Stealth Software Rankles Privacy Advocates

[mea culpa <jericho () DIMENSIONAL COM>]

From: "Noonan, Michael D" <michael.d.noonan () intel com>

http://www.techweb.com/wire/story/TWB19990917S0014

Stealth Software Rankles Privacy Advocates
(09/17/99, 5:19 p.m. ET)
By Stuart Glascock, TechWeb

A super stealthy software covertly monitors all keyboard and application
activity, then invisibly e-mails a detailed report to the employees' boss.
While it bolsters IT's ability to monitor workplace computer usage, it
troubles privacy advocates.

The newly upgraded software, Investigator 2.0 from WinWhatWhere, runs
silently, unseen by the end-user as it gathers exacting details on every
keystroke touched, every menu item clicked, all the entries into a chat
room, every instant message sent and all e-commerce transactions.

"You get shocking detail," said Richard Eaton, president of WinWhatWhere,
in Kennewick, Wash.

In one client case, a large grocery store chain suspected an employee was
wrongfully taking information. Management installed the software and
discovered the suspect employee was saving accounting information onto a
diskette. In other cases, employees have been busted for taking client
lists and sales leads.

WinWhatWhere Customers have included sensitive government agencies,
private investigators, a trucking company, a tool and die company, a
penitentiary, a dentist, and several libraries. Specific customers have
included the U.S. State Department, the U.S. Mint in Denver, Exxon, Delta
Airlines, Ernst & Young, the U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs, and
Lockheed Martin.

"People buying it the most are people in corporations who need it because
they suspect something is going on in a department, so they put on a
computer for a small amount of time," Eaton said.

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