Re: Case Security Question

From: Colin B. (cbigam_at_somewhereelse.nucleus.com)
Date: 09/29/05

  • Next message: Justin Case: "Re: Case Security Question" 
    Date: Wed, 28 Sep 2005 22:02:49 GMT

    Justin Case <me@noplace.com> wrote:
    >
    > "Colin B." <cbigam@somewhereelse.nucleus.com> wrote in message
    > news:433ae771@news.nucleus.com...
    >> Justin Case <me@noplace.com> wrote:
    >>> This may seem like an odd ball question. I have a sister
    >>> who asked me to look at her husbands computer.
    >>> They are going through a divorce, she wants to
    >>> know what is on his computer. He is a computer
    >>> security specialist dealing with banking networks.
    >>
    >> At this point, my advice is to step away from the situation entirely.
    >> The guy may be an ***. He may be viewing illegal porn (and what
    >> exactly
    >> do you mean by "illegal?" Is it kiddy porn?). He may deserve to be in jail
    >> for his actions, but if you start mucking about with his computer, YOU
    >> might
    >> end up on the wrong side of the law, especially if he has confidential
    >> banking information on his computer.
    >>
    >> If there is a legitimate belief that he has illegal material, then go to
    >> the police, have the thing confiscated, whatever is necessary through the
    >> official channels. If he's a security specialist, then there's probably no
    >> bloody way you can get into his machine, unless he's incompetent.
    >>
    >> I'm not saying don't get involved, but I AM saying don't get yourself into
    >> more trouble than you might cause for him. Keep in mind that in most
    >> western countries, illegally obtained evidence is inadmissible in court.
    >>
    >> Colin
    >
    > I understand what you are saying, however according to her lawyer,
    > the computer is common property, meaning they both own it.
    > I don't think she wants him to go to jail, she still needs to support
    > 5 children. She didn't tell me "kiddy porn", but said he had the
    > ability to hack porn wedsites and downloaded videos.
    > Maybe video chats and such? There is no financial record she knows of.
    > She did mention he has had a addiction to porn for years and this
    > is destroying their marriage. What the content is, I don't know.
    > She wants a copy of his hard drive.

    Has her lawyer mentioned that the machine being common property doesn't
    necessarily mean that the data on it is? Or that if it _is_ common, then
    so is the liability for any illegal material, until proven otherwise?
    There's also a vast difference between illegal content, and legal content
    that's been illegally obtained.

    If she has a right to the machine (which according to the lawyer, she does),
    then I'd take the computer, have the LAWYER give it to a data security
    firm to copy, and then return it. Two complicating factors exist here:

    1) If the machine is booby trapped, it may well destroy the data when
    someone tries to copy it. Fairly easy to manage, if he _really_ wants to
    protect his data from prying eyes.
    2) I get the impression that you'd like this done 'on the quiet,' i.e.
    without the soon-to-be-ex finding out. That gets tougher to take the machine
    away for a day or so. He's probably suspicious already, if he came to a
    black screen.

    Colin

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