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The screen that set off the ballistic missile alert on Saturday

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Re: The screen that set off the ballistic missile alert on Saturday

#131

Post by pc86 »

zimpenfish wrote: post #113
pc86 wrote: post #71

Earlier quoted context omitted.

As a government contractor who did not work on this, I can say I'd bet a lot of money that this is how this screen came about. Initially launched 2-10 years ago with 1-2 links, fast forward a bit and we have this. I can hear a forward thinking developer saying "hey should we at least have colored buttons or something on this screen so it's easy to see what is a test and what is not?" and the product owner/business ow…

> a forward thinking developer saying "hey should we at least have colored buttons Accessibility becomes an issue for colourblind people then.

Not necessarily. Colorblind doesn't mean "everything is grey" it means you have trouble distinguishing between between a few, usually fairly specific colors. There are plenty of color schemes out that that are perfectly fine for colorblind folks, especially when you only need 2-3 distinct colors.

Re: The screen that set off the ballistic missile alert on Saturday

#132

Post by Daycrawler »

sjs382 wrote: post #114

https://blog.codinghorror.com/the-opposite-of-fitts-law/ In the cockpit of every jet fighter is a brightly painted lever that, when pulled, fires a small rocket engine underneath the pilot's seat, blowing the pilot, still in his seat, out of the aircraft to parachute safely to earth. Ejector seat levers can only be used once, and their consequences are significant and irreversible. Applications must have ejector seat…

Also jet pilots have years of training whereas users are presented to "intuitive" interfaces where they have no reason not to push every button just to test them out.

Re: The screen that set off the ballistic missile alert on Saturday

#134

Post by 7952 »

koolba wrote: post #72
ghaff wrote: post #33

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>maybe have to type a confirmation string Having to type out YES or some phrase is a fairly common "Are you really sure you want to do this??" sort of thing. I gather they're also looking at requiring a second person's confirmation which, if practical and very unlikely to make it impossible to send any message, seems reasonable as well.

In a situation like this having to type the full text of the message as a confirmation would work. Any reasonable person typing in “ This is not a drill... ” would pause half way through. It’s not the same as blindly clicking “Yes”.

Why not just make them type the message out manually every single time? Why is it a good idea to offer options at all?

Re: The screen that set off the ballistic missile alert on Saturday

#135

Post by brewdad »

douglasheriot wrote: post #47

If that’s the user interface, I can hardly imagine what’s underneath. Is this thing actually secure with properly designed two-factor authentication, etc. Or a weak password and a PHP script and some rubbish like that?…

That's probably why they released this cropped screenshot. It wouldn't surprise if the site is accessible on the public web and secured with a weak password that must be changed weekly.

Re: The screen that set off the ballistic missile alert on Saturday

#136

Post by walshemj »

jacobush wrote: post #104
0xTJ wrote: post #22

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'd disagree on the first point, but only because it seems that many launch systems use floppy drives. (The big ones)

There is room for error. “This floppy is the drill floppy, I’m sure.” http://nuclearfiles.org/menu/key-issues/nuclear-weapons/issu... 1979 Nov 9 Computer Exercise Tape

Use different colors

Re: The screen that set off the ballistic missile alert on Saturday

#137

Post by olfactory »

jim_dow_jones wrote: post #106
giarc wrote: post #96

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>intentionally No one intentionally set off these alarms.

You are correct. There is no current reporting that claims these were set off intentionally. However, I'm curious if there could be a valid motive for both states to purposely set off these false alarms. It does seem like a pretty big coincidence that both states happen to get these false alarms in relatively short time frame. I have already seen conspiracy posts making claims about these alarms being purposely set o…

Some possible motives:

- To allow authorities to listen for "chatter" from NK military deployed in Hawaii who might have been ready to carry out some action if an attack were launched, but who would not likely have been told when it would occur.

- To watch how NK responds internally to the idea that the US might be launching a counter-strike. Things like escape routes, comms, etc., could be observed via sigint.

- To create a "path" for the public to think about this kind of thing. It's been years since anyone in the US (public or media) has had to think about incoming missile attacks. The false alarm gives all the reporters an excuse to read up on the history, to issue warnings about lack of preparedness, etc. This means that in the event of an actual attack the information mechanisms will all work more smoothly. It's a dress rehearsal so that everyone is not stuck like a deer in the headlights if an attack occurs.

- The false alarm could have been triggered by someone on the payroll of NK. Note that the main goal of the military is to inspire fear, not to actually kill people.

Re: The screen that set off the ballistic missile alert on Saturday

#138

Post by dictum »

joshstrange wrote: post #25

The thing that annoys me most about this situation is people complaining about how long it took to send out the "Sorry, there was no missile" message. Just as I expected these were hard-coded messages that were sent out by a button (link) click and not a free-form text area. There are many (good) reasons you want your program set up this way (let's ignore the rest of the terrible UI/UX for now). It makes complete sen…

> The best fix for this (yes a new UI/UX would be best but let's be realistic on how much time/energy they are willing to spend on this) would be a scary looking alert confirmation dialog of "Are you sure you want to send this alert to the whole state?"

"Give it a thump with your finger" https://youtu.be/YchEuqYjMi8?t=29

Re: The screen that set off the ballistic missile alert on Saturday

#139

Post by harleypig »

alkonaut wrote: post #73
whatever_dude wrote: post #19

It's easy to see how this is bad, and I bet dozens of designers are now creating alternatives for their dribble and Twitter appreciation, but the problem is probably what led to this, not this specifically. I can see it: a contractor started with a link that triggers a push notification, then someone requested another link, then another, then it grew from there, never having the ability to stop and rethink this from…

Incremental design doesn’t excuse the guy adding thing #2 or thing #3 not paying attention to the whole. Nor does being a contractor excuse it. You don’t get a contract job to add some links to a page. You are contracted to modify it (regardless of what the buyer said he wanted) - and you are responsible for not making it dangerous. Even if that means you can’t take the job. Someone reviewed the spec for this. Someon…

As a contractor or an employee, you do have the ability to do what you think is right despite what your employer says they want.

But only to a point. People resist perceived change. You can improve the back-end all you want, as long as you don't make unexpected changes to the front-end. This includes something as simple as a clarifying pop-up, or a speed increase of a procedure.

Re: The screen that set off the ballistic missile alert on Saturday

#140

Post by andygates »

andrepd wrote: post #9

Yikes. Now consider this: this is the design for the missile warning system. It is possible, even likely, that some missile launch system has similar catastrophic UI. How we've not wiped ourselves off by accident so far is a miracle.

J random local civilian warning system really doesn't have to be as tight as "don't blow up the world". There's a scale, here.
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