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$2,000 Bribe Bought Password To DC P.O. System
theodp writes "While the Administration is counting on new Federal CIO Vivek Kundra to simplify and speed the federal IT procurement process, it's doubtful he'll be able to reduce red tape to the extent that a former minion of his did at the scandal-rocked D.C. Office of the CTO. Exhibiting some truly out-of-the-box thinking, project manager Tawanna Sellmon not only processed phony invoices for the contractor at the center of the D.C. bribery and kickback scandal, she also gave him the password to the city's computerized database used to track purchase orders. Sellmon pleaded guilty last week for her role in the scam, which netted her an envelope containing $2,000 in cash, as well as an undisclosed number of $25-$100 gift cards."
what should I set the reserve for the database password of the state police toxicology test results?
I bet she kept the secret for 47 hours.
See my journal for slashdot ID's by year. Mine created in 2005. http://slashdot.org/journal/289875/slashdot-ids-by-year
Do you have remote access capabilities onto your Network? VPN, Citrix, not blocking GotomyPC? Has anyone at your company done the same thing, offering the competition direct access to your systems?
$2.000 and gift cards?? i could've get the same with $5 http://xkcd.com/538/
...is just how laughably cheap people can be bought for. Two grand and some gift cards? SERIOUSLY? You'd go to jail for that? When you're a project manager at a government job with great benefits, probably making more than that every WEEK?
It's like the Abramoff scandal. People will sell out their country for Capitals tickets. It's not even the Bulls or something!!
Freedom isn't free; its price is the well-being of others.
...what kind of "EEO" bullshit got "Tawanna" cushy job as a "project manager" at the DC CTO office.
Um no? She was a underling that was CAUGHT, she had nothing to do with the guy who is now the CIO. Get your facts straight before you decide to be a right wing moron.
"Slashdot, where telling the truth is overrated but lying is insightful."
$2000 + change is selling yourself cheap.
Most people can be bought, but the price is so high they can't spend it without attracting attention.
"Would you betray your company/country for $1?" "No."
"Would you betray your company/country for $1,000?" "No."
"Would you betray your company/country for $1,000,000?" "No."
"Would you betray your company/country for $1,000,000,000?" "Maybe" "ok, how do you plan on explaining how you suddenly got a billion dollars?"
Knowledge is how to play a game, intelligence is how to win, wisdom is knowing what game to play.
If TFA isn't a Troll I'll eat my shorts.
What's the best way to SEO slander someone.... without getting hit by a lawsuit? Just put them in the same article with a dubious individual - make a virtual connection even if no real connection exist... then people will start discussing them together and voila - they must be close friends!
Shameless and disgusting.
What's worse is that the reference to Kundra was obviously added after the story was initially posted on the linked site... that text with Kundra's name isn't even in a p tag, it appears styled differently in the rendered version as well, almost like an editor went in and added it after the author had published - "Hmm we need more hits on this story, let's put Kundra's name in it... that will get hits".
A fool throws a stone into a well and a thousand sages can not remove it.
as if it were what it is: treason. This, cheaply bought bureaucrat, has sold her nation down the tubes for a pittance. Sushil Bansal, the owner of Advanced Integrated Technologies, made millions. Execute all three. Especially Advanced Integrated Technologies; it's high time for corporate death penalties that leave shareholders with worthless paper. Then we may see some responsibility at the top - not just profits.
I'm for stoning them at the base of the Washington Monument.
Puts a whole new meaning into "leveraging the cloud"
A proper caning followed by some time is in order here. A little corporal punishment could go a long way. It may push the risk/reward ratio for petty shit like this up a bit.
Conservative, mod down for violating
Comment removed based on user account deletion
you're dumb...
Is there a common theme for the rationalizations of mostly-law-abiding people who accept bribes?
The government is so big that it won't matter to them? They tax me so much, they owe this to me? Everyone else does it, so I'm a chump if I'm honest?
YOU LIE!!!11 Obama was obviously pallin' around with this person for years and had a deep and meaningful relationship with her! But I gotta go--Glenn Beck is on.
This article is an ideal example of a social engineering crack. Consider the comparative difficulty of a technical cracking job and compare it to the simplicity and cheapness of what actually took place. The solution was actually quite elegant in a sordid way.
I once worked for a company that was experiencing a surge of highly organized fraud originating from Romania. Before I left, we were preparing to develop a major anti-fraud application, etc., at great expense. At one meeting I suggested that we just hire a few Romanian private detectives to knock on some doors and quietly suggest to the lowlifes that it would be healthier to leave us alone; the other people in the meeting looked at me as though I were green.
