Or, as Rick Green said so well today, Julie Amero is held hostage for 432 days.

I’m waiting for the state to admit that this poor substitute teacher should never have been arrested, tried and convicted. I’m waiting for prosecutors in Norwich to do something: come up with some real evidence and try her — or drop the charges. Amero’s supporters, who include Internet security experts from around the country, have a petition urging Chief State’s Attorney Kevin Kane to drop all charges.

Perhaps the citizens of Norwich should tie yellow ribbons around their trees. It might even be more effective for them to ask their law enforcement officials to focus on real criminals and let the innocent be.

Please sign the petition. It’s time for Julie Amero to be freed from the chains she’s worn for 432 days.

And thank you, Rick Green, for being a responsible voice for justice.

Update: Thanks to a fellow member of The Julie Group, I’ve got a widget on my sidebar counting the number of days Julie has been held hostage. I’ll remove it when they free her.

There is an online petition set up for Julie Amero, appealing to the state and local prosecutors to withdraw all charges against her and end the nightmare that has been the last 3 1/2 years of her life. Click here to sign it.

Even though it’s been 13 months since Judge Strackbein set aside the verdict against her, it’s not enough. She should be completely exonerated of the charges, and the only way for that to happen is for the prosecutors to formally drop all charges against her. If they don’t go on record with this, Julie will suffer the way she did earlier this year, when she was fired by her employer after someone left a copy of Rick Green’s New Year’s editorial on her supervisor’s desk, and others pressured her employer to fire the woman who “showed porn to kids”.

This is the stigma she lives with, despite concrete, irrefutable evidence that she was the victim of sloppy network maintenance and multiple malware infestations. Please, sign the petition, and tell these prosecutors the time has come to give Julie Amero the justice she deserves.

Unlike Julie Amero, Michael Fiola won’t face criminal charges for possession of child pornography. But that doesn’t make his case any less egregious, or his life any different today. It doesn’t give him his job back, restore his reputation, or the harm that’s been done as a result of yet another ignorant leap to the wrong conclusion.

Michael Fiola worked for the Department of Industrial Accidents in Massachusetts. On November 20, 2006, Fiola was issued a laptop for use in connection with his field work as an accident investigator. In March, 2007 the laptop was seized and Fiola was subsequently fired from his job for possession of child pornography. The case was also referred to the DA for prosecution.

This time, however, the laptop was examined by a qualified forensic examiner, Tami Loehrs. Her examination and analysis of the laptop concluded the following:

1. The laptop was infected with at least 5 serious viruses and Trojans that caused the computer to be compromised for at least 4 1/2 months — longer than Fiola had possession of the laptop.
2. The Symantec antivirus software installed was outdated and not functioning properly from day one.
3. The Systems management software wasn’t installed properly, so no network monitoring or updates were being pushed to the laptop.
4. Mr. Fiola not only wasn’t responsible for the pornography, he probably didn’t even know about it.

Of course, the DIA didn’t take kindly to the allegation that this was all their fault, and in a fashion similar to Julie Amero’s prosecution, said that with their 3-hour examination of the hard drive and the assumption that one has to DO something in order to initiate such activity it was clearly Fiola’s fault and so he should be fired, he should not get his job back, and he should suffer the stigma of being a kiddie porn downloader for the rest of his life.

This is outrageous. Beyond outrageous. You can read Loehrs’ report yourself. The investigator for the DIA climbs up on his high horse and makes the usual specious statements about how “the network is monitored carefully” and that “the user has to do something to have pornography downloaded, it just doesn’t download itself”, indicating that he has absolutely zero knowledge of how Trojans and viruses work. In fact, one of the times the laptop had activity was a time where Fiola was out for the evening without the laptop. Loehrs hammers home the responsibility of the network administrator here:

It is their opinion that Michael Fiola must be responsible for the activity because it was only happening when he possessed the Laptop out in the field. How else could viruses, Trojans and hackers attack a Laptop? The Laptop must be turned on for the viruses and Trojans to execute or for a hacker to gain access to it. Therefore, the Laptop could only be compromised when Michael Fiola had the Laptop turned on and he typically had the Laptop turned on when he was in the field. He did not need the Laptop at the office because he had a desktop computer at the office, therefore the Laptop was not compromised during those times. In addition, viruses and Trojans typically need some event to occur in order to trigger their execution. For example, when the Internet browser is opened, it may trigger the downloader to download a back door which in turn allows the hacker to gain access. Therefore, when Michael Fiola opens his Internet browser to access a work-related website, checks his email or logs into the DIA mainframe, the trigger is pulled, the virus or Trojan begins its attack and the activity subsequently appears to be caused by Michael Fiola.

