A Brooklyn artist says he had his computers taken away by the U.S. Secret Service when word about his recent art project got out, according to an exclusive report by Mashable.
Kyle McDonald wanted to document the way people interacted with computers. So, without permission, he installed software on public computers in two Apple Stores in New York, that took a photo a minute of anything and anyone in front of it. The photos were automatically sent to his home computers.
Why does the Secret Service have this authority?? We are over-policed in this country.
Kyle McDonald wanted to document the way people interacted with computers.
So, without permission,
he installed software on public computers in two Apple Stores in New York, that took a photo a minute of anything and anyone in front of it. The photos were automatically sent to his home computers.
Hmmm maybe without permission meant something?
Cursor_
The idea that members of the USG follow the rule of law is ludicrous. The message from our “leaders” is loud and clear, i.e. being a law-abiding citizen is for suckers-losers-sheep-and slaves.
MISSION STATEMENT
The mission of the United States Secret Service is to safeguard the nation’s financial infrastructure and payment systems to preserve the integrity of the economy, and to protect national leaders, visiting heads of state and government, designated sites and National Special Security Events.
The economy may be worthless but it has integrity.
I suspect that most of what they do now is computer fraud.
The Apple store must have complained. I don’t see them catching this guy otherwise.
I completely agree… I don’t see why the Secret Service was involved. It should have been the NYPD and/or the FBI.
They need to arrest the asshole in charge at Apple too. The activity was approved by Apple.
Despicable bastards need to learn a lesson about people’s privacy and rights.
Burn them alive.
This extension of the SS into “Electronic Crimes” is brought to us by the Patriot Act.
http://secretservice.gov/ectf.shtml
Such activity by the perp “should be” illegal. Does it matter what agency does the review? And if so, why not the one with resoures dedicated to the issue?
Heh, heh: All as authorized by law?
#5 – Where did you get the idea that Apple was involved? I only ask because the article said nothing about Apple approving. It even mentioned that he had to reinstall the software every morning since they wipe the machines every night. Kind of implies that they don’t approve.
when i was a kid i did some rudimentary “hacking” – when i was 12 or 13 or so (1983-84) -the secret service showed up at our door, not the FBI.
they are frequently involved in anything computer related.
side note: calling yourself an artist doesn’t give you the right to go into a store and install software.
In general I’d agree with the conclusion that we are over policed, but I’d disagree that this story is evidence of that.
He repeatedly installed his capture software on computers without permission, a big no no. Seizing computers and other storage media is routine evidence gathering procedure for computer related crimes.
Elvis–you have a nice website there. Mashups aren’t to my personal taste but the quality of the recordings (stereo separation and depth) is so good you may expand my appreciation of hip/hop/dance/urban?
Its good to have an interest that can be satisfied so.
The dumb schmuck went to a computer store, installed some software to illegally and surreptitiously spy on on people and he’s wondering about why his toys were taken away.
Maybe because we’d be pissed off if he did it to us, d’ja tink?
I wouldn’t give back the toys either.
Toss the fuckin’ butt munch to the lions and every other maker and disseminator of spy ware out there.
Not sure why the Secret Service was involved in this, but he did do wrong. The Apple computers were the property of the store, not his. He had no right to install his own software on it. He at least should have gotten permission to do so.
I don’t see a problem in them seizing the computer, since those images were illegally obtained. But why the SS is involved is beyond me…. maybe he incidentally obtained photos of some high figure doing something they’re not suppose to be doing.
So, without permission, he installed software on public computers in two Apple Stores in New York, that took a photo a minute of anything and anyone in front of it. The photos were automatically sent to his home computers.
Without permission of the owner nor the knowledge of the user. Of course this guy is going to get to talk to a judge. At a guess Apple found the spyware and asked the Secret Service to apprehend the perpetrator.
#7,
The story I read earlier today stated that he had permission from “Apple Security” at least twice.
I can’t remember where I read it, it may have been BS for all I know.
“Why does the Secret Service have this authority?? We are over-policed in this country.”
Unfortunately, no one can say WHO POLICES THE POLICE !!! They are TOTALLY OUT OF CONTROL !!!
From the CNN version:
“Before he began, he got permission from Apple’s security guards to take photos in the store, then asked customers if he could take their photos (with a camera). Had they all said no, he says, he wouldn’t have proceeded.”
It’s interesting that they changed the wording since earlier this morning. The original was abbreviated to look like he had permission for precisely what he did.