LOL.
"Man is nothing without the works of man" -- Helvetius
that he didn't even begin to get hints? Was he that detached from the rest of the office to not notice things, let alone review processes and such in place. I figure that if I were there that where the money went would have been an important consideration.
I don't find it a slander to include him in the article, it raises the question of, what did he know or why didn't he show more attention to what was going on around him. His position certainly warranted it.
Then again, its DC. The real reason he gets his name in the mud is many other high profile appointees were dirty but kept.
* Winners compare their achievements to their goals, losers compare theirs to that of others.
No manner of technology can defeat good, social engineering. An intelligent attack is made upon the weakest link in the system. In this case, an unscrupulous user with privileges.
The cancel button is your friend. Do not hesitate to use it.
While I appreciate the simplicity and potential effectiveness of your solution, I can't say I blame the suits for not jumping aboard. They wanted a solution rather than a band-aid.
They have to think about what the cost will be the next time the same loophole is used, by different people (maybe more anonymous ones).
This is what happens when a fed gets caught doing something that seriously compromises security. They get fired, prosecuted, and punished. We can argue about the degree of punishment later.
What happens in private industry? I'm sure people get fired but do they get publicly prosecuted? Or is there a huge motivation to cover up the story so that stock prices/reputation/business in general doesn't take a hit?
Say what you will about government corruption and incompetence but I firmly believe that U.S. federal employees who exhibit this level of stupidity and/or corruption are distinctly more likely to be punished appropriately than are the employees of non-government business entities.
It's a mistake to think that the government is always wrong, always incompetent, and always crooked. It happens too often but such is not the default state of the government. I like seeing cases like this that show the government will catch and prosecute wrong-doers from among its own ranks.
The rest of democracy is safe.
Unless otherwise proven, all other Government departments are free of all fraud.
Really? No OTP like SecurID? All the online brokerages offers it for free.
Having dealt with a similar problem, odds are the detectives would start encouraging others to scam you so they could get paid to "talk" with them later.
I had an employee take a payment from a customer of $1000 in cash, hand write the customer a signed receipt (from the receipt book, leaving the copy in there) and then report electronically in her end of report she only received $6 in cash all day and in her safe drop (a true drop safe) she and wrote the date, the cash amount of $6 in a sealed and again signed envelope. She then walked out and locked the door behind her and did not come back to work the next day. It was a fluke she was working by herself, but for $1000?
She was arrested, she called from jail and asked that if she gave us the money back would we drop the charges. With all of this the DA "declined to prosecute based on lack of evidence" Come to Anchorage, do crime!
6.8SPC TR of 550, l xwind at 6, drift rt at 26" drops 77". AT has 503 ft-lbs at 1403 fps. FT 0.86
However, the GP's suggestion could easily have been used as a good band-aid while their expensive 'solution' was being developed ...
Every hear of George W. Bush, Dick Cheney, Donald Rumsfeld? They got elected, killed many useful projects for our nation, and then awarded LARGE contracts to their friends (sight unseen). In addition, when ppl spoke up about, they were QUICKLY shut down. Bunny Greenhouse comes to mind. So many others who have spoken about the corruption and all were swept under the rug. Of course, we did catch a criminal who got a blow job, but that is a different issue all together.
I prefer the "u" in honour as it seems to be missing these days.
So your serious solution was to hire someone you don't know to lean on someone else you don't know in a country thousands of miles away that's well known for being extremely corrupt? No wonder they looked at you like you were green. What makes you think your hired goons are on your side, or wouldn't sell you out the first chance it made sense?
AccountKiller
Maybe you might want to read and comprehend what happened here before kaming such a stupid and ignorant post?
Really? some underling getting caught doine something wrong make you more ashamed of America then torture? Lying? the Patriot Act? DMCA?
Seriously?
You do know it wasn't the person who was appointed, don't you?
The Kruger Dunning explains most post on
You know what affirmative action is (I presume) so your joke makes absolutely no sense in any context.
Which means it's just a pathetic attempt at knocking Bush. Sigh.
Really?
God damn, move on with your life guy, stop being so butthurt.
It really is very sad.
I'm sure Vivek Kundra have sorted out all the shortcomings with respect to the hiring practices for new minions in his current position as Federal CIO.
I'm positive in fact.
Please re-read. I said "federal" several times. My statements concerned the federal government, only.
Local cops are a whole 'nother story. In that matter, I tend to agree with you.
and would like to subscribe to your newsletter.
You did what, for who, for how many green jelly beans?!!