Sounds like one of those hearsay things, though there was definitely something shady going on here.
http://www.pcworld.com/article/189844/did_a_school_use_webcams_to_spy_on_students_at_home.html
In what's shaping up to be a Springer-worthy scandal, a Pennsylvania school district is accused of using a school-issued laptop to spy on a student in his home. A lawsuit filed by the student's family claims the school remotely activated the computer's Webcam and observed the boy without his knowledge.
The laptops also, however, have Webcams -- and, as information released in light of this week's lawsuit confirms, those Webcams can be remotely activated by school staff.
A letter from the district superintendent posted online Thursday states the following:
"District laptops do contain a security feature intended to track lost, stolen and missing laptops. The security feature, which was disabled today, was installed to help locate a laptop in the event it was reported lost, missing or stolen so that the laptop could be returned to the student.
This is the rather creepy part
Compare that explanation with the student's story: An assistant principal, the lawsuit alleges, approached the boy at school and told him he'd been caught engaging in some kind of "improper behavior" in his home. The suit claims the administrator went on to say that the laptop's Webcam had captured an image of the activity in action.
Specifically what kind of activity that was hasn't been disclosed (though there's no shortage of Girls-Gone-Wild-style theories floating around out there). Regardless, the boy's parents say they never knew his computer's Webcam could be accessed remotely and used in such a seemingly invasive manner. And their lawsuit, according to The Telegraph, goes as far as to suggest the images captured by the school could "consist of minors and their parents or friends in compromising or embarrassing positions," including "various stages of undress."
That was in Lower Merion township, too. Practically spitting distance from my school.
Monster Hunter: pissing me off since 2010.
