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The DV Press
Information Technology / Software
Technical Help Articles for Developers Free Software Distribution and Promotion NetBeans 5.0/5.5 Tips for a Newbie
"Remote modification can also allow makers to repurpose their appliances, sometimes in ways that are undesirable to their owners. General Motors and BMW offer onboard systems like OnStar to provide car owners with a variety of useful services and functions, including hands-free calling, turn-by-turn driving directions, tire pressure monitoring, and emergency roadside assistance. Because the systems are networked and remotely upgradeable, the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation sought to use the technology to eavesdrop on conversations occurring in a vehicle by remotely reprogramming the onboard system to function as a roving bug. The bureau obtained secret orders requiring one carmaker to carry out that modification, and the company complied under protest. A U.S. federal appellate court found in The Company v. the United States that the anonymous carmaker could theoretically be ordered to perform the modifications but that the FBI’s surveillance interfered with the computer system’s normal use. A car with a secret open line to the FBI could not simultaneously connect to the automaker. If the occupants tried to use the system to summon emergency help, it would not function. (Presumably, the FBI would not come to the aid of the motorist the way the automaker promises to do.) The implication of the ruling was that secret FBI surveillance of this sort would be legally permissible if the system were redesigned to simultaneously process emergency requests." ~Jonathan Zittrain (Harvard Business Review, Saving The Internet)
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