16 comments and people still wonder about SS duties, clearly available to general public:
“The Secret Service has primary jurisdiction to investigate …. telecommunications fraud; computer fraud, … ” Clear jurisdiction.
The rest is properly noted by the comment #13. Multiple layers of crime. I hope he’d get maximum for every instance separately.
#16 – I think I found it too. The article says he asked one security guard, and a couple of customers.
My bet is that the security guard was some rent-a-cop that doesn’t give a rip about anything related to his job, and just said yes. Not quite Apple approval, methinks, but I see where you pulled the idea from.
I think Pedro should be kicked in the nuts over this.
/just saying
I believe the Apple “approval” was for when he was actually in store with a camera. No approval for installing software or for using the store’s bandwidth to transmit the pictures back to his server. And the story I read seems to think that it was the high bandwidth usage that tipped Apple off to something fishy.
The article on Mashable states that Apple monitors the data coming from its stores. An Apple employee in Cupertino thus found Mr. McDonald’s servers, downloaded a copy of the photography capture software and installed it on his own computer. (Probably to examine it.) The software then took a picture of the employee and sent it back to Mr. McDonald’s servers.
Comment: Silicon Valley’s High Technology Task Force, R.E.A.C.T., may have been involved. The Rapid Enforcement Allied Computer Team, http://reacttf.org , is comprised of 17 law enforcement agencies with the Santa Clara County California District Attorney’s Office being the lead agency. The United States Secret Service is a member of R.E.A.C.T.
It’s mission statement: “To reduce the incidence of high technology crime through the apprehension of the professional organizers of large scale criminal activities.” R.E.A.C.T. investigates “Identity Theft – specializing in complex investigations with organized criminals.”
R.E.A.C.T. was the agency that executed the search warrant on Gizmodo’s Jason Chen in the iPhone 4 lost-in-a-bar prototype case from 2010.
A true crime reenactment TV show from the 1990s involved the U. S. Secret Service investigating computer viruses. They determined that a virus was located on a hard disk drive attached to a laser printer. Impressive. Always concerned about the threat posed by such a device ever since.
# 17 dusanmal said, “The Secret Service has primary jurisdiction to investigate …. telecommunications fraud; computer fraud, … ”
I don’t see the fraud. I’ve never been to an Apple Store but my understanding is they pretty much let you use the demo systems (complete with web access) ad lib. Wiping them every night seems a great idea.
Unless there is more to this story, I pray the SS and DOJ don’t waste time and money on this. That said, I do wonder at the legality of using uncompensated, unaware and unconsenting models in a work of “art.” Has this man left himself open to civil actions?
Sounds like a dumb piece of “art”, anyway. But what do I know? My idea of high art is poker playing dogs…
#21 follow-up – How did the Apple employee download the software from the server to his computer? Was this software available for anyone to download or was the server hacked?
Apple will probably change the public-use computer policy in its stores.
Another possibility, though unlikely, is that Apple will use members from its “Worldwide Loyalty Team” – look it up – on shoppers in its stores.
Maybe, this is the team that reportedly asked permission to enter the house of the person who took the iPhone 4 prototype from the bar in Redwood City, CA last year.
I can see the privacy violation issues here without even reading the article.
He took over 1000 photos without permission and posted them online. He was NEVER given permission to load software on the display computers. Cripes, you all really should learn to Google.
He’s a fracking creepy voyeur.
The last I heard the SS protects the President, and the national currency, and that’s it! Fictionally (a Tv show), they also gather up and Warehouse (13) powerful artifacts from around the world. So how does snatching naughty PCs fit into their mission statement? I guess they’re a catch-all agency now, until a new one can be formed just this job. The “PCP”? Personal Computer Police?
it wasnt me! 🙂 brooklyn wut wut!
This poor dweeb gave Apple their next tag line: “Stare Different!” but Apple doesn’t want to have to pay him royalties when the commercials hit the airwaves, so of course they sicced the Secret Service on him.
>> Why does the Secret Service have this authority?? We are over-policed in this country.
SOMEBODY should bust him. What a jerk.
You honestly support spyware that secretly photographs people? Creepy, Creepy. Creepy.
>> elvis of dallas
>> when i was a kid i did some rudimentary “hacking” – when i was 12 or 13 or so (1983-84) -the secret service showed up at our door, not the FBI.
Were you like Matthew Broderick and Alley Sheedy in “War Games”? Cool.
http://tinyurl.com/5uv8ck7