5 ms·

Stephen Fry is a good person. :-(

by tungstenfurnace 17y ago

pavs 17y ago
I don't think any one is denying that.
- tungstenfurnace 17y ago
  True, but I think some people might need reminding. Also, he tries to use his twitter account to promote good causes. Depending on his reaction to this episode, this might have been put at risk.
  - pavs 17y ago
    Nothing was put on risk. The person/group who did this not only removed the fake tweet in question but also showed enough respect (if you actually read the whole article). > "P.S. I deleted that post from his micro-blog a few minutes later, cause my delicate mental organization didn’t allow me to injure a huge army of Stephen Fry fans." Assuming the "hack" was real (no way to prove it IMO), I rather be hacked by this person than someone else with malicious intent. No harm done, as a matter of fact this will probably help to secure whatever hole was in the system. Do you think we would give a flying-frack if the twitter account in question didn't belong to Stephen Fry or anyone famous? I doubt it.
    - tungstenfurnace 17y ago
      >Nothing was put on risk. Do you know Stephen Fry well? Is he 'nothing'? Can you predict how he will feel about this? >if the twitter account in question didn't belong to Stephen Fry or anyone famous? I didn't say famous, I said good. Btw, check out the author's disclaimer: >Neither the editors nor the author shall not be liable for any possible damage caused by the materials of this article.
      - pavs 17y ago
        >Do you know Stephen Fry well? Is he 'nothing'? Can you predict how he will feel about this? I think you are being a bit too emotional here. Its not like Fry got kidnapped from his house, hog tied and thrown out of london bridge. His twitter account got compromised by someone, who was well intentioned enough not to screw around with it. If the person didn't write about the hack, you wouldn't know about it, Fry wouldn't know about it and he would wake up the next morning and have his "eggie in the basket" and no one would care. Saying Awwww but "Stephen Fry is a good person. :-(" adds nothing to a discussion about something that has to do with web security.
    - Luc 17y ago
      > Nothing was put on risk. The person/group who did this not only removed the fake tweet in question but also showed enough respect (if you actually read the whole article). Would knowing that Stephen Fry suffers from bipolar disorder, and has threatened to quit Twitter not long ago (http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2009/oct/31/stephen-fry-leave-twitter-fans http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2009/oct/31/stephen-fry... ) change your view?
      - pavs 17y ago
        >Would knowing that Stephen Fry suffers from bipolar disorder, and has threatened to quit Twitter not long ago (http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2009/oct/31/stephen-fry.. http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2009/oct/31/stephen-fry.... ) change your view? No. I would be more concerned about him quitting blogging than him quitting twitter. He is an amazing writer and speaker and using twitter is a disservice to his talent. IMO.
        Luc 17y ago
        So you agree that Mr. Fry's further use of Twitter was put at risk, but you just don't care about it?
        pavs 17y ago
        I care about it as much as I care about Sarah Palin not using twitter. How many times did twitter itself got hacked? From DNS hack to brute force password cracked (was no failed password limitation) to phishing attack to twitter employees account getting compromised to XSS attack to every single twitter account (earlier this year). Twitter account of famous people getting hacked is part of the experience of using twitter. If someone stops using twitter for this, I don't feel bad about it. Its twitter, not the end of the world.
        Luc 17y ago
        It's Twitter, it IS a big deal. It is the direct link between the artist (or politician) and his public. Over one million people follow Fry's tweets daily, and a multiple of that hears about them or reads about it on other websites (in fact, several times BBC News has reported on his tweets). You can be sure that I would defend a list of a million followers tooth and nail, and not just for monetary purposes. Some weeks ago Stephen Fry was watching some live sporting event from his sofa, wrote a tweet about it, and got a reply from the presenters ON AIR. In a program broadcast to millions. I think your position is that you don't care about these people and their use of Twitter. Fine, but THEY care. Besides, a tweet like this from Sarah Palin is worth more than ten press releases: http://twitter.com/SarahPalinUSA/status/6823906156 http://twitter.com/SarahPalinUSA/status/6823906156
jkasndas 17y ago
Stephen Fry is a public figure with a large following. He is mostly concerned with political matters, and he uses his influence to affect their outcomes. These days he is more accurately described as a political figure than an actor. Whether he is seen as a good or bad person is immaterial. Public figures like Fry are not immune to attacks on the basis of their personal qualities. If someone's account is going to be accessed unlawfully, then Stephen Fry's is as good a target as any other. Fry is as much fair game as Britney Spears.
- GoboGobo 17y ago
  Even though his site's security was not completely up to snuff, he did have a pretty good password.
  - danielh 17y ago
    Unfortunately, the chain is only as strong as the weakest link. FWIW, the vulnerability is listed in the OWASP 2007 Top 10 as Malicious File Execution http://www.owasp.org/index.php/Top_10_2007-A3 http://www.owasp.org/index.php/Top_10_2007-A3
- DougBTX 17y ago
  Perhaps I assume too much of the attackers, but their decision to post "from Russia with love" vs "Sorry, X is dead, please unfollow" probably depends on whether they think the guy is a good person or a bad person.
- axod 17y ago
  >> "These days he is more accurately described as a political figure than an actor." What??? I guess you don't watch BBC TV do you. QI (Fantastic series). Kingdom. Stephen Fry's America Last chance to see etc etc (Most of these from the last year or 2). He's first and foremost known as a fantastic comedian and maker of good quality TV.

