Originally published at: https://boingboing.net/2018/04/17/cops-use-backdoored-whatsapp-p.html
…
3 Likes
extract fingerprint data from a picture of a weed dealer’s hand to help convict 11 involved people.
3 Likes
Well done.
12 Likes
How much time, energy, money, and other resources were spent on this endeavor, that could have been used for something more useful, say providing help to opioid addicts, providing meals to people with nothing to eat, or capturing real criminals?
11 Likes
Thank goodness the police are “keeping South Wales safe” from people who might want to supply them with marijuana.
7 Likes
Just to be clear, there was no WhatsApp or other back door of any kind. They made an arrest, and got physical access to the phone with the photo on it. There was no mention of having to brute force a password or otherwise compromise the device cryptographically or digitally.
Otherwise, I hope they made sure that photo wasn’t photoshopped!
6 Likes
You cannot add pixels to a digital photograph, in spite what you see on the teevee forensic cop shows. I am calling this manufactured evidence.
4 Likes
Actually, it was ecstasy, not weed. A more explanatory article.
6 Likes
Yeah this clearly seems like a thin premise to cover up where their real source of information came from
5 Likes
My thought exactly. If you used a phone to photograph of only your fingertips, it might be possible to read the prints. Still doubtful.
3 Likes
No money in that, no money in that either, too difficult.
1 Like
fascinating!
1 Like
He has Skype and Ikea?!
4 Likes
When I saw it the other day I did wonder what sort of marketing of illegal drugs makes an ikea shaped pill.
The article that had the picture:
1 Like
Whenever I transfer my phone photos to backup to free up space on my phone, I always shake my head that the default resolution is HUGE. each photo is like 5-8MB. That’s definitely “grab a fingerprint” resolution. I always think about turning down the res, but I mostly take pictures of my daughters, and it has generated it’s own new weird kind of parenting guilt/anxiety about the fact that I want to save space on my phone by capturing memories with them with less fidelity…
8 Likes
I see your enhance and raise you one uncrop.
5 Likes
