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I would think that the White House would flag incoming email that is not internal as "external" to at least give some more context that the sender should be tre
by dpflan 9y ago
I would think that the White House would flag incoming email that is not internal as "external" to at least give some more context that the sender should be treated cautiously given (obviously what this pranking reveals) how easily someone can be impersonated digitally. The ruse is still malicious because it attempts to elicit responses that can be used to ridicule the target via public humiliation - and could accidentally release sensitive information.
The idea is good for a jab and opportunistic, but then making a "career" out of pestering people like this seems less than interesting in the long run. The barrier to entry seems quite low, so if one person shows how easy it is to gain public notoriety (and $$$, the pranker is creating a "book"), then I suspect we could see more of this publicized pranking.
What do you think? Are you for or against this?
- 24gttghh 9y agoThis person is basically a troll who can spell. This makes him no better than those he attempts to fool. I don't think such behavior should be encouraged, especially considering how often it happens...
- scottmf 9y agoOh come on. It's a form of social engineering and I'd say it has a net benefit for society. These emails have brought to light some weaknesses in these systems. Hopefully they'll be patched very quickly.
- 24gttghh 9y agoI think there are ethical ways to publicize vulnerabilities in a system ala Google's Project Zero, and then there's public shaming through trickery. Not to say how the administration reacted may be overblown, but "ends justify the means" is a slippery slope I find unpalatable.
- scottmf 9y agoThere's no "The Email Company" to fix such vulnerabilities. Given the damage that could have been caused, the prank is incredibly harmless. At worst it has temporarily embarrassed a few people already shown to be immune to embarrassment.