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Laptop stolen from Pelosi's office during storming of U.S. Capitol, says aide

reuters.com

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Re: Laptop stolen from Pelosi's office during storming of U.S. Capitol, says aide

#111

Earlier quoted context omitted.

To prevent unauthorized entry, Capitol Police would have had to put up a fight. Seems they were unwilling to do so. If America continues down this path Russia (and others) are just gonna have a field day.

The Capitol Police were either incompetent or complicit. There are literally no other options. They knew there would be a big protests, numbers put it around 200k~300k (a tiny percentage of which actually went into the capitol building mind you). If they weren't prepared for this: incompetence. But there are videos of people getting selfies with guards, and staying within the velvet ropes when coming in. Something is…

They took selfies with the insurrectionists. They were complicit.

Re: Laptop stolen from Pelosi's office during storming of U.S. Capitol, says aide

#112

Beyond the information security risk around the loss of this specific device, what really worries me is the physical security implications here. I'm certainly no expert on the subject, but it seems to me like, in a building like the US Capitol, it should not be anywhere near this easy for unauthorized people to waltz into an office or conference room in the first place. Let alone walk away with items from within that…

All that money, all those guns, all that harassing of random citizens, and this happened. One has to ask “what are we actually paying for?”

Right, the annual Capitol Police budget alone is $550 million.

Re: Laptop stolen from Pelosi's office during storming of U.S. Capitol, says aide

#113

Earlier quoted context omitted.

They were understaffed, and it was clear that they could not protect both the building and the people. They correctly prioritized evacuating the people.

>They were understaffed, and it was clear that they could not protect both the building and the people. They correctly prioritized evacuating the people. I think it's pretty clear at this point that they would have been overstaffed if the protestors had a different skin color.

I don’t think that’s clear at all. I’ve seen it often repeated by the media, but there is absolutely no evidence to support it. Repeating this is only driving the two sides further apart.

Re: Laptop stolen from Pelosi's office during storming of U.S. Capitol, says aide

#114
What is a good strategy for most convenience while securing private data on a laptop that could be stolen?

Full disk encryption is good for when the machine is powered off.

What about for the scenario when it gets swiped during the work day when I'm in the bathroom?

Re: Laptop stolen from Pelosi's office during storming of U.S. Capitol, says aide

#116

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I've traveled to countries before whose offices of government are behind very large fences, protected by unfriendly looking men standing behind heavy machine guns in armored vehicles – and the guide books are very clear that you are not to take photos of them. I much prefer the approach taken in the USA, where our offices of government are accessible to the people that the government serves. It's very good that I can…

Most days that’s fair. This week however, they should’ve had the unfriendly man with the M2. This was a predictable problem to literally everyone but the people in charge of protecting the capital.

This makes it sound like the people in charge of protecting the capital did not know that this was a legitimate threat. From the articles I've read, they did in fact help that it was a legitimate threat, which raises the question: why did they do nothing about it?

Re: Laptop stolen from Pelosi's office during storming of U.S. Capitol, says aide

#117

Beyond the information security risk around the loss of this specific device, what really worries me is the physical security implications here. I'm certainly no expert on the subject, but it seems to me like, in a building like the US Capitol, it should not be anywhere near this easy for unauthorized people to waltz into an office or conference room in the first place. Let alone walk away with items from within that…

The US Embassy in Amsterdam is better protected than the Capitol.

Isn't that the right way around? Embassies in foreign countries need more protection than buildings in your own home country?

Re: Laptop stolen from Pelosi's office during storming of U.S. Capitol, says aide

#118
post #107

Earlier quoted context omitted.

And remote self-destruct!

Better than that might be an internet-free LoJack. Finding a laptop thief might be at least as valuable as retaining the encrypted information that's on disk. Edit: Also, stealing a laptop that belongs to the office of the US Speaker of the House will essentially never end well. There are endless examples to suggest that yesterday's fracas wasn't thought-through by the participants. This is one of them.

[deleted]

Re: Laptop stolen from Pelosi's office during storming of U.S. Capitol, says aide

#119
post #114

What is a good strategy for most convenience while securing private data on a laptop that could be stolen? Full disk encryption is good for when the machine is powered off. What about for the scenario when it gets swiped during the work day when I'm in the bathroom?

Have a shit battery + full disk encryption + linux with broken hibernate support

:D

Re: Laptop stolen from Pelosi's office during storming of U.S. Capitol, says aide

#120

Earlier quoted context omitted.

They were understaffed, and it was clear that they could not protect both the building and the people. They correctly prioritized evacuating the people.

>They were understaffed, and it was clear that they could not protect both the building and the people. They correctly prioritized evacuating the people. I think it's pretty clear at this point that they would have been overstaffed if the protestors had a different skin color.

Username checks out -- if you can't see this to be obvious based on this summer, one of us is struggling with reality.
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