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Email from FBI Looks Odd

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Re: Email from FBI Looks Odd

#111

Post by Alex3917 »

elliekelly wrote: post #102
Alex3917 wrote: post #98

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If the FBI offers you immunity in exchange for implicating yourself in a crime, then they can't retroactively retract that offer after you've already confessed. This is true even in cases where the defendant was improperly offered immunity. And emails from an organization's domain name are generally legally binding. (Obviously this isn't legal advice.)

The FBI doesn’t offer immunity. The DOJ does. There’s also usually a signed document called a “proffer letter” or a “Queen for a Day” agreement that’s signed by an AUSA. I’m not sure an email would pass muster. Maybe it would, but it would certainly be a very big departure from the norm.

> The FBI doesn’t offer immunity. The DOJ does.

Fair. But if the FBI gave someone a cryptographically signed offer of immunity and the person then confessed, you don't think the case would get thrown out?

Re: Email from FBI Looks Odd

#112

Post by dqv »

bredren wrote: post #96
throwaway821909 wrote: post #90

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Ignoring this specific case where it seems especially unlikely, that's always seemed like someone worked backwards and overthought it to me, "the spelling mistakes, they have to mean something". I don't think there is a binary smart population and dumb population to optimise around, for every step down, some people who are otherwise convinced become hesitant and waste time, and some of that group become totally uncon…

In this podcast episode with the founder of conversational AI, he describes the need to make spelling mistakes (and correct them) in order to help establish that the bot is actually a human. https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-python-podcast-ini...

I think making sublte spelling mistakes is a much clearer sign that someone is human. The imperfection without correction makes it more believable. I still think the hackers could stand to take a creative writing workshop.

Re: Email from FBI Looks Odd

#113

Post by RNCTX »

fortran77 wrote: post #80
technion wrote: post #27

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Awesome. A guide written in 2019 from the FBI that suggests Internet Explorer.

I would assume they're recommending Edge now. We switched from IE to Edge around that time; and our company is very security conscious because of our clients.

I would assume you're wrong. I don't think you appreciate how many government websites run ancient software sold to them by a politician's cousin, who thinks even having a developer on staff is a waste of money.

Re: Email from FBI Looks Odd

#114

Post by ClumsyPilot »

xhkkffbf wrote: post #109

I hate to say it, but if I were to get an email from "fbi.gov", I would assume it belongs in the same pile as the great offers from that Nigerian prince. Even if I look at the headers, I wouldn't be convinced. Perhaps we should try harder to create a public key infrastructure for email.

The fact that we can trust government communication about as much as messages from a Nigerian prince gets us a step closer to the kind of society that produces them.

Re: Email from FBI Looks Odd

#115

Post by [deleted] »

yonaguska wrote: post #46

Tangentially related, but the FBI needs to be disbanded. At least the DC offices, which are simply a political police force at this point. This is just another example of incompetence on their part.

[deleted]

Re: Email from FBI Looks Odd

#116

Post by vmception »

kingkawn wrote: post #66
IYasha wrote: post #61

I still don't quite understand hackers: doing such high-profile hacking and writing lame texts even wihout much fact checking (about agency divisions in this case). Being written in more professional way, this attack could be way more effective. Also, is it a thing among "hackers" to write with tons of mistakes? A part of culture maybe? Or to scare the bricks out of people? )

Or the purpose is to make the FBI look publicly incompetent, not to successfully carry out a secret operation.

For the lulz, I would be happy to see that culture come back, well somewhat

Re: Email from FBI Looks Odd

#117

Post by jdavis703 »

dustingetz wrote: post #99
flatiron wrote: post #70

Earlier quoted context omitted.

According to the phishing training I was mandated to take at work if you are stupid enough to overlook the mistakes you are the right target. According to them the misspellings filter out the smart enough people they don’t want talking to. But that could also be nonsense.

Spelling errors like that are how real people write in enterprise, imagine Trump writing email

I’ve worked in government and contracted for Fortune 500 companies. Never have I seen an email that was written like Trump’s Tweets. I’m sure it happens, but I don’t think it’s common.

Re: Email from FBI Looks Odd

#118

Post by jedimastert »

IYasha wrote: post #61

I still don't quite understand hackers: doing such high-profile hacking and writing lame texts even wihout much fact checking (about agency divisions in this case). Being written in more professional way, this attack could be way more effective. Also, is it a thing among "hackers" to write with tons of mistakes? A part of culture maybe? Or to scare the bricks out of people? )

Along with the weeding described by others, this could also be a public proof of concept, with a much more sophisticated back-door left for whenever the clean up is done.

Re: Email from FBI Looks Odd

#119

Post by _game_of_life »

yonaguska wrote: post #46

Tangentially related, but the FBI needs to be disbanded. At least the DC offices, which are simply a political police force at this point. This is just another example of incompetence on their part.

So what would you suggest to replace it? Obviously there needs to be some federal law enforcement agency...

And as much as their past has portions that are super fucked up, wasn't that also a reflection of American society at the time?

I just think that for as much harm as the FBI historically caused, they've also busted enormous criminal rings and done a lot to reduce organized crime. I genuinely think Americans would be worse of without them, even with my bias as a leftist that typically loathes alphabet soup surviellance agencies.

Re: Email from FBI Looks Odd

#120

Post by nosefrog »

RNCTX wrote: post #108
geofft wrote: post #94

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I am guessing "Anyone who gets seriously close to threatening the FBI's existence will get extrajudicially prevented from doing so"? For a lawmaker, you don't even have to do anything legally or (particularly) morally questionable like killing them - just entrap them and have them lose their jobs. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abscam

If you do catch them and it's too public to go after you for retribution, they'll sell a federal judiciary seat to someone willing to erase it. One of Trump's 2017 judicial appointments in the ND of Texas dismissed the civil suit against the FBI, DOJ, and Comey by name for organizing the "ISIS" mass shooting in Garland, TX in 2015. We know they organized it because local cops caught an undercover in the parking lot w…

Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence, and most of what you've stated are not supported by your links.
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