Department of Defense Access to Your Mac?

[Mobius Rex]

This is hidden in your hard drive, automatically installed from your installation disk. Go here: Hard Drive > System > Library > Core Services > SecuritySystemPlugins >SCLoginPlugin.bundle(ctrl+click) > Show Package Contents > Contents > Resources.
These files, apparently, are used in conjunction with a Department of Defense common access card(cac): http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=25526

If this is for use only by agents of the DoD, why is it installed on everyone's Mac?
Why is it hidden?; obviously, Apple doesn't want you to know that it's on your hard drive.
Is it to allow DoD agents to access any Mac and upload/download info from it or to it?

I contacted AppleCare about this, and the AppleCare tech people that I talked to were quite testy and brusque about this matter. I was told that this matter is "outside of AppleCare" and they are unable to provide any info about it. Period. End of the matter.
Yet, the above DoD files are automatically installed on our Macs' hard drives without our prior knowledge or consent. It seems that the stink of Big Brother is permeating everyone's lives, these days.
Do any of you have any answers, explanations or comments?

[kainjow]

No, it's so people in the government can login to their Macs with their ID cards (or something like that). See http://www.macosxhints.com/article.p...31104204203331

[ElDiabloConCaca]

Yep -- I know an Air Force pilot who uses it -- he's got some kind of physical keychain that generates random sequences for logins and what-not. I don't know the whole of it, but I would assume it works with that.

No, the DoD cannot snoop on your computer at all. Nobody can unless you let them. There are no "back doors" in OS X that would allow anyone remote access to your Macintosh. You're being quite paranoid about it!

If you snoop deep enough into any opeating system, you'll probably find files named like "SecretBackDoor" and "MSAccessControl" and "PersonalInformationSender" and whatnot. Just because a file has a suspicious name doesn't mean that it's for secret access to your computer.

Besides -- Apple didn't hide this from anyone. You found it -- that's proof that it's not hidden. Plus there's a tech document on it with instructions on what it's for. And it is beyond the scope of AppleCare -- you weren't calling to inquire about how to use it, you called to inquire what it is. It's a system file that is not affecting your system in any negative way, so it's not really a "problem", and you're not inquiring about how to use it, so what did you expect AppleCare to do?

Download the manual in your link and read it and you'll see quite clearly that it's nothing to get your panties in a bunch over. Calling it "Big Brother" is overreacting.

You also authorized the install of the software by installing Mac OS X.

[Satcomer]

Some people in the US government use the CAC cards for login security. This CAC card reader is installed on current OS X installs and XP installs. It is nothing to be concerned about.

[Mobius Rex]

Thanks for your replies; I feel just a bit better. However, I did trash the offensive crap. In SecurityAgent Plugins, I removed both RestartAuthorization.bundle and SCLoginPlugin.bundle. Loginwindow.bundle, apparently, can't be removed without, then, preventing one from logging in, so that remains, for now.
Paranoia? Oh, I don't know about that. The U.S. government has amply demonstrated, over the past few years, that it absolutely cannot be trusted, in any way, shape or form.