When the Surveilling are Surveilled   2/4/2005 - 721 views,

Channel KOKH 25 out of Oklahoma City is reporting that somehow somebody managed to load computer surveillance software onto three computers at the Oklahoma County Sheriff’s office.

According to Oklahoma Sheriff John Whetsel, whomever installed the software gained access to some very sensitive information, including not only personnel files, but also prisonor information and homeland security information.

Ouch.

According to Oklahoma County officials, the only way that the software could have been installed would have been either if someone were sitting at the computers, or by, and here Aunty quotes, “a person with administrative access to the county’s computer network.”

Ouch again.

Given the recent advisory regarding Internet nasties such as the Brophia worm, the latter doesn’t sound terribly far-fetched.

Just a couple of weeks ago Aunty reported on a hacker who, being investigated by a Secret Service agent with a T-Mobile Sidekick, hacked into the agent’s T-Mobile account and also recovered sensitive government documents, including documents about the very investigation of which the hacker was a subject.

Is this a trend? Will there soon be a time when no information is safe and secure, and all information is available to anyone with a malicious will and way?

Has that time already arrived?

What do you think can and should be done about this? Join us for our forum discussion on these issues at Aunty’s Forums.