Slashdot Mirror
FEMA Phones Hacked, Calls Made To Mideast and Asia
purplehayes writes "A hacker broke into a Homeland Security Department telephone system over the weekend and racked up about $12,000 in calls to the Middle East and Asia.
The hacker made more than 400 calls on a Federal Emergency Management Agency voicemail system in Emmitsburg, Md., on Saturday and Sunday, according to FEMA spokesman Tom Olshanski."
DHS is like the laughing stock of government security. Being PBX Phreaked with a 15 year old hack is just bad... Hope the next administration isn't this incompetent.
Where is the "Ignorant" mod tag?
Yes, the correct term is Phreaking, but come on, this is the AP....you expect them to get that right?
Hey, it would be a little 'justice'...considering how badly FEMA screwed over many from the area.
Just another example of the incompetence of this Federal government agency. From my experience with them, and most all other govt agencies that have to deal with large numbers of people...sadly, the incompetence, red tape, and waste of money is a common denominator.
And now...we're wanting to put THEM in charge of our medical care? Scary.
Light travels faster than sound. This is why some people appear bright until you hear them speak.........
Olshanski did not know who the contractor was or what hole specifically was left open, but he assured the hole has since been closed.
"I don't know who it was or what they did or didn't do, but I assure you they fixed it."
If you haven't noticed, the best way to get a bigger budget and more power is to be incompetent. That's the supposed reason why DHS was created in the first place.
If you subsidize stupidity, that is all you'll ever get.
If you have something that you dont want anyone to know, maybe you shouldnt be doing it in the first place -Eric Schmidt
I'd like to offer a dissenting opinion on the FEMA issue in New Orleans. States are supposed to have some kind of emergency preparedness of their own. It's not enough to just fall apart and beg for FEMA to save you. FEMA's traditional role has been to show up late and provide sustaining support in the aftermath of an event, not to be the first responders at the moment of crisis. Many other states understand this. Texas (a nearby neighbor who ended up bearing the brunt of the NO disaster refugees) for example rarely needs FEMA - when hurricanes head for Texas, they deploy their local resources to remedy the immediate situation.
The problem with the NO disaster was not FEMA. The problem was the bankrupt, ineffective, unprepared, and completely corrupt local and state governments in the area who had nothing to offer their citizens when disaster struck.
11*43+456^2
The big, really big, in fact just simply enormous problem with where the US healthcare system is heading is that you will have an incompetent bureaucracy subcontracting management to an insurance company. Worst of both worlds.
If you think the problem is bad now, just wait until we fix it! (attrib: somebody or other, use Google if you must know)
Faster! Faster! Faster would be better!
Before you start acting like you know what you are talking about...nevermind, just don't speak. You are from AR, your experience with Hurricanes amounts to what leftovers you may get with a storm that passes through Mississippi. I went through Ivan, Dennis, parts of Katrina, etc etc. I live in Pensacola, which is right in the middle of Hurricane Alley. The problems with New Orleans were primarily the fault of the state of Louisiana and the city government, not the Federal Government and FEMA. Mayor Nagin advised people NOT to leave town and only gave the order to evac less than 24 hours before the storm hit. And the city and state misused Federal funds that were supposed to be used to shore up the levies. Let's not forget that Biloxi had far worse damage from Katrina, but was forgotten because NO had serious flooding damage from the levies collapsing, not from storm damage. Most of the damage occurred days after the Hurricane, not while it was passing through. And the US Army and US Navy were the first on the scene, but even they had to wait until the storm was out of the way. No use trying to rescue people if your helicopters are damaged beyond use because of storm damage. Oh yeah, while we're on this discussion, let's talk about the fact that people were basically handed free money in the form of Debit cards after Katrina, without any vetting process to determine who needed money. Everything from Girls Gone Wild to Sex change operations were purchased with said free Debit cards. What major aid was given to Biloxi, given that their wind damage was far worse than that of New Orleans? For that matter, other than blue tarps and MREs, people in Pensacola had to all but fend for themselves after Ivan, but we managed just fine. If you REALLY had experience with Hurricanes, you'd know that you are responsible for surviving on your own for a maximum of 5 days, as the state and federal government will tell you, because sometimes it's not possible for them to get to you immediately. It was a failure on the city and state's fault to not prepare their populace, and the stupidity of the people of New Orleans for living in a city below sea level. It was bound to happen eventually.
Sure, and people are stupid for living in California with its earthquakes and wildfires, and people are stupid for living in the midwest with the tornados, and people are stupid for living pretty much anywhere in the U.S. with the yellowstone caldera overdue to blow, and people are stupid for living . . .
Pensacola has had the misfortune to be hit by several hurricanes. By your logic, you are a fool to still live there.
And for all of the smug idiots who think they are paying for me to live in what should be a swamp, you don't think my tax dollars go to benefit you in any way? I pay my own way just like you do. I just expected the government to respond more effectively to a disaster that happened to hit my home. And I expected my homeowners insurance and my federal flood insurance, which I pay for every month, to actually pay out at a reasonable rate when my home gets wiped off the face of the earth without endless delays and bureaucratic crap.
Enjoy your smug self-righteous attitude and hope that if anything ever happens to you the rest of us don't share your attitude.