* Posts by Brad Ackerman

274 publicly visible posts • joined 25 Aug 2008

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Spy satellite scientist sent down for a year for stowing secrets at home

Brad Ackerman
Mushroom

Petraeus received probation and a $100,000 fine for bringing home classified information. (Which would be a fairly severe fine for a GS-11, but Petraeus probably earned that back fairly quickly from his corporate board memberships; also, a GS-11 would have gotten a full-on jail sentence.)

The only political appointee or SES member to receive a serious punishment for mishandling classified information AFAIK was Sandy Berger, whom the DC Court of Appeals disbarred in 2007 for removing classified materials from the National Archives, destroying some, and setting up a dead-drop with others. (The NARA OIG did not identify the intended recipient of the dead-dropped documents.)

Scottish court issues damages to couple over distress caused by neighbour's use of CCTV

Brad Ackerman
Trollface

Re: CCTV coverage, where is the line drawn?

Standard EN 1317 guardrail rated for very high containment; they're designed to "redirect" 30 t HGVs.

Who do you want to be Who? VOTE for the BBC's next Time Lord

Brad Ackerman

Susannah Harker, Judi Dench, Marina Sirtis, Lena Headey would be my additions to the list.

Brad Ackerman
Alien

Re: Next Timelord

But all the other time lords are dead, which makes it a bit hard without major reboots.

So were the Daleks, and we all know how well the Doctor genocided them.

Meet the Internet of big, lethal Things

Brad Ackerman
FAIL

Re: the eff is way out of line here

there's no right to the source code of deere's software (aside from any bits covered by license requiring disclosure)

Who is demanding that JD provide their source code? The EFF certainly isn't. This is all about whether JD should be allowed to send government employees with guns to stop people from repairing their own property.

The hated Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal will soon be dead. Yay?

Brad Ackerman
FAIL

The TPP doesn't get rid of the Buy America Act or the Jones Act. It won't remove US tariffs on foreign trucks for 25 years. The TTP doesn't reduce our excessively long copyright terms. Just what the fsck does it do for the US?

It's time for Microsoft to revisit dated defaults

Brad Ackerman
Pirate

The difference between MS and a government

Is that MS benefits from you continuing to use their products and therefore has an interest in fixing what is clearly broken; whereas governments can be much harder to divorce, and $om€one ¥ou failed to vote out of office bene£its from those bad la₩s.

AT&T pilots dedicated IoT mobile network

Brad Ackerman
Big Brother

Re: If your IoT things...

1080p60 traffic cameras would be nice to have—assuming the field is static most of the time so we can get down to 100 kb/s average data rate (SWAG), that's 33 GB/mo/camera.

Leap second scheduled for New Year's Eve 2016

Brad Ackerman
Black Helicopters

Re: "the International Earth Rotation Service"

It's now the "International Earth Rotation and Reference Systems Service", but clearly the old name was better. (Especially the implied consequences for short-changing its budget.)

Germans stick traffic lights in pavements for addicts who can't take their eyes off phones

Brad Ackerman
Thumb Down

Re: Darwin award??

Paperwork for the police, transit agency, and tram operator; delays for a rather large number of people. I'm sure the smombies can find a venue to receive their awards that doesn't have quite as much collateral damage.

Nearly a million retail jobs will be destroyed by the march of tech, warns trade body

Brad Ackerman
Holmes

Re: Hmmmm

In order to survive, bricks and mortar shops really need to be able to win on at least one of the following:-

Good as far as it goes, but misses one major point: in order for customers to hand you money, you need to be present to receive it. Lots of high street shops don't seem to have noticed that trading hours were deregulated, and they no longer need to close before their customers get off work.

Bomb hoax server hoster reportedly cuffed in France

Brad Ackerman
Stop

Re: Pushing it ? Why ?

Not in any sane jurisdiction you're not. You're not in the UK unless the crime is terrorism for example.

Misprision is still an offense in Northern Ireland. Criminal Law Act (Northern Ireland) 1967, §5.

Reminder: iPhones commit suicide if you repair them on the cheap

Brad Ackerman
Alert

Re: Good to know

And if the phone bricked itself, you can buy really good selection of budget phones for £180 (SIM unlocked)

And those would be the ones that will never get any security patches, no?

NSA’s top hacking boss explains how to protect your network from his attack squads

Brad Ackerman
Alert

Re: Kudos

802.1x? Corporately-owned devices get on the internal network; anything else (assuming a location where visitors are allowed) goes to the guest network. (Of course, if you don't already have appropriate physical security controls on your wiring closets, you've got bigger problems to take care of first.)

Brad Ackerman
Facepalm

Re: Flawed car analogy.

I'm generally surprised when I see a facility that isn't vulnerable to the yardstick attack.

Behold, Backblaze’s public B2 beta blast off

Brad Ackerman
Facepalm

Re: Backblaze is an amazing company

Code42 doesn't seem to have any trouble offering a Linux client for CrashPlan, and your hypothetical nightmare scenario applies just as well to Mac or Windows.

