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Gov Parson pushes to prosecute reporter who found security flaw in state site

missouriindependent.com

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Re: Gov Parson pushes to prosecute reporter who found security flaw in state site

#41

Post by MisterBastahrd »

torstenvl wrote: post #12
Bhilai wrote: post #3

Here is a potentially dumb idea: Before someone can declare candidacy for a public office, they should pass an exam that tests them on general and basic knowledge on a wide variety of topics that proves that the person has some level of general awareness of tech that is so ubiquitous.

Your proposal suggests that this result is due to lack of knowledge, rather than malice. While I'm a fan of Hanlon's Razor in the absence of evidence to the contrary, the Governor's office clearly employs technologically competent people. That means that the Governor is either persisting despite knowing better, or is remaining deliberately ignorant despite the expertise at his disposal. Either way, this is at least s…

I've got plenty of life experience that proves that people in power who employ technologically competent people often refuse to listen to expert advice because might makes right.

You don't have to be malicious to be incompetent.

Re: Gov Parson pushes to prosecute reporter who found security flaw in state site

#42

Post by inetknght »

notreallyserio wrote: post #10
Acutulus wrote: post #7

I find the article title kind of curious, given that it states Parson has "doubled down" which suggests that the video the article references is an active effort on Parson's part. It then goes on to state that the video was produced by a PAC Parson created but doesn't give direct input to. Comes off as unnecessarily inflammatory to me I suppose. Having said that, this situation in particular really tests my willingne…

It sounds like he’s part of the Strong Man party and cannot be allowed to be wrong. I don’t think it’s purely political, some people just can’t be reasoned with.

> some people just can’t be reasoned with.

It's been eye opening to see and recognize such people on the internet over the past 10 years or so. It's been a lot more scary to be able to recognize the same character flaw in real people I'm physically around.

Re: Gov Parson pushes to prosecute reporter who found security flaw in state site

#43

Post by goostavos »

ClumsyPilot wrote: post #37
Acutulus wrote: post #7

I find the article title kind of curious, given that it states Parson has "doubled down" which suggests that the video the article references is an active effort on Parson's part. It then goes on to state that the video was produced by a PAC Parson created but doesn't give direct input to. Comes off as unnecessarily inflammatory to me I suppose. Having said that, this situation in particular really tests my willingne…

Damn, how could such prosecution actually go ahead, this sound like tinpot dictatorship news

He "decoded the html"! C'mon, man! That's hacking!

Re: Gov Parson pushes to prosecute reporter who found security flaw in state site

#44

Post by bcrosby95 »

atty wrote: post #25

This feels like the reaction of a child who was embarrassed in front of their friends on the playground, too upset to understand that doubling down just makes it look worse. Sad to see that sort of behavior coming from one of the ~100 most powerful elected individuals in the country. Bad look for Missouri. I also am incapable of understanding how this could be twisted into even vaguely being described as hacking. Tha…

Unfortunately society generally seems to think its okay for adults to act like children, but it's not okay for children to act like children.

Re: Gov Parson pushes to prosecute reporter who found security flaw in state site

#45

Post by voidwtf »

This attitude is how you attract the attention of many grey/black hat types willing to make you look foolish. I'm curious how long before someone accepts this as a challenge to expose truly damaging security missteps in the state government sites.

Re: Gov Parson pushes to prosecute reporter who found security flaw in state site

#47

Post by abvdasker »

I'll risk making this a partisan issue and say the anti-intellectual and anti-science bent seems increasingly prevalent among Republicans like Mike Parson and their constituencies. One of the most shocking statistics I've seen recently is the Pew poll which shows that in the space of 2 years Republican attitudes about higher education saw a 20-point swing such that that most Republican voters now believe college is net detrimental to society. To me the attacks on journalism, technology and science feel like part of a larger trend, especially given the COVID denialism we've seen.

https://www.pewresearch.org/social-trends/2019/08/19/the-gro...

Re: Gov Parson pushes to prosecute reporter who found security flaw in state site

#48

Post by fouc »

torstenvl wrote: post #12
Bhilai wrote: post #3

Here is a potentially dumb idea: Before someone can declare candidacy for a public office, they should pass an exam that tests them on general and basic knowledge on a wide variety of topics that proves that the person has some level of general awareness of tech that is so ubiquitous.

Your proposal suggests that this result is due to lack of knowledge, rather than malice. While I'm a fan of Hanlon's Razor in the absence of evidence to the contrary, the Governor's office clearly employs technologically competent people. That means that the Governor is either persisting despite knowing better, or is remaining deliberately ignorant despite the expertise at his disposal. Either way, this is at least s…

> Governor's office clearly employs technologically competent people.

But you're assuming the Governor would pass the basic test that even shows that he is competent at listening to other competent people.

Re: Gov Parson pushes to prosecute reporter who found security flaw in state site

#49

Post by toomuchtodo »

inetknght wrote: post #42
notreallyserio wrote: post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It sounds like he’s part of the Strong Man party and cannot be allowed to be wrong. I don’t think it’s purely political, some people just can’t be reasoned with.

> some people just can’t be reasoned with. It's been eye opening to see and recognize such people on the internet over the past 10 years or so. It's been a lot more scary to be able to recognize the same character flaw in real people I'm physically around.

I highly recommend this [1] book on the topic as we navigate a post-truth world. The Narcissist's Prayer is also worth a read [2].

It's not all narcissism though; it can be difficult to reason with deeply ingrained belief systems when there is a lack of critical thinking and challenges to the Id and ego, not to mention innate tribalism.

EDIT: Agree with the deleted comment that The Narcissist's Prayer could also be The CEO's Prayer, based on the personality type the C suite attracts [3].

[1] https://smile.amazon.com/Narcissist-You-Know-Narcissists-All... (The Narcissist You Know: Defending Yourself Against Extreme Narcissists in an All-About-Me Age)

[2] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=28880280

[3] https://www.cnbc.com/2019/04/08/the-science-behind-why-so-ma... (1 in 5 business leaders may have psychopathic tendencies—here’s why, according to a psychology professor)

Re: Gov Parson pushes to prosecute reporter who found security flaw in state site

#50

Post by MisterBastahrd »

h2odragon wrote: post #18

I'd hope that a court would (quickly!) find the truth of the matter, and the Gov further humiliated. If there is in fact a legal violation to stick here then there's even more of a public service done in highlighting that stupidity as well. This is what newspapers are supposed to do innit?

He would simply declare that his victory was stolen by special interests in the judiciary, and over 50% of his state would nod and agree.
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