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posted by
martyb
on Saturday August 15 2015, @08:02PM
from the rats-got-bored-running-through-mazes dept.
from the rats-got-bored-running-through-mazes dept.
The Buffalo News Police Blotter reports that a pair of thieves stole Xbox wireless controllers and police tracked them down by contacting the manufacturer. Maybe this is standard operating procedure for the cops, but it was new to this submitter. Any idea of the mechanism(s) involved?
No explicit mention of Microsoft — perhaps these controllers were made by a third party to work with Xbox.
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Be security conscious -- National defense is at stake.
(Score: 2) by frojack on Saturday August 15 2015, @08:46PM
Seems that even if the controllers did phone home, the average detective wouldn't know this, nor would they have all the serial numbers to pick the phoneing-home units out of the deluge of phoning home controllers. The manufacturer wouldn't have much to gain from the phoning home either.
Seems like this is a cover story, to recreate a trail to these thieves from data sources they don't want to admit.
I wonder if that town has any equipment on loan from the feds. It wouldn't be the first time [washingtonpost.com].
No, you are mistaken. I've always had this sig.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday August 15 2015, @08:54PM
> Seems like this is a cover story, to recreate a trail to these thieves from data sources they don't want to admit.
Come on.
We aren't at the point of deploying parallel construction of NSA finking for $200 shoplifting cases. That's not even a felony.
Here's a scenario that is 1000x more likely:
Parking lot camera caught the license plate of the thieves.
Boxes discarded in the parking lot included serial numbers.
Microsoft told the police department how to determine serial number of the actual controllers (pair it into an xbox, go to equivalent of advanced options screen, check serial number field).
(Score: 2) by frojack on Sunday August 16 2015, @12:30AM
We aren't at the point of deploying parallel construction of NSA finking for $200 shoplifting cases. That's not even a felony.
Who said anything about NSA.
What about stingrays, license plate readers, a snitch or police plant within the gang.
All of those assets need to be protected, and a made up story that implies the controllers phone home serves that purpose, and also serves to deter future heists.
No, you are mistaken. I've always had this sig.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday August 16 2015, @02:10AM
Gang. LOL