A software being marketed by law enforcement agencies to parents as a security tool to ensure their children's online safety can also be used to spy on people, according to Tech Dirt.
The ComputerCop is a program being used by over 240 agencies in various states across the country. It is endorsed by various organizations such as the American Civil Liberties Union, U.S. Department of Treasury and the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.
Basically, the ComputerCop was designed for parents to monitor the online activities of their kids.
However, in a test conducted by the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF), an organization that keeps tabs on the ethical and legal issues regarding computer use, a feature commonly used in spywares was detected in ComputerCop.
The feature, known as a keylogger, is a tool that allows a computer device to record each move made on a keyboard. Hackers and cyber criminals often use this tool to steal sensitive information from their victims such as passwords, account numbers and email addresses.
The EFF noted that the presence of keylogger in ComputerCop ironically exposes computer users to cyber attackers that the program aims to ward off, Wired reported.
"It's certainly ironic that law enforcement agencies are going after spyware makers while also distributing software that could be used for the same purposes," Dave Maas, an investigator for the EFF commented.
"Obviously there's a different in how these were marketed by the maker," he added. "But certainly law enforcement needs to train their magnifying glass on their own operations."
In his report, Maas noted that through ComputerCop's keylogger feature, law enforcers are "passing around what amounts to a spying tool that easily be used by people who want to snoop on spouses, roommates or co-workers."
According to Stephen Del Giorno, the founder of ComputerCop Corp, the keylogger was included in the program to detect keywords typed in by the user that are related to criminal activities such as gangs or drugs, according to Tech Times.
Del Giorno noted that it was not the intention of the company to release a spyware.
"We're not trying to be a spy tool," he said. "That was absolutely not our intention.