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Soon stolen laptops could land the robber in cops net as there is a technology coming on the way where remote spying is possible on the machine.
This has happened when Clair Fleener, chief executive of IT outsourcer InertLogic, got that chance to recover the stolen laptop after monitoring activities of the burglar for two weeks using remote software and sharing the information with law enforcement agency Neb.
Previously someone had stolen the laptop from a car of an employee working in InertLogic. It went months before anyone knew that InertLogic has the related software to manage the equipment remotely. This monitoring mechanism was developed by Kaseya, which captures screenshots from remote machines and can be used to install keyloggers. Apart from that, it can also record audio and images from a Webcam.
Fleener took the screenshots that were captured every 5 or 10 seconds to see what the user of the laptop was doing. Quickly he knew the name, address, and other sensitive information about the man using the laptop.
He could also know the person’s other activities like visiting social networking sites, downloading related information and many more things. Fleener could know all of these because the laptop was scheduled to go online on every weekend nights and then only he had to track all the activities.
Benjamin Lavalley, a senior engineer at Kaseya figured out the exact location by doing an online map search using the Wi-Fi access.
Fleener said, "He had a cover story and it was pretty well thought out," Fleener said, explaining why no arrest was made. The man claimed he had bought the laptop from a customer of his for $500 and didn't know it was stolen. Despite losing the money, he handed the machine over with no objections.”
"It's like every movie or TV program where there's a mystery involved," Fleener said about the investigation.
"You find yourself getting involved in the story. It was very exciting," he added.
