FBI used Best Buy's Geek Squad to secretly look through people's computers - Polidicks

[QUOTE]Recently unsealed records reveal a much more extensive secret relationship than previously known between the FBI and Best Buy's Geek Squad, including evidence the agency trained company technicians on law-enforcement operational tactics, shared lists of targeted citizens and, to covertly increase surveillance of the public, encouraged searches of computers even when unrelated to a customer's request for repairs. To sidestep the U.S. Constitution's prohibition against warrantless invasions of private property, federal prosecutors and FBI officials have argued that Geek Squad employees accidentally find and report, for example, potential child pornography on customers' computers without any prodding by the government. Assistant United States Attorney M. Anthony Brown last year labeled allegations of a hidden partnership as "wild speculation." But more than a dozen summaries of FBI memoranda filed inside Orange County's Ronald Reagan Federal Courthouse this month in [I]USA v. Mark Rettenmaier[/I] contradict the official line. One agency communication about Geek Squad supervisor Justin Meade noted, "Agent assignments have been reviewed and are appropriate for operation of this source," that the paid informant "continues to provide valuable information on [child pornography] matters" and has "value due to his unique or potential access to FBI priority targets or intelligence responsive to FBI national and/or local collection." Other records show how Meade's job gave him "excellent and frequent" access for "several years" to computers belonging to unwitting Best Buy customers, though agents considered him "underutilized" and wanted him "tasked" to search devices "on a more consistent basis." To enhance the Geek Squad role as a "tripwire" for the agency, another FBI record voiced the opinion that agents should "schedule regular meetings" with Meade "to ensure he is reporting." A Feb. 27, 2008, agency document memorialized plans "seeking the training of the Geek Squad Facility technicians designed to help them identify what type of files and/or images would necessitate a call to the FBI." Jeff Haydock, a Best Buy vice president, told [I]OC[/I] [I]Weekly[/I] in January there has been no arrangement with the FBI. "If we discover child pornography in the normal course of serving a computer, phone or tablet, we have an obligation to contact law enforcement," he said, calling such policy "the right thing to do." But evidence demonstrates company employees routinely snooped for the agency, contemplated "writing a software program" specifically to aid the FBI in rifling through its customers' computers without probable cause for any crime that had been committed, and were "under the direction and control of the FBI." Multiple agency memoranda underscore the coziness with Best Buy, including one that stated, "The Louisville Division has maintained [a] close liaison with the Geek Squad management in an effort to glean case initiations and to support the division's Computer Intrusion and Cyber Crime programs." These latest revelations are the result of the work of James D. Riddet, the San Clemente-based defense attorney representing Rettenmaier. The doctor, who specializes in obstetrics and gynecology, is fighting allegations he knowingly possessed child pornography after the Geek Squad claimed it found an illicit image on a Hewlett Packard computer he left with the company for repair in 2011. U.S. Department of Justice officials filed criminal charges the following year. But the case has been in legal limbo while U.S. District Court Judge Cormac J. Carney considers Riddet's contentions of outrageous government conduct. [B]In 2016, the defense lawyer claimed the FBI made Best Buy an unofficial wing of the agency by incentivizing Geek Squad employees to dig through customers' computers, paying $500 each time they found evidence that could launch criminal cases. [/B] There are also technical weaknesses in the agency's pursuit of Rettenmaier. Just weeks before his arrest, federal judges ruled in a notable separate matter that child porn found on a computer's unallocated space couldn't be used to win a possession conviction because there is almost no way to learn who placed it there, who viewed it, or when or why it was deleted. Cynthia Kayle, a lead agent working against Rettenmaier, knew Geek Squad informants had found the image in unallocated space, which is only accessible via highly specialized computer-intrusion tools the doctor didn't possess. Agents won a magistrate judge's permission to advance the case by failing to advise him of those facts and falsified an official time line to hide warrantless searches, according to the defense lawyer. Brown disputes any law-enforcement wrongdoing. But the government's case took more blows in January. During a pretrial hearing with obnoxious FBI agents visibly angered that I'd alerted the public about their heavy-handed tactics, Riddet asked Carney to take his first look at the image found on his client's device, pointing out the picture does not depict sex or show genitals. The lawyer then questioned agent Tracey L. Riley, who retreated from her original, case-launching stance that the image—known as "9yoJenny"—was definitely child pornography to "not exactly" child porn. Under questioning, experts for both the defense and the government testified that it's not only possible for files from the internet to land on a computer without the owner's knowledge, but that it also frequently happens. Riddet wants Carney to suppress the evidence and dismiss the case. [B]"The FBI's internal documentation of its relationship with its informants and the correspondence between the FBI and its informants suggest a joint venture to ferret out child porn," he told the judge on March 1. "Accordingly, Geek Squad City (GSC) is a government entity and its employees' searches are warrantless government searches in violation of the Fourth Amendment. . . . There was a total of eight FBI informants in GSC's data-recovery department at various times."[/B] [/QUOTE] [URL]http://www.ocweekly.com/news/fbi-used-best-buys-geek-squad-to-increase-secret-public-surveillance-7950030[/URL] TL;DR: the FBI trained Best Buy employees to invade privacy/avoid privacy laws and report "accidentally found" material with a $500 incentive for anything that launches an investigation.

