Fergie's Tech Blog

Forensics Tech: Austrian Teen's Captor Used Old Computer, Complicates Investigation

An AP newswire article by William J. Kole, via SFGate.com, reports that:

Police combing through the house where Natascha Kampusch was held captive for 8 1/2 years said Tuesday they made an unusual discovery: Her captor, a communications technician, used an obsolete computer — and his odd choice now threatens to complicate their investigation.

Maj. Gen. Gerhard Lang of the Federal Criminal Investigations Bureau said kidnapper Wolfgang Priklopil, who killed himself by jumping in front of a train within hours of Kampusch's escape on Aug. 23, relied exclusively on a Commodore 64 computer — a model popular in the 1980s but now considered an antique.

Lang told reporters the outmoded computer would complicate investigators' efforts to transfer files for closer examination later, saying it would be difficult "to transmit the data to a modern computer without loss."

posted by Fergie @ 9/05/2006 01:34:00 PM