Web-cam Gate - Lower Merion School District

I have written many articles over the last several years, ranging from the volatile fuel prices during the Bush Administration to the environmental and wildlife issues facing our planet today. I even have a published children's book series "Bryanna Global Warrior" that tries to educate our children on the problems our planet is facing. Now I feel it is time that I have to write and speak up about the so-called "Web-cam Gate", the surveillance controversy that has plagued the Lower Merion School District, in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania. As I have been following it very closely online at philly.com the Philadelphia Inquirer online newspaper.

You may say; "Who am I to write about and comment on this?" Well I feel that I have some insight, having once lived in Lower Merion, married one of its graduates, and lived in Montgomery County for 38 of my 50 years of life so far. So I believe that along with the education I hold in information technology give me the right to comment.

As far as the facts go that I have from the Inquirer, Blake Robbins, a Harrington High School sophomore, who is or was at the time 15 years of age, was confronted by an assistant principal with a picture taken from the web-cam of his school issued laptop portraying him to be using drugs (in his home bedroom), which later turned out to be "mike & ike's) candies. This picture was obtained by a remote access web-cam program installed by the school system IT department before being issued to students, and without the knowledge of.

Now by the facts, the school district claims that the remote access web-cam program was installed for security purposes, to track down lost or stolen computers, because all of the issued computers were being allowed to be taken off school property to the student homes. Also by the facts, Blake Robbins computer was not reported lost or stolen, so why was his remote access web-cam activated?

Now I am in college just 2 quarters away from obtaining a degree in network security, and as a future IT professional I know that you do not track down lost or stolen computers with a remote access web-cam program, you track it down with the IP address through the ISP provider, or you install a lojack system, or your install a geo-tracker program.

To install a remote access web-cam program on computers issued out to minors, is illegal, immoral, and just downright wrong. Especially when you allow them to take the computers to their homes, as teenagers will take them up to their bedrooms listen to music, do homework, watch videos and all other things that today's generation does on the computer.

Even if there were no pedophiles or perverts working at the school district, I don't care what type of firewalls the IT department has or had in place, that remote access web-cam program is and was vulnerable to being hacked. If you don't think so, just ask Google how easy someone can hack a system as they were just hacked by a 15 year old in China.

I am completely outraged by the parents of the school system who are not upset by this act of privacy infringement the school district did to their children, placing them at risk. These parents would have a whole different attitude if their 14 or 15 year old had ended up on you-tube, as a parent of a daughter; I am outraged that a school district would do such a thing.

Michael Perbix the network technician and Carol Cafiero the IT system coordinator, should have informed the school district and the school board that this type of remote access web-cam program was illegal and immoral to install on computers issued to minors, and that there are better practices to perform to retrieve lost or stolen computers. These two should be fired, fined and possible imprisoned for activating this program, along with any administrators that were responsible for authorizing the activation.

The attorneys for the school district should have informed the school board that to install and or activate such a program would be illegal and immoral, as the issue is one of surreptitious eavesdropping, unbeknownst to people, their movements and activities were under surveillance, especially being minors. It is my belief that the attorneys for the school district should be fired. I believe that the school board should be thrown out of office and new elections be held for a new board that would act on a more responsible level.

State Senator Arlen Specter, whom I have met several times as a young child, is holding hearing on March 29, 2010 with the Judiciary Subcommittee, on this subject, to see if any laws were broken and if any laws should be passed to prevent such action in the future. I urge Senator Specter to not just debate this issue and then place it on the back burner, but to act on this issue and to pass laws to ensure that people are protected, and that our children cannot be spied upon in their homes by school districts or anyone else, without the proper warrants and procedures in place before hand. If police departments and other government agencies must go to a judge, get a warrant in place before a wire-tap is put into effect, then the same must be for a remote access web-cam program - a school district, or anyone else. No one should be above the law.

Web-cam Gate is and will be an important case that will affect the rights of anyone and everyone, as it will determine if any entity will have the right to invade your privacy through the use of technology, and use that invasion against you as they see fit.

As always just one man's opinion. Peace, Love and Prosperity to all.

Friday, March 19, 2010

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