Stephen Fry is a good person. :-(

pavs 17y ago

I don't think any one is denying that.

tungstenfurnace 17y ago
True, but I think some people might need reminding. Also, he tries to use his twitter account to promote good causes. Depending on his reaction to this episode, this might have been put at risk.
- pavs 17y ago
  Nothing was put on risk. The person/group who did this not only removed the fake tweet in question but also showed enough respect (if you actually read the whole article). > "P.S. I deleted that post from his micro-blog a few minutes later, cause my delicate mental organization didn’t allow me to injure a huge army of Stephen Fry fans." Assuming the "hack" was real (no way to prove it IMO), I rather be hacked by this person than someone else with malicious intent. No harm done, as a matter of fact this will probably help to secure whatever hole was in the system. Do you think we would give a flying-frack if the twitter account in question didn't belong to Stephen Fry or anyone famous? I doubt it.
  - tungstenfurnace 17y ago
    >Nothing was put on risk. Do you know Stephen Fry well? Is he 'nothing'? Can you predict how he will feel about this? >if the twitter account in question didn't belong to Stephen Fry or anyone famous? I didn't say famous, I said good. Btw, check out the author's disclaimer: >Neither the editors nor the author shall not be liable for any possible damage caused by the materials of this article.
    - pavs 17y ago
      >Do you know Stephen Fry well? Is he 'nothing'? Can you predict how he will feel about this? I think you are being a bit too emotional here. Its not like Fry got kidnapped from his house, hog tied and thrown out of london bridge. His twitter account got compromised by someone, who was well intentioned enough not to screw around with it. If the person didn't write about the hack, you wouldn't know about it, Fry wouldn't know about it and he would wake up the next morning and have his "eggie in the basket" and no one would care. Saying Awwww but "Stephen Fry is a good person. :-(" adds nothing to a discussion about something that has to do with web security.
  - Luc 17y ago
    > Nothing was put on risk. The person/group who did this not only removed the fake tweet in question but also showed enough respect (if you actually read the whole article). Would knowing that Stephen Fry suffers from bipolar disorder, and has threatened to quit Twitter not long ago (http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2009/oct/31/stephen-fry-leave-twitter-fans http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2009/oct/31/stephen-fry... ) change your view?
    - pavs 17y ago
      >Would knowing that Stephen Fry suffers from bipolar disorder, and has threatened to quit Twitter not long ago (http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2009/oct/31/stephen-fry.. http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2009/oct/31/stephen-fry.... ) change your view? No. I would be more concerned about him quitting blogging than him quitting twitter. He is an amazing writer and speaker and using twitter is a disservice to his talent. IMO.
      - Luc 17y ago
        So you agree that Mr. Fry's further use of Twitter was put at risk, but you just don't care about it?
        pavs 17y ago
        I care about it as much as I care about Sarah Palin not using twitter. How many times did twitter itself got hacked? From DNS hack to brute force password cracked (was no failed password limitation) to phishing attack to twitter employees account getting compromised to XSS attack to every single twitter account (earlier this year). Twitter account of famous people getting hacked is part of the experience of using twitter. If someone stops using twitter for this, I don't feel bad about it. Its twitter, not the end of the world.
        Luc 17y ago
        It's Twitter, it IS a big deal. It is the direct link between the artist (or politician) and his public. Over one million people follow Fry's tweets daily, and a multiple of that hears about them or reads about it on other websites (in fact, several times BBC News has reported on his tweets). You can be sure that I would defend a list of a million followers tooth and nail, and not just for monetary purposes. Some weeks ago Stephen Fry was watching some live sporting event from his sofa, wrote a tweet about it, and got a reply from the presenters ON AIR. In a program broadcast to millions. I think your position is that you don't care about these people and their use of Twitter. Fine, but THEY care. Besides, a tweet like this from Sarah Palin is worth more than ten press releases: http://twitter.com/SarahPalinUSA/status/6823906156 http://twitter.com/SarahPalinUSA/status/6823906156

jkasndas 17y ago

Stephen Fry is a public figure with a large following. He is mostly concerned with political matters, and he uses his influence to affect their outcomes. These days he is more accurately described as a political figure than an actor. Whether he is seen as a good or bad person is immaterial. Public figures like Fry are not immune to attacks on the basis of their personal qualities. If someone's account is going to be accessed unlawfully, then Stephen Fry's is as good a target as any other. Fry is as much fair game as Britney Spears.

GoboGobo 17y ago
Even though his site's security was not completely up to snuff, he did have a pretty good password.
- danielh 17y ago
  Unfortunately, the chain is only as strong as the weakest link. FWIW, the vulnerability is listed in the OWASP 2007 Top 10 as Malicious File Execution http://www.owasp.org/index.php/Top_10_2007-A3 http://www.owasp.org/index.php/Top_10_2007-A3
DougBTX 17y ago
Perhaps I assume too much of the attackers, but their decision to post "from Russia with love" vs "Sorry, X is dead, please unfollow" probably depends on whether they think the guy is a good person or a bad person.
axod 17y ago
>> "These days he is more accurately described as a political figure than an actor." What??? I guess you don't watch BBC TV do you. QI (Fantastic series). Kingdom. Stephen Fry's America Last chance to see etc etc (Most of these from the last year or 2). He's first and foremost known as a fantastic comedian and maker of good quality TV.