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Governor vows criminal prosecution of reporter who found flaw in state website

missouriindependent.com

131–140 of 705 posts

Re: Governor vows criminal prosecution of reporter who found flaw in state website

#131
Aside from everything else,

"According to the Post-Dispatch, one of its reporters discovered the flaw in a web application allowing the public to search teacher certifications and credentials. No private information was publicly visible, but teacher Social Security numbers were contained in HTML source code of the pages."

I expect there will be no consequences for the mindless idiot who put SSNs in the HTML output.

Re: Governor vows criminal prosecution of reporter who found flaw in state website

#133
post #5

> No private information was publicly visible, but teacher Social Security numbers were contained in HTML source code of the pages. If it was in the HTML source code, then it was publicly visible, so it is unclear what the article is trying to say.

Every browser have access to the HTML source, even it is merely right click here and there. If the SSN is in the HTML source, then the blame should be on the webmaster who designed that code. Of course, accountability is not part of their tenet, it is too foreign for them. And look at the age of the governor, clearly shows that he is inept with the fundamental of the internet. I forgot to add one more thing. Did they…

Mike Parson is twenty-two days older than I am. I've been using View Source for a lot longer than twenty-two days.

Re: Governor vows criminal prosecution of reporter who found flaw in state website

#135
post #34

I don't think I can blame a politician for being technically illiterate, especially one that old. But what the heck is up with the state bureaucrats who report to that guy? I mean someone it the freaking state bureaucratic hierarchy should at least be lucid enough to consult someone who has an actual clue about things as these.

I can't stress how differently power works in the Southern States (EDIT: Missouri is a midwestern state officially, but I've always considered it part of the South). It's a very traditional place, where you do not dare contradict, let alone correct, your boss. There is none of this "avoid surrounding yourself with sycophants because they will only tell you what you want to hear" business. There is no upside to speaking up in meetings if what you're saying is not in direct support of the boss. If you do this, you will be branded a trouble-maker, lose favor with the hierarchy, and eventually you will be expelled. Politeness and deference matters far more than any other quality. Loyalty beats integrity every time in the south.

This incident is just one example of this in action.

Re: Governor vows criminal prosecution of reporter who found flaw in state website

#136
post #34

I don't think I can blame a politician for being technically illiterate, especially one that old. But what the heck is up with the state bureaucrats who report to that guy? I mean someone it the freaking state bureaucratic hierarchy should at least be lucid enough to consult someone who has an actual clue about things as these.

This is why you have tech literate experts to correct you and help you make a decision. Just like how you go to your doctor for help with an illness and get advice for what to do next. This isn't hard to do, it's just not politically powerful messaging. Parson wants to look big and powerful and so he'll just blow smoke up his AG's butt to do something which will quietly be dismissed afterwards with almost zero political cost to him.

Re: Governor vows criminal prosecution of reporter who found flaw in state website

#137
post #71
post #34

I don't think I can blame a politician for being technically illiterate, especially one that old. But what the heck is up with the state bureaucrats who report to that guy? I mean someone it the freaking state bureaucratic hierarchy should at least be lucid enough to consult someone who has an actual clue about things as these.

> I don't think I can blame a politician for being technically illiterate, especially one that old. Given the impact of technology on society, we absolutely can and should blame politicians who are technically illiterate.

I don't blame a politician for being not tech savvy.

I can and will blame them for not getting (And listening to!) a tech savvy advisor.

Re: Governor vows criminal prosecution of reporter who found flaw in state website

#140
post #77

Earlier quoted context omitted.

“I’m going to weaponize the law because you embarrassed us.”

I can't imagine that a large, national organization like the ACLU or CPJ would want to dump tons of money into making this a massive national story should that happen... Someone about to experience the Streisand effect in FULL force.

Somehow, I have the feeling the St. Louis Post-Dispatch's lawyers are thinking, "Bring it! We haven't had this much fun in ages."
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