Her indictment of their disingenuity is no less scathing:

If the DIA had reviewed the Symanec logs, they would have discovered the numerous viruses and Trojans attacking the Laptop for four and a half months without resolution; that log files were missing or incomplete; that virus definition downloads were failing; that virus scans were only taking 30 seconds to complete. If the DIA had reviewed the SMS logs they would have discovered the numerous errors that began the moment Michael Fiola received the Laptop thereby leaving the Laptop unmonitored and unmaintained for four and a half months. If the DIA had reviewed the temporary Internet files they would have discovered suspicious activity occurring day after day including the appearance of pornography with no preceding event; websites being cached to the hard drive at the rate of 20 to 40 per minute; JavaScript files with malicious code. What should have been a “red flag” to Mr. Glennon and the IT department when they found the Verizon wireless data usage to be four and a half times that of any other user is that the Laptop may have been compromised by a virus, Trojan or hacker.

According to the Boston Herald article, the Fiolas intend to sue the DIA for the destruction of his reputation, career and life. His attorney has a good grasp of the big picture:

“Imagine this scenario: Your employer gives you a ticking time bomb full of child porn, and then you get fired, and then you get prosecuted as some kind of freak,” he railed.

This is happening to many, many people. The combined arrogance of in-house IT folks who don’t want to admit they screwed up someone’s computer and someone’s life and the ignorance of many who investigate on the employers’ behalf leaves real people behind, bankrupt and ostracized.

I hope Mr. Fiola succeeds in his efforts to hold the TRUE culprits available. And I hope Julie Amero is given a new trial, or better yet, has the charges dropped against her. Both are victims of something they could not control, and both found themselves at the mercy of IT administrators’ arrogance (or ignorance), and hot zeal to hand out punishment for it, whether or not the responsible party was punished.

If you know of anyone who has found themselves in a similar situation and are in need of assistance, send them to The Julie Group blog for assistance.

h/t Alex Eckelberry - Sunbelt Blog

Saturday was One Web Day, and I wanted to get this posted on the actual day, but time got away from me. Even though designating a day is great, it occurred to me that what it begins shouldn’t end the day after, deferred for another year until the next one.

The purpose of One Web Day is:

The idea behind OneWebDay is to encourage people to think of themselves as responsible for the internet, and to take good and visible actions on Sept. 22 that celebrate the positive impact of the internet on the world.

Toward that end, the organizers encourage bloggers to post about the top 10 amazing ways the web has changed the world, the ways the web has changed my individual world, or ways I’d like to see the web change the world. The organizers also encourage one web-related action that helps someone else.

There are so many different ways the web has changed me and the world I live in. I originally went online in 1992 via Compuserve to research the 1971 murder of my grandfather. In the process, I met people along the way who I would not have had the opportunity to meet, much less have a conversation. Judge Ray Cunningham helped me navigate the legal system; others helped me to really form goals and objectives for my research, and ultimately, that small group helped me accept the fact that for some things, there just aren’t going to be answers. Not one to give up easily, I hit the Internet in 1994 on a very slow dialup connection through a local university in the hopes that I would discover answers. I didn’t, but I discovered a world I never imagined.

I discovered a world where people openly shared their lives in the hopes of helping others. Blogs about raising bipolar children, about racism in today’s times, about injustice and justice, about art and photography, about how other families manage ADHD, about friends who I’ve never met but consider a friend, and about friends I have met and learn something new from every day. I discovered writers who challenge my thinking and writers who teach me.

If I were to name one way that I’ve been changed by the web, it would be this: It has given me the freedom and permission to discover my creative self without fear of rejection. It silenced my internal editor because it is so easy to share my photos, my writing, and my thoughts. Not only is it easy, but it invites me to step into the world of global sharing, to open myself not only to sharing my own photography but also to enjoy others’ work from home and around the world. My Flickr contacts are global — there are no barriers, not even language. Zooomr is similar, especially as it grows and welcomes the global communities. Once those artificial self-created barriers were torn away, I was freed to indulge the creative me screaming to get out. And I’ve only touched the tip of that long-frozen iceberg. Along those lines, it also brings golden nuggets like Thomas Hawk’s Principles and Guides for Photowalking, one of the most inspiring and encouraging posts about the art of photography that I’ve seen.

The web changes all of us, sometimes for the better and sometimes for the worse. Julie Amero’s life was changed for the worst through no fault of her own by the Internet, and yet, it was also the Internet that came to her rescue. Even though she remains in a suspended limbo until the prosecutor makes a decision as to the disposition of her overturned verdict and refreshed charges pending, at least she is free and not sitting in prison for a crime she never committed. Out of that rescue effort, The Julie Group was born to help others who are the victims of the darker side of the Internet. I’m glad that I have a small voice as a blogger there, and gladder still that there was such an overwhelming response to what I and others wrote about her case. In my time blogging, I would say that Julie Amero’s plight and the small contribution I made alongside the much larger contribution that a small group of computer forensic experts and others made is one of the Internet’s finest hours, and a shining example of how we can all make a difference for the good.

I’m looking forward to more of that in the coming year and years following. As wonderful an idea as One Web Day is, the lasting value comes from the actions of ordinary people, connected by fiber, phone and cable, speaking their minds, offering their expertise, calling for injustices to be made right, and teaching us all something simply by taking the time to be a small part of this whole organism called “the Web”.

