Trojan horse found responsible for child porn

ZDNet.UK ^ | 8-1-03 | Munir Kotadia

[Paul Atreides]

A man has been cleared of child porn charges, after investigators found that an Internet attacker was responsible for the presence of illicit images on his PC

A man accused of storing child pornography on his computer has been cleared after it emerged that his computer had been infected by a Trojan horse, which was responsible for transferring the images onto his PC.

Julian Green, 45, was taken into custody last October after police with a search warrant raided his house. He then spent a night in a police cell, nine days in Exeter prison and three months in a bail hostel. During this time, his ex-wife won custody of his seven year old daughter and possession of his house.

This is thought to be the second case in the UK where a "Trojan defence" has been used to clear someone of such an accusation. In April, a man from Reading was found not guilty of the crime after experts testified that a Trojan could have been responsible for the presence of 14 child porn images on his PC.

Trojan horses can be used to install a back door on a PC, allowing an attacker to freely access the computer. Using the back door, a malicious user can send pictures or other files to the victim's computer or use the infected machine to access illegal Web sites, while hiding the intruder's identity. Infected machines can be used for storing files without the knowledge of the computer's owner.

Kevin Hogan, senior manager at Symantec Security Response, told ZDNet UK that he has known Trojans to pretend to be a game, picture and even a Windows folder. "It is technically possible for a Trojan to set up someone's computer as a proxy machine. So you see a folder on your desktop, double click it and it executes."

According to Hogan, a Trojan back door can usually be dealt with by using an up-to-date antivirus software or a personal firewall.

Green told The Evening Standard that the experience wrecked his life because he was treated like a depraved sex fiend. "I had never been in trouble before. In cases like this it is not innocent until proved guilty, but the other way around," he said.

Green is reportedly planning on suing the police for compensation.

[Paul Atreides]

Scary stuff.

[Ronin]

Very. Something to think about. I wonder what is wife is going to say.

[Dog Gone]

Green is reportedly planning on suing the police for compensation.

Why? He had illegal child porn on his computer. The fact that he had a defense to it is no reason to sue.

If everyone who is arrested for a crime can successfully sue the police if they are innocent, then the police are out of business. Who wins then?

[So Cal Rocket]

One word: FIREWALL

[John Beresford Tipton]

If I were Inspector Lestrade, I'd drag their "informant"
into the Yard for a little talk.

It sounds so easy for someone to put the shiite there,
then rat out the "bad guy"

[Dog Gone]

You must know more about this story than is contained above. I don't have a clue what you're talking about.

[Paul Atreides]

And, updated on a regular basis.

[Dr.Deth]

During this time, his ex-wife won custody of his seven year old daughter and possession of his house.

Hmm. Just when I was considering trusting them again.

[oceanview]

you need more then just that, you also need window washer or related software that cleans your cache out, really cleans it. with spam email linking to who knows what kinds of sites, the firewall is not enough.

[LakeLady]

Why did the police single this man out for a search warrant in the first place? Inquiring minds want to know. It didn't mention an informant in the article. Rather than what his wife has to say, I'd be more curious to know what he has to say to her. In the relatively short time he was incarcerated she sure accomplished an awful lot.

[John Beresford Tipton]

To get the warrant the cops probably said they were told by X that the accused had porn on his computer.

Now it turns out that what was there was put there without the owner's doing it. So how did the "informant" know that there would be kid porn conveniently there when the cops came to call?

Likely he put it there.

[Paul Atreides]

I wonder if his ISP has some sort of detection for child porn. Does anything like that exist?

[Bob]

Scary stuff.

Really scary.

From the article:

Julian Green, 45, was taken into custody last October after police with a search warrant raided his house.

There's no indication as to why the search warrant was issued in the first place. A complaint filed by his wife, perhaps?

[Dog Gone]

I don't know if cops in the UK have to get warrants or not, but the way Trojan Horses work this man's computer was serving as a host for porno pictures viewed by others.

It's not terribly hard detective work to identify the location of that computer, so it seems entirely possible to me that no informant was involved at all.

[eno_]

Hee hee. He could have more fun mailing the trojan around his local PD, and ratting them out to the FBI.

[D.P.Roberts]

If everyone who is arrested for a crime can successfully sue the police if they are innocent, then the police are out of business. Who wins then?

I believe that would be those citizens expecting a responsible, accountable police force.

[Dog Gone]

Oh, so you think cops should be able to pre-determine all the facts in the case, including possible defenses, and be held strictly liable for any non-guilty verdict.

How much do you want to pay them?

[GovernmentShrinker]

Does he get his daughter and his house back now? And who's going pay for the years of therapy which will be needed for the little girl, who is first living with her perfectly nice daddy, then suddenly yanked off to live with her maybe not so nice mommy (unusual for dad to have custody of a 7 year old girl, so gotta wonder what's wrong with mommy that she didn't have custody to begin with) and told that her daddy is a horrible pervert and is in jail, then yanked back to live with her perfectly nice daddy who has to try to explain all this to her and make her feel safe and secure again?

[Young Werther]

TROJAN HORSE = ILLI KID

[lilylangtree]

Glad I got a firewall.