[Shacs] Texas legislation - PC Techs need PI certification?

[Kevin A. Estis]

It seems to me that the issue is really related to the definition of
"investigation". It has always had a more specific definition for law
enforcement than it has for other more generalized processes/procedures
that the layperson or expert in other occupational fields may set out to
perform.

Yes, in all occupational fields people "investigate" things all the time.
But a criminal investigation has certain specific requirements and
procedures that must be followed (including the intent to find or
determine culpability in criminal wrongdoing). Is the PC repair technician
*trying* to prove criminal activity has taken place or are they trying to
figure out why the partition table is whacked?

Regarding child porn or cases where the technician simply happens to run
across *possible* criminal activity it is there legal (in the case of
child porn/abuse or other felonies including domestic terrorism)
responsibility to report it to law enforcement and their ethical
responsibility in all other cases. As soon as they report the information
they are told to do nothing more on the system and wait for law
enforcement to arrive at which point a (criminal) investigation begins.

Yes, the Texas Rangers also investigate child porn...basically they
investigate anything they want (which is one of the reasons why people
used to want to be one)...I won't go into why people no longer seek it out
as they did 50 years ago (think in terms of pressure by modern politically
correct organizations and people).

Jeremy: great link...I hadn't seen that one...

Kevin



> OK, so I'm finally catching up on all my email and news feeds and came
> across this blurb in the SANS newsletter:
>
>  --Texas Law Requires Computer Technicians to Have PI Licenses
> (June 26, 208)
> The Institute for Justice has filed a lawsuit against the Texas Private
> Security Board because of a 2007 law that requires computer repair
> technicians to obtain government-issued private investigators' (PI)
> licenses.  Technicians could face both civil and criminal penalties if
> they take "any action that the government deems to be an
> 'investigation.'"  The definition of investigation is broad and includes
> many commonly performed repairs.  To obtain a license, computer repair
> shop owners would have to obtain a criminal justice degree or complete
> a three-year apprenticeship with a licensed PI. Consumers who knowingly
> use an unlicensed operation to conduct an "investigation" would also be
> subject to penalties.
> http://www.ij.org/first_amendment/tx_computer_repair/6_26_08pr.html
>
> [Editor's Note (Guest Editor, Rob Lee): Part of this suit began when
> Best Buy's Geek Squad was served a cease and desist letter for stating
> to customers that they can perform "computer forensics" to aid clients
> in discovering how they were compromised. Does this PI license
> requirement make sense to anyone?]
> (Northcutt): The State of Texas is putting the Geek Squad tag line to
> test, "There's nothing we haven't seen. Go ahead. Use us." This
> legislation goes beyond dumb. The Geek Squad's "forensics" would be to
> help the end users understand the errors they made that caused their
> systems to become compromised. One would think this is something
> government would want to support. I would be surprised if Best Buy
> doesn't hand Texas its hat.
> (Schultz): Hopefully, reason will prevail, and this nonsensical law will
> be repealed. Requiring a PI license to perform a computer repair just
> does not make sense.]
>
>
>
> --
> This signature was created on a Mac...therefore it should look better than
> other signatures but will cost you more and doesn't really work in the
> enterprise.
> Kevin Estis
> macinhack at shsu.edu
>


--
This signature was created on a Mac...therefore it should look better than
other signatures but will cost you more and doesn't really work in the
enterprise.
Kevin Estis
macinhack at shsu.edu