Technorati Tags: OneWebDay

Thanks to Dan Kaplan at SC Magazine for such a nice introduction!

“The primary goal is to help those who have been unfairly or potentially unfairly convicted of a computer crime,” founder Alex Eckelberry, the president of Sunbelt Software who led a campaign to support Amero’s claim she was a victim of adware and spyware, told SCMagazine.com today. “The corollary goals are to educate people on the problem of computer crime, how you can be innocent but look like you’re guilty.”

Last week, a Connecticut Superior Court judge ordered a new trial for Amero after ruling that erroneous testimony from a police investigator may have led the jury to its guilty verdict.

The Julie Group may have only been announced over the weekend with the launching of a modest website, but Eckelberry and others already have grand ambitions. Eckelberry said he foresees The Julie Group doing for IT security education and the falsely accused what the Southern Poverty Law Center did in the wake of the civil rights movement.

“It’s a similar type of injustice that occurs,” he said. “We’re a civilized body formed to continue the fight.”

The group, made up of about 50 people who appeared on the Amero listserv created by Eckelberry, is already looking into the case of an educator accused of similar crimes as Amero, he said. He would not release any more details.

The volunteer effort also has already posted about Matt Bandy, a teenager convicted of uploading child pornography when he actually was a victim of a zombie computer. He will end up not receiving jail time.

Frank Krasicki, a teacher and blogger, said the group’s main goal is to provide resources for those most in need of help.

“Preventative computing practices that minimize exposure to inappropriate content will be endorsed,” he said on his blog. “Educational materials for use in schools will be examined and recommended.”

The nonprofit will offer pro bono services and seek to reform state computer laws that are vague in their explanation of what constitutes a violation, Eckelberry said.

I spent some time last night looking hard at Matt Bandy’s situation. The report of the content on his computer is here and the prosecutor’s position is outlined here. They’re also listed on our JulieGroup wiki.

My primary focus for The Julie Group comes from the perspective of a parent. What expertise I have comes from experience or obsession, but I hope to bring that experience into play by putting focus on what a parent needs to know about protecting their home networks from malware and adware that kids are likely to bring to them.

That, and of course, the fact that I have a big mouth. Or keyboard. Or whatever it is that constitutes a loud mouth in the blogosphere.

Technorati Tags: thejuliegroup, security, education, online safety, legal, advocacy

Julie Amero’s case is not unique. It happens far too often. I’ve been focused on the Julie case because it was one of the most blatant misunderstandings of malware I’d ever seen. Until today. I thought I’d seen it all, but the case of a child persecuted in the name of protecting the children has to be one of the most audacious, frustrating and sad that I’ve ever heard. Matt Bandy is a victim, as sure as Julie Amero.

I have been fortunate enough to participate in a private discussion list around the Amero case. One goal of the group on this list has been to expand what we’ve learned into something that reaches beyond Julie and toward others. TheJulieGroup blog is the beginning of that endeavor — a collaborative effort to identify unjust prosecutions of innocent citizens who are the victims of malware.

I hope you’ll visit, subscribe, and tell your friends about it. I’ll be contributing to it when I have a contribution to make, so if you know of anyone who finds themselves at risk of losing their job, family or liberty because they were victims of malware, let me know.

Technorati Tags: thejuliegroup, malware, injustice, legal, safe children

Any TV Station who would cast Julie Amero as a “porn-loving schoolteacher” after the zillions of megabytes flying around showing that even the JUDGE sees the facts of the case is really no more than a click whore.

If you watch this station, stop. Their lead headline to the AP blurb is appalling.

And people wonder why the mainstream media is viewed with such cynicism these days.

KTVO-3=Click Whore. They want your attention but don’t serve up the facts. (see update below, however)

Alex Eckelberry has a screenshot and contact info on his blog. Give ‘em a call, write, tell a friend.

Update: The AP story has been reposted on their site with a far more accurate and descriptive headline: New trial for teacher convicted in porn incident

Technorati Tags: KTVO-3, heartland, click whores, libel

Norwich Bulletin:

Judge Hillary Strackbein this morning granted a motion for a new trial for Julie Amero.

The judge’s decision is based on evidence that shows some of the computer evidence shown at court was inaccurate.

A new trail date has not been set. Amero has entered a not guilty plea.

From the Hartford Courant, Rick Green writes:

In setting aside the guilty verdict, Strackbein ruled that the witness the state presented as a computer expert, a Norwich police detective, provided “erroneous” testimony about the classroom computer.

“The jury may have relied, at least in part, on that false information,” said Strackbein.

Truth, Justice and the American Way: 1 Mark Lounsbury: 0

And this, again from Rick Green:

But today, Smith said state would take no position on Dow’s motion for a new trial, making it unlikely she will be tried again. Smith also acknowledged that erroneous information about the computer was presented during trial.

Update#2 Raw Video News Feed: It has some excellent and interesting comments from the experts involved.
Update: The Day.com’s article, and a screenshot of their page with a terrific photo from the Hartford Courant (more here):

Technorati Tags: julie amero, justice, malware