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A hacker's mom broke into a prison and the warden's computer

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Re: A hacker's mom broke into a prison and the warden's computer

#51

Post by pjc50 »

aaomidi wrote: post #13
Shivetya wrote: post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Well in Georgia we have had a few reports from the prison system about what they confiscate from prisoners. [0]. Look at what they are finding just among the prisoners so imagine how much easier it is to smuggle into the staff areas anything you want. Nearly two thousand cell phones, four times that number in make shift weapons, and of course drugs. Cell phones are a particular problem because it has been shown that…

Is it wrong that I find it a terrible thing that people aren't allowed computers with internet or cellphones in prison? How do we expect people to join back to society when they can't use literally the number one most important thing? Maybe give them phones with no cameras and monitoring of use, but just nothing seems very inhumane.

They should definitely not be locked into expensive for profit comms, but they do need to be censored a bit in case they either harass victims or carry on organized crime.

Re: A hacker's mom broke into a prison and the warden's computer

#52

Post by throwaway55554 »

proc0 wrote: post #46
krilly wrote: post #39

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Wait, what was your point here? That women actually are wonderful?

Sounds like society is so biased in favor of women that they can get away with breaking shit (whether accident or intentional).

> breaking shit

You mean fixing.

Re: A hacker's mom broke into a prison and the warden's computer

#54

Post by dang »

mttjj wrote: post #50

Off-topic but can someone please fix the lazy title? I detest misused (or omitted) apostrophes. Even better would to just change the title to match the linked article: "How a Hacker's Mom Broke Into a Prison—and the Warden's Computer"

Yes, fixed now.

Submitters: please don't rewrite titles unless they are misleading or linkbait. This is in the site guidelines: https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html.

(Submitted title was "Pen testers mom breaks into a state prison and infects wardens computer")

Re: A hacker's mom broke into a prison and the warden's computer

#55

Post by jcims »

vsareto wrote: post #11

Articles like these are a great anecdote of the ease of getting people into security. Despite the need for people, you'll still encounter a lot of barriers to getting a job. It doesn't make sense to have a bunch of hoops to jump through when the demand is there, you can train people easily, and there are people willing to learn. You can disregard 99% of calls-to-action regarding security hiring and talent demand.

I think you're disregarding the fact that Rita was almost certainly better than anyone in that company at playing the role of state health inspector specifically and getting into that prison without stink eye from anyone. She brought the interest (she asked for the job) and a deep domain expertise that the company was able to directly leverage into an engagement. This is something the industry is begging for and will trip over themselves to invest in.

It's not clear that you're describing that kind of situation. Taking someone with essentially zero relevant experience and training them up to be someone that can deliver a skilled service to a client is a much different ask. There are companies that are willing to make that bet, I work for one now that is hiring pure developers in a security role, but they have the resources to play the long game. Little infosec consulting firms can't do that.

This comes across as me disagreeing with you. I'm not, I agree security is easy to get into and there is way too much black box bullshit surrounding it. I just have been involved with companies along the full spectrum of services and capabilities and feel that not everyone is in the position to make the bet you're laying out as a sure thing.

Re: A hacker's mom broke into a prison and the warden's computer

#56

Post by dang »

lastres0rt wrote: post #49
throwaway55554 wrote: post #27

> In 2016, Rita died of pancreatic cancer; she never had a chance to do another pen test. Strand declined to say which prison his mother infiltrated, only that it has since shut down. After reading the rest of the story, that was a gut punch!

Well, you've heard of burner phones -- welcome to 'the burner hacker'.

Could you please stop posting unsubstantive comments to Hacker News? You've been doing it repeatedly, and we're trying for a bit better than that here.

https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html

Re: A hacker's mom broke into a prison and the warden's computer

#57

Post by robocat »

zoonosis wrote: post #45
Broken_Hippo wrote: post #33

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It most definitely isn't a priority: If it were, the US would look at other countries with lower recidivism rates and spend a bit more on things like mental health care, halfway houses, job placement, and so on.

While I agree that the US prison system has many issues, recidivism rates can't really be compared between countries because of differences in time frames and rearrest vs re-conviction. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4472929/

The issue is not about comparing recidivism rates.

It is whether the US is looking at the results achieved by other countries and whether the US is trying to emulate successful strategies.

As a sweeping generalisation, I see that the US says "that doesn't apply to us", always finding some weird excuse. Your invalid response is kind of an example.

Re: A hacker's mom broke into a prison and the warden's computer

#58

Post by ebg13 »

ahmadss wrote: post #53
ebg13 wrote: post #7

Is there an article to this article? I just see a 3 sentence blurb and an unrelated video.

keep scrolling down....

Nothing. I see 3 sentences. A short bio about the author. An unrelated "Featured" video. And then "More for You".

Screenshot here. Safari on the left. Firefox on the right. https://i.imgur.com/Qgqiywc.png

Re: A hacker's mom broke into a prison and the warden's computer

#59

Post by somesortofsystm »

aaomidi wrote: post #13
Shivetya wrote: post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Well in Georgia we have had a few reports from the prison system about what they confiscate from prisoners. [0]. Look at what they are finding just among the prisoners so imagine how much easier it is to smuggle into the staff areas anything you want. Nearly two thousand cell phones, four times that number in make shift weapons, and of course drugs. Cell phones are a particular problem because it has been shown that…

Is it wrong that I find it a terrible thing that people aren't allowed computers with internet or cellphones in prison? How do we expect people to join back to society when they can't use literally the number one most important thing? Maybe give them phones with no cameras and monitoring of use, but just nothing seems very inhumane.

> Is it wrong that I find it a terrible thing that people aren't allowed computers with internet or cellphones in prison?

I also think they should be allowed to grow their own weed.

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