Schneier on Security

Clive Robinson • May 3, 2025 4:23 AM

@ John White,

You say,

“@Bardi your pathetic cold war racial hatred for Russians is showing, American.”

First off anyone can go back and read what @Bardi wrote,

“The fact that within fifteen minutes of establishing accounts in certain government offices, someone from eastern Europe was logging into those accounts with the correct information was not a surprise.”

It’s clearly comment on what was reported in the media and has been shown to be factual and not what you are spouting.

And yes spouting is probably the right word, because your invective does not really make sense, unless of course you are trying to “virtue signal” that in fact you are either Russian, work for, or sympathize with them (go back and read your words to see why that conclusion can be drawn).

You then go on to say,

“Any reasonable person navigates the internet with a VPN or Tor, and to use a VPN node in a 5E s**thole country would be insane.”

Indicates that your technical knowledge is not anything other than,

“Regurgitated fluff you’ve swallow ed”.

Now consider either the person attempting to log in “from eastern Europe” was “Working for DOGE with Trump Granted Security Clearance” or “they were acting illegally” (or even both).

You might think that the US is,

“a 5E s**thole country”

But as far as information security is concerned what you believe is Russian or as reported “Eastern European” networks are very probably rather more of a “security nightmare”. Also you appear to have failed to realise that by crossing a US jurisdictional boundary it would have automatically fallen under FISA and the NSA and 5 Eyes capabilities any way, raising red flags and alarms as it connected to a US Gov network address…

But then the “masters of the universe” nonsense really?

The failed “Former US Senator Norm Coleman” as reported said typical brain dead statements that apparently originate from funders of the GOP amongst others. They appear to be “sympathetic to Zionist” nonsense but that old fart Coleman is probably missing his old days and trying to get back in.

Perhaps I should point out that “Zionist” activities have for over a hundred years, have been, and in many cases still are, the activities of “terrorists”, in either the new or old meanings of the word. But importantly are not views held by many Israeli Citizens or those of the Jewish faith or hereditary around the world. Such conflation is part of a propaganda war and really should be avoided.

Clive Robinson • May 5, 2025 9:46 AM

@ ResearcherZero,

With regards,

“The claim “Donald Trump is an idiot” is subjective”

True, but it is based on “observation” that is the basis of the scientific method.

Thus to progress one would have to “test the hypothesis” in some manner. As direct testing on living –assumed– sentient organisms is oft seen as morally thus ethically wrong, other types of environmental response observation is required.

It’s known that the man has bankrupted himself the equivalent of nine times, which implies certain cognitive deficits certainly.

There are other indicators that add to a cognitive deficit to below the norm but get masked by other mental deficits (narcissism and “assumed slight” holding being another).

Then there is the child like behaviours in multiple forms that suggest there is a nonformed adult responsible response that used to be used as an indicator for what was once considered psychopathic behaviour.

The public espousing and notions of quack remedies including suggesting excessive alkalinization of the intestinal tract some years ago by imbibing high concentrations of Sodium hypochlorite suggests a lack of knowledge or confusion (saline solution which is used as a “gargle” is based on similar appearing sodium chloride).

Thus there is so much that is not normal ascribing idiocy is almost impossible to avoid.

Maybe he should be required to do the “clock face test” to check for the results of insults to the bain.

But there once was the “gold coin test” which is now depreciated along with the corresponding diagnosis of idiot, imbecile, etc.

There are other neurological tests that are similar involving electricity, hot, or pointed objects that are applied to the subject under test whilst observing the response.

Although these long predate NMRI and FMRI and are kin to test methods used in lie detectors, they are still popular diagnostic tools.

Though it’s known from the times of “Witch Finding” that there are places on the body that are not just insensitive but where objects can appear to be pushed so far into a person that an unaware observer would assume they had punctured the person. So on seeing the object pulled back and no sign of blood or wound might believe that it was magical in some way.

However it also needs be noted that to pass such tests assumes a functioning peripheral neurological system as well as central neurological system. Thus not passing them may also be caused by having a skin that some would say was indicative of a pachyderm.

I could go on at length but I think you get the point that resolving the question by what are called physical insults would need to be repeated in many places.

Clive Robinson • May 11, 2025 5:08 AM

@ Security Sam, ResearcherZero,

With regards,

“… the idiots who rise to the occasion via the Peter Principle”

But the “Peter Principle” is about “a person rising to their maximum incompetence”…

As we have seen, some can rise way beyond “their maximum incompetence” as the past third of a year has shown…

So maybe we need a new category of what you might call the “Donald Principle” where many people who have reached the nadir of their individual cognitive slope agree to promote someone who is even further down the general slope than that.

I hear both Boeing and John Deere have decided to “slap the face” and export jobs to where there are no tariffs and skilled labour is 70% less expensive “South of the boarder…”

You have to wonder how long it will be before both Canada and Mexico have to build walls to keep out unwanted “american aliens”.