tbh geek squad is genuinely a pretty huge scam I don't think anyone should have any hesitation to avoid their massive bullshit service Everyone would be better off of GS went out of business. Common sense fixes become "No, you have to spend $$$ on a new HDD + repair fee's" or some shit and they'll also install malware tier shitware on the new hdd, instead of something like "Nah, the SATA cable is just bad. 2$ fix if not cheaper"

how did this not get leaked earlier?

This is hilarious

It's fantastic that they may have caught some sickos but that's just a gross invasion of privacy.

[QUOTE=StonedPenguin;51942836]It's fantastic that they may have caught some sickos but that's just a gross invasion of privacy.[/QUOTE] lets be honest, you'd have to be pretty fucking stupid to send a laptop in that contains CP. Like you're literally begging for jail. A part of me feels like because of how common sense this should be for a pedo this is a fruitless move, but thankfully I can imagine many of them are actually that [U]braindead[/U] I feel like the invasion of privacy outweights the chance to catch some weirdo's

Okay while normally I don't care too much about the government spying on my data because I don't give a shit about some faceless agency knowing my fetishes and whatever else they're looking for, but straight-up going through someone's PC through a popular repair service with full access to everything on there without a warrant when nobody can do anything to stop you (because at least there's still shit like Tor if you really care about your privacy enough) is where I draw the line and am now fucking outraged. I mean I'm glad pedophiles were caught but the ends do not justify these means as far as my opinion goes.

Jesus, as a competing technician I just don't understand how anyone can trust Best Buy with this. I charge a fraction less and still make enough money for my payroll hours. That's just scummy as shit for them to invade their customers privacy. Bring more business to the smaller shops!

[QUOTE=BackSapper;51942875]Jesus, as a competing technician I just don't understand how anyone can trust Best Buy with this. I charge a fraction less and still make enough money for my payroll hours. That's just scummy as shit for them to invade their customers privacy. Bring more business to the smaller shops![/QUOTE] Best Buy exploits older folk who don't know any better and see it as no different than hiring a mechanic.

We seriously need to make information privacy more of a political issue. Not enough people over 40 really care about it.

[QUOTE=Hamaflavian;51942884]We seriously need to make information privacy more of a political issue. Not enough people over 40 really care about it.[/QUOTE] It's likely they never will, mostly because they grew up in times where you had strong control over your privacy and could easily hide things. These same people are also notoriously bad about not understanding new tech + shrugging it off.

[QUOTE=Hamaflavian;51942884]We seriously need to make information privacy more of a political issue. Not enough people over 40 really care about it.[/QUOTE] Sadly its politics that support it, as well as unbelievably shallow people. they'd just pretend its justified no matter what you say that or they'd just pretend to support it and do the opposite.

[QUOTE=J!NX;51942817]tbh geek squad is genuinely a pretty huge scam I don't think anyone should have any hesitation to avoid their massive bullshit service Everyone would be better off of GS went out of business. Common sense fixes become "No, you have to spend $$$ on a new HDD + repair fee's" or some shit and they'll also install malware tier shitware on the new hdd, instead of something like "Nah, the SATA cable is just bad. 2$ fix if not cheaper"[/QUOTE] Tbh, considering how ubiquitous PC's have gotten, it'd be nice to have electives in school solely focused on basic PC troubleshooting and maintenance - like a shop class for computers. Could get a lot more people interested in STEM but at the very least, could at least help kids learn how to swap out basic shit without having to run elsewhere to shady chucklefucks like this that'd charge you an arm and a leg [I]and[/I] invade your privacy.

Can't say I'm too surprised. At least I'll have yet another point to make to family members against using Geek Squad, though it's sad that I have to make an argument in the first place. Anyone who does an ounce of research should know how awful they are, especially from a privacy standpoint.

The problem is that we've traded privacy for security, but not all at once. It's been a building problem for decades, the War on Terror bolstered the progression in search for terrorists amongst our midst (not pointing any fingers as to political values here), and now years-worth of bypassing everything we thought we had a firm grasp on as our government attempts to stick its fingers into every facet of security has resulted in the equivalent of outspoken outrage once it was discovered in a "too little, too late" kind of situation. Yes, this is completely scummy, especially given their methods of doing it by bypassing the very laws we have in place for searches. However, at best people will throw a shitfit or a lawsuit against Best Buy, they may or may not revoke this factor (or say they do and still keep doing it), and then things move on until the next headline spinner of defiled security trust.

