NASA spies
Probably alien representatives on Earth complaining about NASA's intrusive data collection policy on Mars, other planets and the universe in general.
Multiple NASA websites were defaced last week by a Brazilian hacktivist who may have misread the sites' URLs, because he wasn't protesting about the US space agency giving joyrides to inhuman stowaways – he was protesting against NSA spying. “BMPoC” hit kepler.arc.nasa.gov and 13 other sites with messages protesting against US …
And I suppose when you think about it, given quite how much NSA data probably does come from satellite observations and suchlike, it could arguably be getting at the underlying source.
Or is that just the NRO (who maybe the next target, as they sound similar too) and Google Maps (no comparison between big G and the NSA needed)?
Sheepish admission time:
I saw various headlines online about revelations that General Alexander the head of NASA had built himself a 'Star Trek bridge' and this proved he was some sort of maniacal digital cowboy, trying to take over the world. I found this somewhat confusing, especially as I didn't think he was in charge of NASA. Until I finally took a close look at one, and realised that it read NSA.
I'm a bear of very little brain...
Well, the script kiddies aren't going to get into the NSA website, so they picked the low hanging fruit.
Actually, considering NASA's history, that fruit is always on the ground.
As for geography, most US citizens couldn't even find the US on a map. I won't even go into how many can't find Afghanistan, far too many think it's next door to Saudi Arabia.
I'm ashamed to say of my countrymen that the United States of America is a large village.
Full of village idiots.
Apparently, Brazil is trying to close the idiot gap.
Viewing from outside the usa NASA and NSA are both financed from the same coffer. Obviously protesting to the NSA does nothing so the protesting is aimed at americans in general.. maybe it's trying to make the point to american citizens that they can't just say one thing while another organization financed from the same coffer does something entirely different. Americans do it all the time, take glory from the good things the state does and then say that it's not them doing the bad things the government does, like the government was a different nation of it's own.
If that is the case, they missed the mark by a lot.
Most US citizens don't visit NASA sites. They'd far rather go to Twitter or Facebook than anything scientific, especially as they don't understand most of what NASA does.
As for our attitude with our government, you're partially correct. But, we also despise our government and distrust it.
Largely due to the fact that when we correspond with our congresscritters, we typically get a barely polite sod off letter. Regardless of how many voters write in.
Besides, this describes governments at their best:
http://www.despair.com/meetings.html
Well off topic, but I've been boycotting ASDA for years.
Ever since my missus tripped over a concealed support for a temporary clothing rail and dislocated her knee.
When I went back to take a photo the rail had gone and they denied point blank that there had ever been one there.
Likewise, though because I used to work for them rather than anything else. They were abominable to their staff. Stupid hours, blame-passing, forgetting to pay, all sorts of crap and all backed up by a union that took every opportunity to collude with the senior management against the "colleagues" they were supposed to represent.
To put it in perspective: when Walmart bought them, working conditions improved.
Says it all.
And they were horrendously messy as well. I don't touch asda unless I have no choice.
What is it with NASA and bad IT security? I remember getting my Commodore 64 modem in 1985/6 second hand, along with a copy of The Hackers Handbook and a printed list of phone numbers, IDs and passwords which was widely circulating at the time. Of all the companies and organisations on there, the only one anyone was really interested in was NASA because, well because it was NASA. So while everyone else was playing Jet Set Willy you were hacking NASA.
MIght need to find that list though and just check it wasn't actually the NSA...
It wasn't.
Back then, the very existence of the NSA was classified.
The joke was, NSA stood for No Such Agency.
Still, even money those old usernames and passwords still work. :/
Their only secure networks are ones like NIPRnet, SIPRnet and JWICS because the DoD would pull their ATO (Authority To Operate) and sever their network connection.
I had to get an ATO once, after the installation I was working on had been on an IATO (Interim ATO) for so long it was literally illegal and we risked being severed from the DoD networks. A rather big deal, as the installation was in the war zone.
Loads and loads of documentation and a copy of our baseline configurations that complied with DoD baseline requirements. On *every* piece of equipment we had on the network.
Being a good BOFH, I had things tidied up quickly.
Only had one accidental toaster in a swimming pool at that! (Thought I'd need two and one killer robot accident.)
Management complied quite nicely. :)
I read that this protest was targeted at Nasa for a recent launch of a Delta IV Heavy from Vandenburg with a classified payload for the National Reconnaissance Office (Spy satellite)... ie stop spying on us.
So it's possible that it was an intentional hack on Nasa. Those who are hacked are always quick to discredit the hackers.. (so ask yourself who has the biggest media team?)
Though I'm not sure how involved Nasa was in this launch as Vandenburg is an airforce property isn't it?
It is entirely possible, probable even, that the hacker in question was simply over zealous in his efforts to protest. Portuguese is certainly his first language and NSA comes out a bit differently: "Agência de Segurança Nacional", mostly...
There's plenty of room for confusion there for someone not familiar with stupid wacky English language structure. If police and SWAT teams can get the address wrong and raid the wrong houses certainly this guy is due some leeway.
The conversations have to be hilarious though: "God damnit Francisco, you hacked the wrong site" "No I didn't" "Yes you did you idiot. You hacked the space agency and now everyone is laughing at us. I told you to let Enrique handle this, his English is much better. Now we are fools!"
English is stupid and wacky?!
Not at all!
It's simply insane.
*Every* rule has an exception.
No exception to the rule makes a damned bit of sense.
An extremely well educated friend of mine once said, "The first man who fully documented the English language went insane and killed himself".
I never checked the veracity of that statement, but consider it true.
English *is* that fsck'd up.
Especially American English, which I was raised in.
But, I speak reasonably fluent *true* English. As well as languages that make more sense.
Starting to forget those learned tongues, I've been retired from the military and no longer exposed to them.
And I'm getting older.
English. A language brought to a fair amount of the world to bring about civilization.
Brought to you by the people who consider blood pudding noteworthy.
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Bush II was partly motivated by revenge after Saddam tried to assassinate Bush I. So there.
Plus, southern Iraq (the bit that had been most hostile to the US) has much less challenging geography for warfighting than Iran has. Iran is a huge, populous country and was much richer than Iraq and hence far more difficult to conquer. My view is that the pentagon, after invading Afghanistan reckoned that invading Iraq would put Iran in a squeeze.
Arguably Bush II's failure was putting too much compassionate conservatism into the war effort. The US is still untouchable technologically, but the will to win a war seems to have left the US, and the rest of the West (France is an odd exception, having no qualms about aggressively policing its former colonies like Mali and Cote d'Ivoire, toppling Qadafi, and now sabre-rattling at Syria).
As an owner of a dozen firearms, half of which were inherited from my dementia ridden father, a hunter and prize competition shooter, I'd be happy with that.
The NRA currently is insanity mixed with firearms.
We saw the results of that mix in a Navy yard in Washington, D.C. recently.
In the US, the lunatics rule the asylum.
I'd not be especially upset, but with all of the shootings and worse, the nuclear arms.
I'm on a few gun related blogs, to monitor things and learn an occasional thing about new products that I'll not acquire.
Things are looking *very* worrisome.