So the new Obama administration comes in and is bewildered by the lack of modern computers in the White House . Their reaction was naive at best. Many of the staffers who were complaining probably never heard of TEMPEST. And what's the deal with whining to the press that they don't have Macintoshes? (see Staff Finds White House in the Technological Dark Ages).
What does that mean in 21st-century terms? No Facebook to communicate with supporters. No outside e-mail log-ins. No instant messaging. Hard adjustments for a staff that helped sweep Obama to power through, among other things, relentless online social networking.
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One member of the White House new-media team came to work on Tuesday, right after the swearing-in ceremony, only to discover that it was impossible to know which programs could be updated, or even which computers could be used for which purposes. The team members, accustomed to working on Macintoshes, found computers outfitted with six-year-old versions of Microsoft software. Laptops were scarce, assigned to only a few people in the West Wing. The team was left struggling to put closed captions on online videos.
You're in the White House, dudes! That's the highest of high levels. It doesn't get any higher than that. Besides complying with the Presidential Records Act, try not tweeting (click graphic to see more) about how the President is sending missiles into Sudan or is going to travel using the backroads to Camp David. While it's refreshing to see an administration attempting to operate in a more modern way, I think ignorance of security is inexcusable. I hope these aren't the same guys who are also tasked with national infrastructure security (see Hackers Lurking in Obama's Web Site):
Hackers have registered bogus accounts on Obama's online community, my.barackobama.com, where they are posting images designed to set off a chain of events that lead to malicious Trojan horse programs. These programs are stepping stones used by hackers to download more and more malware onto a victim's computer.
The problem on Obama's Web site is not unique. Hackers and the operators of popular Web sites are often caught in a cat and mouse game, with the bad guys constantly finding a new way of uploading malicious programs just as soon as one avenue of attack is closed. Social-networking sites want to give their users as many cool ways of enhancing their own Web pages as possible — my.barackobama.com lets users create their own blogs — while at the same time reining in any misuse.
"The U.S. Presidential campaign has shown the world how governments can leverage Web 2.0," Websense wrote on a company blog outlining the issue Monday. "However, this … is yet another opportunity to spread more malicious code."
What's good for Silicon Valley is not necessarily good for national security. I hope the administration starts to show some interest in keeping information locked down and malicious code away from government tech.
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Long Way From Home by The Heavy
When modern "insecurity technology" breaks down and members of the current administration get caught revealing information, what will the media reaction be ? On the next Plame incident, will the law be enforced the same way as the last incident ? The guilty reveal er is innocent, the politician who can not remember his story is the guilty party. To quote Clancy from Red October, "Listen, I'm a politician which means I'm a cheat and a liar, and when I'm not kissing babies I'm stealing their lollipops. But it also means I keep my options open. " The basic goal of all politicians from China to America to Africa, is to stay in power. The reason that a president is kept from a Blackberry is for deny-ability. When someone else (Ollie North) does the deed, the president (capital letter or not) is kept from accountability. Whether a missing 18 minutes of tape or a blue dress with stains, you do not want a "smoking gun" that prevents a president from staying in power. That is the danger of of technology in the White House, as well as the ability of technology to be hacked and reveal secrets. Always remember the NSA is listening and they are not alone.
I would enjoy the revealing of 17-year-long conference call between
White House chief of staff Rahm Emanuel, James Carville, ABC News Chief Washington Correspondent George Stephanopoulos, and CNN commentator Paul Begala ( reference: http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0109/18011.html) Mary Matalin describes the conversation as more profane, more sports-centric versions of a knitting club. “They talk like they are girls,” she said. “The conversations start in the middle and they end in the middle, and if they talk at night, they’ll start in the morning with no break in the flow.” “To me, the first purpose is friendship,” said Matalin, “and the second purpose is information-sharing.”
I do not believe these people understand the old World War II adage, Loose Lips sink Ships. They won't until it is their ship that sinks.
To quote another movie. The Patriot, when talking about General Cornwallis, Pride is a weakness. It will do.
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mkanderson Reply:
January 28th, 2009 at 11:49 am
Well, in the case of the Valerie Plame, Armitage was disclosed as the leak but Libby was prosecuted. A fine example of truth versus politics. I think the WH staff is in for a rude awakening when it comes to leaks being used against them now the shoe is on the Democrat foot. Both sides are nasty when they spot that weakness.
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