[QUOTE=J!NX;51942879]Best Buy exploits older folk who don't know any better and see it as no different than hiring a mechanic.[/QUOTE] Funny thing is, most mechanics will jip you and either not actually replace any parts or use the cheapest ones possible and then charge you exorbitantly (especially oil/oil filters)

[QUOTE=gk99;51942848]I mean I'm glad pedophiles were caught but the ends do not justify these means as far as my opinion goes.[/QUOTE] In this specific case, the evidence they found was questionable [QUOTE]There are also technical weaknesses in the agency's pursuit of Rettenmaier. Just weeks before his arrest, [B]federal judges ruled in a notable separate matter that child porn found on a computer's unallocated space couldn't be used to win a possession conviction because there is almost no way to learn who placed it there, who viewed it, or when or why it was deleted.[/B] Cynthia Kayle, a lead agent working against Rettenmaier, knew [B]Geek Squad informants had found the image in unallocated space, which is only accessible via highly specialized computer-intrusion tools the doctor didn't possess.[/B] Agents won a magistrate judge's permission to advance the case by failing to advise him of those facts and falsified an official time line to hide warrantless searches, according to the defense lawyer. Brown disputes any law-enforcement wrongdoing.[/QUOTE] [QUOTE]But the government's case took more blows in January. During a pretrial hearing with obnoxious FBI agents visibly angered that I'd alerted the public about their heavy-handed tactics, [B]Riddet asked Carney to take his first look at the image found on his client's device, pointing out the picture does not depict sex or show genitals. The lawyer then questioned agent Tracey L. Riley, who retreated from her original, case-launching stance that the image—known as "9yoJenny"—was definitely child pornography to "not exactly" child porn.[/B] Under questioning, experts for both the defense and the government testified that it's not only possible for files from the internet to land on a computer without the owner's knowledge, but that it also frequently happens. [/QUOTE]

Is there any other source than this one website? I'm having trouble finding anything else that doesn't link back to this one website (and from what I know there are training that discuss cooperation with authorities, but not at this scale.) I found [URL="https://www.benzinga.com/news/17/03/9159831/best-buy-denies-geek-squad-fbi-links"]one article[/URL] that seemingly has a response from best buy, but take it with a heavy grain of salt. I can just say this sounds more in line with Best Buy's motives. [quote]"To be clear, Best Buy and Geek Squad have no relationship with the FBI and never have. We have not been trained by the FBI nor have we ever shared customer lists, conducted surveillance or searched customer computers for them. Our policies prohibit Geek Squad agents from accessing customer content other than what is absolutely necessary to solve the customer’s problem so we can maintain their privacy and keep up with our volume of repairs. “On occasion, our repair agents inadvertently discover material that may be child pornography. They are not looking for it. But when it is discovered, we have a legal and moral obligation to turn that material over to law enforcement. We are proud of our policy and share it with our customers before we begin any repair.”[/quote] [editline]10th March 2017[/editline] i can't clearly see what benefits it would gain from seeking out this kinda stuff would be (other than some shady under the table deals, which given the heat that best buy/geek squad already has, doesn't seem like a good maneuver.) my two cents anyways. if anything, this sounds more or less like an isolated incident where a single store was being manipulated.

[QUOTE=Gamerman12;51943074]Is there any other source than this one website? I'm having trouble finding anything else that doesn't link back to this one website (and from what I know there are training that discuss cooperation with authorities, but not at this scale.) I found [URL="https://www.benzinga.com/news/17/03/9159831/best-buy-denies-geek-squad-fbi-links"]one article[/URL] that seemingly has a response from best buy, but take it with a heavy grain of salt. I can just say this sounds more in line with Best Buy's motives. [editline]10th March 2017[/editline] i can't clearly see what benefits it would gain from seeking out this kinda stuff would be (other than some shady under the table deals, which given the heat that best buy/geek squad already has, doesn't seem like a good maneuver.) my two cents anyways. if anything, this sounds more or less like an isolated incident where a single store was being manipulated.[/QUOTE] [URL]http://www.bbc.com/news/technology-38583351[/URL] [URL]https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/public-safety/if-a-best-buy-technician-is-a-paid-fbi-informant-are-his-computer-searches-legal/2017/01/09/f56028b4-d442-11e6-9cb0-54ab630851e8_story.html?utm_term=.a46ff0557d27[/URL]

Who would have fucking thought a shitty computer repair company was actually a front for the FBI. Oh my god.

