Anti-Phishers Pose as Phishers to Make Point

Carl Bialik from the WSJ writes "This article notices a new trend in efforts to fight phishing: Anti-fraudsters are posing as phishers to 'to train users to be more careful about sharing sensitive information online.' Or, as the Wall Street Journal puts it, 'To fight computer crime, the good guys are masquerading as bad guys pretending to be good guys.' West Point cadets were among those who got fake phishing emails -- in their case, from Aaron Ferguson, a teacher at the academy. 'The gullible cadets received a "gotcha" email, alerting them they could easily have downloaded spyware, "Trojans" or other malicious programs and suggesting they be more careful in the future. ... Nonetheless, he says the exercise upset some cadets, who felt it exploited their inclination to follow an order from a colonel, no questions asked. He says the new edict is, "Ask questions first, then execute." '"

Comments

Re:"Ask questions first, then execute"

[vertinox]

Isn't it shoot first, ask questions later?

No! It's confirm target and then shoot...

But seriously, from what I am told by relatives and friends in the military you generally need to confirm who you are shooting because not only you might be shooting civilians, but you might also be shooting other US soldiers. According to the Pentagon, 13% of casualties in Afghanistan conflict were due to friendly fire so it's something they are always trying to work on. The US soldiers often have the benefit of superior intelligence so they don't have to ask, but mostly confirm who they are going to shoot. On the downside though, sometimes you just don't have the time to really find out...