Tracking software installed on 7 Fairhope employees' computers

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Software that tracks employee computer usage and key strokes was placed on the computers of at least seven City of Fairhope employees, allegedly at the direction of Mayor Karin Wilson. Those employees were not informed of the actions at the time of the installations.

Gulf Coast Media has seen screenshots from a credible source taken from these employees’ computers that confirm the presence of the software there.

Those screenshots showed the software was placed on the computers of Human Resources Director Pandora Heathcoe, City Clerk Lisa Hanks, City Treasurer Deborah Smith, Purchasing Department Buyer Randy Weaver, Water and Sewer Superintendent Dan McCrory, Gas Superintendent Robert Rohm and recently retired Electrical Superintendent Jimmy Cluster.

According to confidential sources, the spyware was placed on the PCs by a member of Fairhope’s Information Technology Department at the instruction of Wilson and without notification to the seven employees.

The spyware, SentryPC, allows a user to monitor and control what is done on computer upon which the software is installed.

“Every activity your users perform on the computer and internet is recorded in real-time and in full detail for viewing - you will know exactly what they did and when they did it,” the Sentry PC website stated.

SentryPC is a completely cloud-based computer monitoring system, which raised some concerns among sources about the information being logged from some of the Fairhope employees’ computers.

“The city has no control over it,” a source said. “Medical information, HR information, bank account information - it’s all being stored off-site on a cloud network that may or may not be secure. And that’s just the information that belongs to the city.”

The spyware could have also logged passwords, emails and private information from those employees’ personal accounts if they were accessed on those computers.

“So, Heathcoe’s conversations with her attorney on the assault allegations against the mayor could be tracked if it was accessed on her computer at work, which could be an unfair advantage,” the source said. “Personal emails, personal bank statements and passwords - the SentryPC software logs everything on those computers.”

The SentryPC program was installed on Smith, McCrory, Cluster and Rohm’s computers on March 31, Heathcoe’s on April 5, Weaver’s on April 12 and Hanks’ on April 25.

Multiple sources questioned the reasoning for installing the spyware on those particular employees’ computers, and alleged Wilson’s motives in placing the software could have been motivated by the employees’ closeness to former Mayor Tim Kant.

Gulf Coast Media attempted to contact Wilson several times for her comments, but she turned down the interview requests.