AfterDawn: News

Video Daily: FBI opens investigation into school webcam spying suit

Earlier this week we reported that a lawsuit had been filed in US District Court accusing administrators at Lower Merion School District in Rosemont, PA of using webcams on a school-issued laptop to illegally spy on a student.

Today, the FBI has opened an investigation into the allegations, which is considered illegal wiretapping and a violation of student's privacy.



District Superintendent Christopher McGinley denied the allegations: "At no time did any high school administrator have the ability or actually access the security-tracking software. We believe that the administrator at Harriton has been unfairly portrayed and unjustly attacked in connection with her attempts to be supportive of a student and his family. The district never did and never would use such tactics as a basis for disciplinary action."




Written by: Andre Yoskowitz @ 21 Feb 2010 11:41

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• 4 comments

• DXR88

  our school had cameras in the hall ways, this doesn't surprise me in the least.
  
  what was fun was watching the administration with those same cameras,whoever the genius was didn't put them on a closed loop. so if you knew the credentials for the monitoring system you could use it, as we where in network support we didn't credentials, we had all the time in the world and broke into it at least 5 times.

  21.2.2010 19:45 #1

• bmlshane

  The original story gave the details that a school administrator subjected a student to criticism for things he did in HIS OWN HOME whilst the computer given/lent by the school. How did the administrator know, if they aren't clairvoyant, then they used the computers camera, which the original story indicated. As no-one was informed as to this feature of the computers, then it is an invasion of privacy. I will be following this and other news items relating to this incident.

  21.2.2010 23:18 #2

• SoCalSRH

  ...

  22.2.2010 13:24 #3

• Ripem

  Invasion or privacy and illegal wiretapping seem too mild. How about child porn? Oh that wouldn't happen because they just used the camera to recover stolen laptops, yeah right!
  I guess they haven't heard of charging the parent for the replacement cost of said laptop and of course if it were really stolen then the police would have a report with the serial numbers.
  
  Better yet has the school system not heard of Lojack software that is made for just such purposes?
  
  Guess its more fun to just watch the kiddies and their families at home.

  22.2.2010 17:22 #4