.
The victim and his wife spent $250,000 on legal fees to fight the case . This required liquidating their savings, taking a second mortgage and selling their car. This also caused health problems from the stress they endured.
The defense conducted a forensic investigation that revealed the laptop was infected with a virus. The virus programmed the computer to visit as many as 40 child porn sites per minute — an inhuman feat. While the victim was away from home one night, someone logged on to the computer and porn flowed in for an hour and a half.
Prosecutors performed another test and confirmed the defense findings. The charge was dropped — 11 months after it was filed.
"It's an example of the old `dog ate my homework' excuse," says Phil Malone, director of the Cyberlaw Clinic at Harvard's Berkman Center for Internet and Society. "The problem is, sometimes the dog does eat your homework."
Computer viruses can wipe out your hard drive, trash your data, steal your personal information, and take over your computer, but this virus might be the worst: This virus can make you an unsuspecting collector of child pornography. Viruses can store illegal pictures and videos by the malicious programs better known for stealing personal information. In this scenario, it's your reputation that's stolen.
Pedophiles are using virus-infected PCs to remotely store and view their collections without fear of being detected. These viruses can also cause your computer to surf illegal Web sites. The result is that you get kiddie porn on your computer — and might not realize it until police knock at your door with a warrant.
An Associated Press investigation found cases in which innocent people have been branded as pedophiles after their co-workers or loved ones stumbled upon kiddie porn placed on a PC through a virus. This type of defense has been tried with mixed results in the past and it is one which is viewed with skepticism by law enforcement. It will costs potential victims hundreds of thousands of dollars to prove their innocence.
One case occurred when a victim's employer became suspicious after the Internet bill for his state-issued laptop showed that he used 4 1/2 times more data than his colleagues. A technician found pornographic images of children in the PC folder that stores images viewed online. The victim was fired and charged with possession of child pornography, which has a potential of sentence of up to five years in prison. He endured death threats, his car tires were slashed and he was shunned by friends.
The victim and his wife spent $250,000 on legal fees to fight the case . This required liquidating their savings, taking a second mortgage and selling their car. This also caused health problems from the stress they endured.
The defense conducted a forensic investigation that revealed the laptop was infected with a virus. The virus programmed the computer to visit as many as 40 child porn sites per minute — an inhuman feat. While the victim was away from home one night, someone logged on to the computer and porn flowed in for an hour and a half.
Prosecutors performed another test and confirmed the defense findings. The charge was dropped — 11 months after it was filed.
"It's an example of the old `dog ate my homework' excuse," says Phil Malone, director of the Cyberlaw Clinic at Harvard's Berkman Center for Internet and Society. "The problem is, sometimes the dog does eat your homework."
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