Investigation finds inmates built computers and hid them in prison ceiling • Hacker News Board

Re: Investigation finds inmates built computers and hid them in prison ceiling

#11

Post by nerdponx » Wed, Apr 12, 2017, 4:51 AM UTC

greglindahl wrote: post #5

borp_borp wrote: post #2

Kind of shitty that they immediately used the computers to fuck people over... The Ohio Inspector General says investigators found an inmate used the computers to steal the identity of another inmate, and then submit credit card applications, and commit tax fraud. One inmate, Adam Johnston, reportedly admitted to applying for the credit cards, saying he just looked through the ODRC system for a young inmate with a lo…

Blekko had a contract with a VPN provider for search, and they were very popular in Egypt during the Arab Spring. We were hoping that we were powering curiosity about freedom, but the query stream was... 100% porn queries.

To be fair, porn is pretty benign, and the freedom to consume the porn of your choice is something we probably take for granted too much in the United States.

Re: Investigation finds inmates built computers and hid them in prison ceiling

#12

Post by [deleted] » Wed, Apr 12, 2017, 5:02 AM UTC

borp_borp wrote: post #2

Kind of shitty that they immediately used the computers to fuck people over... The Ohio Inspector General says investigators found an inmate used the computers to steal the identity of another inmate, and then submit credit card applications, and commit tax fraud. One inmate, Adam Johnston, reportedly admitted to applying for the credit cards, saying he just looked through the ODRC system for a young inmate with a lo…

[deleted]

Re: Investigation finds inmates built computers and hid them in prison ceiling

#13

Post by chongli » Wed, Apr 12, 2017, 5:18 AM UTC

cooper12 wrote: post #9

Banthum wrote: post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

People end up in prison for a reason. Though how I wish it wasn't so.

People have gone to the prison in the past solely because of the color of their skin or because of their religion. People today go to prison just for possessing a plant or criticizing their head of state. Let's not pretend that being in prison is anything other than a moral judgement rather than an indication of someone's character. It just makes it easier to dehumanize prisoners ("they deserve it") and harder for th…

These, along with victim blaming, are examples of behaviour consistent with the Just World Hypothesis [0]. It's really frustrating how many people seem to fall into this cognitive trap but it's understandable. I can see how people who are more aware of the fact that the world is a cruel, unjust, and arbitrary place could fall into a deep depression. I have been there myself.

[0] https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Just-world_hypothesis

Re: Investigation finds inmates built computers and hid them in prison ceiling

#14

Post by pmiller2 » Wed, Apr 12, 2017, 5:20 AM UTC

Overtonwindow wrote: post #3

I'm not sure whether or be alarmed or proud.

I'm going with "amazed."

Re: Investigation finds inmates built computers and hid them in prison ceiling

#15

Post by qb45 » Wed, Apr 12, 2017, 5:38 AM UTC

Overtonwindow wrote: post #3

I'm not sure whether or be alarmed or proud.

It's quite neat that they managed to access the Internet using some staff member's credentials.

Probably not a reason to be proud of him.

Re: Investigation finds inmates built computers and hid them in prison ceiling

#16

Post by jorblumesea » Wed, Apr 12, 2017, 5:41 AM UTC

That's crazy, how was security so lax that a physical connection was enough to access state systems? Surely you'd require some kind of staff login.

Re: Investigation finds inmates built computers and hid them in prison ceiling

#17

Post by qb45 » Wed, Apr 12, 2017, 5:49 AM UTC

cooper12 wrote: post #9

Banthum wrote: post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

People end up in prison for a reason. Though how I wish it wasn't so.

People have gone to the prison in the past solely because of the color of their skin or because of their religion. People today go to prison just for possessing a plant or criticizing their head of state. Let's not pretend that being in prison is anything other than a moral judgement rather than an indication of someone's character. It just makes it easier to dehumanize prisoners ("they deserve it") and harder for th…

We need a program allowing prisoners to serve their sentence as home arrest at foster homes of volunteers to isolate them from their pathological upbringing and socialize them with law-abiding citizenry. To eliminate possibility of unjust moral judgments and discrimination, obviously the inmates would get to choose their hosts and not the other way around.

I'm sure you would be happy to participate. Problem solved.

Re: Investigation finds inmates built computers and hid them in prison ceiling

#18

Post by jameslk » Wed, Apr 12, 2017, 5:49 AM UTC

> The inmates were able to get the parts from a program where inmates break down computers in order to learn computer skills and recycle the parts.

It appears the program provided an effective education.

Re: Investigation finds inmates built computers and hid them in prison ceiling

#19

Post by 2arrs2ells » Wed, Apr 12, 2017, 5:53 AM UTC

jorblumesea wrote: post #16

That's crazy, how was security so lax that a physical connection was enough to access state systems? Surely you'd require some kind of staff login.

> When they checked the login being used, they discovered an employee's credentials were being used on days he wasn't scheduled to work.

Re: Investigation finds inmates built computers and hid them in prison ceiling

#20

Post by sspiff » Wed, Apr 12, 2017, 5:56 AM UTC

So they were able to connect to the prison network, look through the state prison database using these computers and issue security passes to gain access to restricted areas.

I think the prison needs to get someone to look at the security of their network and applications.