Chicago and LA teased with promise of Google gigabit pipes

Brad Ackerman
Boffin

HTTPS is great as far as it goes, but hostnames are still looked up over (unencrypted) DNS.

Job alert: Is this the toughest sysadmin role on Earth? And are you badass enough to do it?

Brad Ackerman
Devil

Re: American citizen? for security reasons?

Dubya already has his hideout, and he'd be more General Midwinter than Doctor Evil.

Baltimore lawyers vow to review 2,000 FBI Stingray snoop cases

Brad Ackerman
Mushroom

Re: Maybe not

Judges do tend to get upset (and inclined to impose sanctions) when they're frakked with. Can't imagine why.

High-heeled hacker builds pen-test kit into her skyscraper shoes

Brad Ackerman
Black Helicopters

Not X10s, then?

Budget UHD TVs arrive – but were the 4Kasts worth listening to?

Brad Ackerman
Boffin

Bought a Pioneer PDP-427XG in 2007 (yeah, the 8th-gen were out at the time, but AAFES was a bit behind). It still kicks ass, despite being only 720p, and I'm still mourning Pioneer's passing.

Fanbois designing Windows 10 – where's it going to end?

Brad Ackerman
Alert

I hate to break it to you, but Microsoft has had the manga wallpaper for a while.

... when did el Reg remove the "badgers" icon?

Elon Musk's $4.9bn taxpayer windfall revealed

Brad Ackerman
Black Helicopters

A contract can be a subsidy, depending on how it was awarded. Nationality restrictions can be justified for the SpaceX launch contracts (classified payloads), but nationality restrictions on rail cars would fall into the "subsidy" camp.

Bored with Blighty? Relocation lessons for the data centre jetset

Brad Ackerman
Headmaster

Re: Automatic weapons?

18 USC §922(o):

(1) Except as provided in paragraph (2), it shall be unlawful for any person to transfer or possess a machinegun.

(2) This subsection does not apply with respect to—

(A) a transfer to or by, or possession by or under the authority of, the United States or any department or agency thereof or a State, or a department, agency, or political subdivision thereof; or

(B) any lawful transfer or lawful possession of a machinegun that was lawfully possessed before the date this subsection takes effect.

It would be legal for the security guards to possess automatic weapons under §922(o)(2)(B) provided that they were lawfully possessed by a private citizen before 19 May 1986, provided that they are employees of the owner or lessee of the data center and not contractors (Virginia Code §18.2-291). But since weapons in that category are a) extremely expensive and b) would not provide any additional utility for that job beyond, say, Mossberg 500s, it's about as likely as the guards being issued Bugatti Veyrons for vehicular patrol.

Brad Ackerman
Stop

Automatic weapons?

Private security companies are subject to the same rules as any other non-government actor, so I rather doubt those were actually automatic.

Google open-sources Santa Claus

Brad Ackerman
Alert

On every corner there's a giant metal Santa Claus

Does this mean that Google Fiber will be expanding to Chiron Beta Prime soon?

How does a global corporation switch to IP Voice?

Brad Ackerman
Holmes

Re: Interception law

Those countries may be starting to think about VoIP encryption, but VoIP bans are generally intended to protect the profits of the state- or crony-owned telephone company. It's hard to skim off the top without something to skim.

FCC sexes up, er, sextuples 'broadband' speed to 25Mbps in US

Brad Ackerman
Alert

Better cap disclosure would definitely be nice. In duration, at least as prominent as the advertised download speed. A 300 GB/mo cap on service advertised at 50 Mb/s is 13 hours 20 minutes of use per month, for example.

DEATH by PowerPoint: Microsoft warns of 0-day attack hidden in slides

Brad Ackerman
Boffin

Bob Howard to the rescue?

Better grab a SCORPION STARE device and run like hell, because you're not supposed to actually implement Charlie Stross's books.

Next we'll be having PDFs that wake the Sleeper in the Pyramid... oh, wait. That would be the PeopleSoft HRMS schema documentation. So never mind then.

Heistmeisters crack cost of safecrackers with $150 widget

Brad Ackerman
Black Helicopters

Re: Heh

Ooh, backlit display... primary complaint with the X-09 addressed.

Brad Ackerman
FAIL

Re: *sigh*

Kaba Mas likes 50-25-50, and if you don't remember that, don't worry; some asshole will tape it to the back of the ATM.

NORKS ban Wi-Fi and satellite internet at embassies

Brad Ackerman
Black Helicopters

The good old days of TVRO BUDs

Back in the prime of C-band antennas, there were plenty of people who liked to watch all those feeds (editing, backhaul, whatever). I don't know how old the story you refer to is, but I'd guess that somebody, who may or may not have been affiliated with the agency, was watching the feed in an unofficial capacity and passed on the information to CIA's public affairs office.

(Did the clipping services monitor those feeds as well? If so, the pre-broadcast feed could have been obtained that way.)

Since there's no icon for "I guess this comment makes me an old fart", it's black helicopters.

