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Operation Torpedo: FBI Seizes Child Porn Tor Hidden Services, Converts to Honeypot

posted by janrinok on Wednesday August 06 2014, @04:37PM   Printer-friendly
from the the-user-is-the-weakest-link dept.

keplr writes:

From the Wired article, "Instead of going for the easy bust, the FBI spent a solid year surveilling McGrath, while working with Justice Department lawyers on the legal framework for what would become Operation Torpedo. Finally, on November 2012, the feds swooped in on McGrath, seized his servers and spirited them away to an FBI office in Omaha.

A federal magistrate signed three separate search warrants: one for each of the three hidden services. The warrants authorized the FBI to modify the code on the servers to deliver the NIT to any computers that accessed the sites. The judge also allowed the FBI to delay notification to the targets for 30 days."

The FBI modified the .onion sites to serve a malicious script which was used to de-anonymize users. It's worth noting that only those using Tor improperly would be vulnerable. The FBI tracking payload required scripting to be enabled in the browser--a common blunder among inexperienced Tor users.

 
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  • (Score: 2) by Magic Oddball on Thursday August 07 2014, @12:48AM

    by Magic Oddball (3847) on Thursday August 07 2014, @12:48AM (#78269) Journal

    Unfortunately, an in-depth study of child-porn convicts released back in '09 showed that 85% of them *had* also molested at least one kid:

    In what is known as the "Butner Study," Bourke and Hernandez analyzed data on 155 men convicted of child pornography offenses, who took part in an 18-month treatment program between 2002 and 2005, during which the men filled out assessment measures including a "victims list," where they revealed the number of children they had molested in the past.

    74% of the men denied molesting anyone when they were sentenced. However, by the end of treatment, 85% had admitted to sexually molesting a child at least once. The numbers are more than twice that of other studies. In explaining this discrepancy, Bourke said, "Our treatment team worked for an average of 18 months with each offender, and the environment was one of genuine therapeutic trust" that encouraged the men to tell the truth about themselves.

    My guess is that a lot of cops only truly go "bad" after spending years watching perps like that go free due to insufficient evidence or other technicalities...

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  • (Score: 3, Interesting) by PinkyGigglebrain on Thursday August 07 2014, @02:19AM

    by PinkyGigglebrain (4458) on Thursday August 07 2014, @02:19AM (#78290)

    Just a heads up; the "Butner Study" has been getting criticism from many quarters because the data is being misused by prosecutors and LEOs.

    Even the original authors have commented on the misuse.

    http://www.protectingyourfuture.info/is-there-a-link-between-child-pornography-and-child-molestation [protectingyourfuture.info]

    --
    "Beware those who would deny you Knowledge, For in their hearts they dream themselves your Master."