Trump's cyber-guru Giuliani runs ancient 'easily hackable website'

Re: IMHO is already a sucess...

There's no evidence Hillary's email server was ever hacked, and didn't most or all of the DNC emails come courtesy of social engineering attacks used to get the passwords of people like Leon Podesta? They could have had the most secure server in the world, but if someone gives up their password or uses the same password there as they do elsewhere that gets hacked, all that security means nothing.

Yes, hacks like the OPS database are serious and we need to tighten up our "cyber" security. But Guliani's server's security issues have nothing to do with most of the "hacks" that have been in the news the last few years. They had nothing to do with the state department cables, that was an insider. They had nothing to do with Snowden's NSA grab, that was an insider. They had nothing to do with Guccifer, he used social engineering. They had nothing to do with iCloud "celebgate", that was social engineering.

You can tighten up the security of computer systems, you can make things more difficult for insiders to reduce the ability for an insider to download 'everything' and make a huge data dump. But you can't stop an insider from getting some stuff out, and you can't teach people to not fall victim to social engineering attacks. If you could, there would be no spam.

State sponsored actors have access to a lot of exploits, but if you could patch them all it would hardly even slow them down. They'd just resort to social engineering, malware, and so forth to get in if they could no longer exploit weaknesses from the outside over the internet.

Re: The real issue

"The USofA under the incoming Chief will be a place where everyone is wrong but the 'Dear Leader' who won't hessitate to tell you so via Twitter. After all, he said many times in 2016 that he's more intelligent than almost all of the dweebs who elected him."

And was he wrong?

Re: The real issue

"After all, he said many times in 2016 that he's more intelligent than almost all of the dweebs who elected him"

That doesn't say much though, does it?

Re: Big Brother Security to the rescue

"What a perfect example of government's heavy influence over the attitudes of the masses. Probably all that government-run early school training. Trust Big Daddy government, kiddies, it's for your own good!"

Hardly. I'm a believer in limited government, but I think the US government should do the things it's tasked to do by the people through the Constitution. I don't want the government to have sole responsibility for my personal cyber-security any more than I intend for the government to provide all of my physical security. Just as while I don't want or need to see tanks protecting my cities directly, I know that if $ENEMY attacks my city or family, there are people and tools equipped to respond with appropriate fury. What I DO want is the knowledge that the people tasked with those duties have the skills and experience to do them. I have no doubt that General Mattis is well-suited to be an outstanding SecDef; his record as a warrior monk speaks for itself. I have significant doubt that Rudy is suited to the task of advising the President on protecting government networks and whatever else fits under "White House Cyber Security Advisor". His company's website is part of his advertisement of capabilities. If it's less secure than my blog, he shouldn't do the job that the President-elect has asked him to do.

As to the question you asked initially, yes, I think the government has a duty to provide some modicum of cyber security. They definitely should protect their own networks. In fact, there's an agency whose putative purpose is just that already. (Or maybe there's No Such Agency.) They've been too busy spying on everyone to prevent someone from stealing all of the personnel records from the OPM, for example. Giuliani's CV is that of a good federal prosecutor, a mediocre mayor who was cast into the national spotlight because of 9/11, and then a few consulting gigs. None of that indicates he has the skills necessary to the task asked.

Re: Yeah, no surprise

Yeah, how dare Trump presume to be President when he knows next to nothing about computers! The nerve of some people!

There is a big difference between not knowing something, and not knowing you don't know something.

If I was President, and one of the things needing doing was to ensure the wellfare of the elder-fruit eating fruitbat on the East-Side, you can be sure it would be done well.

I know nothing about fruitbats, but I'd find someone who seems to knows enough, who can then find an expert on the subject.

If I totally screwed up my appointment to this important role, I'd expected to be ridiculed on my fruit-bat ignorance.