[QUOTE=StrykerE;51943096][URL]http://www.bbc.com/news/technology-38583351[/URL] [URL]https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/public-safety/if-a-best-buy-technician-is-a-paid-fbi-informant-are-his-computer-searches-legal/2017/01/09/f56028b4-d442-11e6-9cb0-54ab630851e8_story.html?utm_term=.a46ff0557d27[/URL][/QUOTE] alright cool, thanks. no wonder these didn't appear in my searches, they were made over a month ago :v:. i'm interested to see how this case goes.

I remember a long time ago people talked about how Geek Squad searches your computer for anything bad while they fix it.

[QUOTE=PaChIrA;51943140]I remember a long time ago people talked about how Geek Squad searches your computer for anything bad while they fix it.[/QUOTE] You already consented to it, so they might as well

[QUOTE=J!NX;51942817]tbh geek squad is genuinely a pretty huge scam I don't think anyone should have any hesitation to avoid their massive bullshit service.[/QUOTE] A few years back when I admittedly wasn't too tech savy with computers I took my old laptop in when geek squad had this 'walk in' free examination service. My computer took forever to log in, pull up steam or any programs, and hardly loaded my internet browser. Well the guy who examined my computer was first impressed my computer only took five minutes to log in, saying 'that isn't too bad'. That was my first sign this was bullshit, and then when I showed him the rest of my computer and his suggestion for my internet problems was to "run multiple browsers for different things". You know, like he does he said. I was so stunned and he didn't even give me suggestions for the rest of my laptop besides fucking that. :v: I got pissed with his retarded answer and looked more heavily into it myself which has helped me learn how to take even better care of my tech. Turned out my laptop had corrupted data on it and a factory reset fixed it like a charm once I backed up my files. That examination was free but I still felt cheated, I pity anyone who has ever spent money on their services.

So basically they paid Geek Squad employees to do what they already do for free, all they had to do was tell the FBI about it.

[quote]paying $500 each time they found evidence that could launch criminal cases.[/quote] This incentivization makes me scratch my head in the same way that private prisons do. Those systems just give scummy people a good reason to liberally interpret cases or even plant evidence so that they can make money off innocent people going to jail.

[QUOTE=J!NX;51942839]lets be honest, you'd have to be pretty fucking stupid to send a laptop in that contains CP. Like you're literally begging for jail. A part of me feels like because of how common sense this should be for a pedo this is a fruitless move, but thankfully I can imagine many of them are actually that [U]braindead[/U] I feel like the invasion of privacy outweights the chance to catch some weirdo's[/QUOTE] Tell that to Gary Glitter

Fucking lol I always had this odd suspicion about Geek Squad.

[video=youtube;oCRPI-1dHQw]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oCRPI-1dHQw[/video] Old gold newer [video=youtube;638UwJxyNCU]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=638UwJxyNCU[/video] [editline]11th March 2017[/editline] [QUOTE=kingstead;51943739]A few years back when I admittedly wasn't too tech savy with computers I took my old laptop in when geek squad had this 'walk in' free examination service. My computer took forever to log in, pull up steam or any programs, and hardly loaded my internet browser. Well the guy who examined my computer was first impressed my computer only took five minutes to log in, saying 'that isn't too bad'. That was my first sign this was bullshit, and then when I showed him the rest of my computer and his suggestion for my internet problems was to "run multiple browsers for different things". You know, like he does he said. I was so stunned and he didn't even give me suggestions for the rest of my laptop besides fucking that. :v: I got pissed with his retarded answer and looked more heavily into it myself which has helped me learn how to take even better care of my tech. Turned out my laptop had corrupted data on it and a factory reset fixed it like a charm once I backed up my files. That examination was free but I still felt cheated, I pity anyone who has ever spent money on their services.[/QUOTE] This chucklefuck would tell someone to download ram wouldn't he

[QUOTE=snookypookums;51942905]Tbh, considering how ubiquitous PC's have gotten, it'd be nice to have electives in school solely focused on basic PC troubleshooting and maintenance - like a shop class for computers. Could get a lot more people interested in STEM but at the very least, could at least help kids learn how to swap out basic shit without having to run elsewhere to shady chucklefucks like this that'd charge you an arm and a leg [I]and[/I] invade your privacy.[/QUOTE] Well, firstly, making it an elective would defeat the purpose of having it, as only the people already interested would take it and they probably already know the basics. Should be a mandatory class. You'd also have to counter the learned helplessness most people have. Even if they know [i]how[/i] to diagnose their computer, the only thing they've ever been taught their whole lives has been 'if X doesn't work pay someone else until it works', so they'll never actually call on the skills they pick up in that class and soon forget everything in it.