Mobile 'Remote Wipe' Thwarts Secret Service 383
bennyboy64 writes "Smartphones that offer the ability to 'remote wipe' are great for when your device goes missing and you want to delete your data so that someone else can't look at it, but not so great for the United States Secret Service, ZDNet reports. The ability to 'remote wipe' some smartphones such as BlackBerry and iPhone was causing havoc for law enforcement agencies, according to USSS special agent Andy Kearns, speaking on mobile phone forensics at a security conference in Australia."
Re:Aww.. (Score:5, Funny)
My heart bleeds for these guys. Really, it does.
Your free flight to a remote dark room is on its way.
Re:Aww.. (Score:5, Funny)
Cool, I love photography!
Re:Hm (Score:2, Funny)
"Hopefully our officers are putting the cell phones in a Faraday bag that is shielded, pulling the battery [out] and turning them off [before] getting them into the shielded laboratory."
Deep below the earths crust where an army of techie-like-gremlins work tirelessly in a labrinthy maze of dusty, dirty laboratories consisting of ancient testing equipment made before the dawn of man. Only Down here, where only the flicker of overhead lamps shine shadows into the darkness, is justice done.
Re:Aww.. (Score:1, Funny)
It should, actually. The S.S. isn't your average cop, they're for counterfeiting and protecting the President of the US, (and foreign and domestic dignitaries) so if they are unable to gain access to these phones before they're remotely wiped, that's a bad thing.
I don't understand why people think this is a good thing.
It's not.
Re:Aww.. (Score:2, Funny)
The fact that the Secret Service, who ought to be a bit sharper than Joe Beat Cop, haven't mastered the art of "turning the phone off before it gets wiped" doesn't strike me as a good thing. However, the fact that "wipe" means "wipe" not "Wipe, unless the state says otherwise" does.
Right, because the S.S. never works with local law enforcement,etc, etc.
Frankly, I give a shit if the S.S. can read the information on my phone if they detain me. First, in order for me to be detained by the S.S., I'd have to be in a pretty precarious situation in the first place.
I'm waiting for the "first they came for the _____" responses. The reality is, the S.S. doesn't give a damn about the average person. They're concerned with counterfeiters and threats to dignitaries and the President. If having the information off the phone helps them capture counterfeiters and helps to uncover terroristic plots against US dignitaries, fine by me.
Re:Aww.. (Score:3, Funny)
OH RIGHT!!! I forgot about dem darn tooten turrists! Thanks for reminding me!
Seriously though, you are in idiot. If you want to trust the government like that then fine, but you are a minority in this respect.
Re:Aww.. (Score:4, Funny)
the OTHER kind of darkroom.
Re:Secure wipes? (Score:2, Funny)
What is this? Multitasking and background processes on my iPhone?
skilled experts huh (Score:3, Funny)
stumped by a technological problem that can be solved by carrying a piece of tinfoil.
Re:Aww.. (Score:3, Funny)
In general the government is fine. The US government is one of the most trustworthy.
That doesn't make it perfect, and that doesn't mean it always will be.
I support remote wipe and peoples rights. Over all, the US government does a pretty damn good job for it's citizens.
Re:Aww.. (Score:3, Funny)
Now his other love organ is going to bleed x_x
Re:Secure wipes? (Score:3, Funny)
Plus even if the attacker's face is only 10 pixels wide in the grainy, dark, blurry photo they can zoom it right up, run an "enhance filter" (proprietary CSI stuff) on it a few times and see his face in high resolution.