Chinese hackers spied on investigators of Flight MH370 - report

Brad Ackerman
Black Helicopters

Re: "[Iran] hijacked the aircraft and they landed it in a place that nobody can see or find it."

Ellis BillingtonLarry Ellison owns a private island and a megayacht. How is it possible that he's not a Bond villain?

Dolby Atmos is coming home and it sounds amazing

Brad Ackerman
Mushroom

A Sontaran-developed sound system

What could possibly go wrong with that? I hope someone has Prof. Quatermass on speed-dial.

Cor blimey: Virgin Media pipes 152Mb fibre to 100,000 East Londoners

Brad Ackerman
Linux

Re: Anyone tried aaisp.net?

Also a company that has implemented the Shibboleet protocol. Not that it's difficult when you insist on hiring people who actually know something about networks.

July 14, 2015. Tuesday. No more support for Windows Server 2003. Good luck

Brad Ackerman
FAIL

"The reason is that they bought a server and software when server 2003 was the windows Server OS of choice."

I'm sure a substantial percentage of those servers were actually installed when 2008R2 was the Windows server OS of choice.

Russian law will force citizens' personal data to be stored locally

Brad Ackerman

Re: Amazing.

UnionPay could take the opportunity to expand.

Future Apple gumble could lock fanbois out of their own devices

Brad Ackerman
Mushroom

I'd be shocked if location-based settings aren't in FISHBOWL. http://www.nsa.gov/ia/programs/mobility_program/ but I don't know how much of that project was published before the patent's filing date.

Icon because it's the only solution for software patents.

Microsoft compliance police to NHS: We want your money

Brad Ackerman
Pirate

Re: This kind of nonesense...

Are you including the CALs? And the cost of your employees' time spent making sure that a sufficient number are purchased?

Stopping IT price gouging would risk SOCIALIST DYSTOPIA!

Brad Ackerman
Pirate

Re: No price control needed

a) is the main solution; specifically, fixing §123 of the Trade Marks Act 1995 (Cth).

b) would only affect agreements made in Australia; the US/UK vendors that Australians buy from wouldn't be affected.

Direct regulation of prices would probably end up like a government IT project.

Cabbies paralyze London in Uber rebellion

Brad Ackerman
Childcatcher

Re: Argument

During the periods when Uber is using surge pricing, you'll note that you can't actually find a taxi (e.g. in NYC when it's raining). The choice isn't between surge pricing and normal pricing; it's between surge pricing and not being able to get a ride at all (unless you get really lucky).

Where do you stand on multi-function network appliances?

Brad Ackerman
Coat

The chart says "404 respondents"

These ADCs must not be very reliable, then.

Teen girl arrested with 70-year-old man's four inch weapon inside her

Brad Ackerman
Facepalm

Re: Am I really the first one

Eskimo Nell would use a .454 Casull.

Tamil Nadu's XP migration plan: Go Linux like a BOSS

Brad Ackerman
Holmes

Re: Silver Lining

Tata's incompetent workers doesn't implicate Indian IT in general, just like CACI's or HP's don't implicate US IT in general. When the customer is happy to keep paying for people whose only job qualification is a pulse, why spend the extra money to hire people who know what they're doing?

Puking! protester! forces! Yahoo! 'techie! scum!' to! ride! vile! bile! barf! bus! to! work!

Brad Ackerman
Mushroom

Free market? If only

Rents are rising because that's exactly what the city government wants. If they eliminated rent control and allowed housing to actually be built, prices would fall, but that would annoy the rich people who can afford to buy the Board of Supervisors.

El Reg's Deep Outback XP upgrade almost foiled by KILLER ARACHNIDS

Brad Ackerman
Go

Background on speed limits in NT

The Stuart Highway didn't have a speed limit until 2007, when the Labour government instituted the current 130 km/h one to raise revenue. The Country Liberals promised to ditch the speed limit if returned to office, and this is the start of actually fulfilling that promise.

Amazon is decompiling our apps in security gaffe hunt, says dev

Brad Ackerman
Thumb Down

Where's the lashing out? Or even vaguely implying that Amazon doing what they did is even slightly objectionable? I don't see it in the linked post at all.

Straight to 8: London's Met Police hatches Win XP escape plan

Brad Ackerman
Meh

Re: y2k

I'm sure the "occasional stuff" your customers refer to is completely low-importance, like filing taxes or something of that nature.

Blighty teen boffin builds nuclear reactor INSIDE CLASSROOM

Brad Ackerman
Alert

Perhaps if the English got over their strange notion that secret nuclear bunkers should be noted as such on road signs.

Hey, MoJ, we're not your Buddi: Brit firm abandons 'frustrating' crim-tagging contract

Brad Ackerman
Mushroom

At least they didn't request equoids

"(Addendum: Going forward, SOE (X Division) OOAC recommends a blanket ban on all procurement specifications that involve supernatural equine entities (SEEs). For reference, see EQUESTRIAN RED SIRLOIN. This keeps coming up like a bad penny at least once every couple of decades, and it’s got to stop.)"

(http://www.tor.com/stories/2013/09/equoid for those who haven't read that story yet)

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