11 ms·

The one person who almost got into an area where they really didn't want people was shot dead. This guy's acting like the rioters breached a SCIF or something.

The one person who almost got into an area where they really didn't want people was shot dead. This guy's acting like the rioters breached a SCIF or something. The Capitol building is (was, normally) open to the public.

saargrin 6y ago
not sure the office computers are typically accessible to public now they gonna check everything for possible keyloggers or whatnot and theres no way of knowing if any computer was left unlocked and might have had something installed on it
- NortySpock 6y ago
  At least one protestor claimed he found an unlocked computer. Up to others to verify if that claim is accurate. https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2021/01/pro-trump-reporter-gloats-over-access-to-fleeing-hill-staffers-computer/ https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2021/01/pro-trump-report... Windows-L is the keyboard command to lock on Windows. I strike it by habit every time I get up from my chair.
  - mkl95 6y ago
    Super-L is the keyboard command to lock on Gnome. The super key is called the windows key on Windows :-)
  - raverbashing 6y ago
    Best way I found is to set a "hot corner" that will lock the computer once the cursor is moved there Easier than typing a key combination
    - InitialLastName 6y ago
      I had that at one point, but on Windows, with a high resolution screen and maximized windows there are too many useful operations dangerously close to every corner. Some folks at my office have ID cards that need to be inserted to operate the computer (it locks when the card is removed from the reader). The smart ones have attached the card to their belt so that when they walk away, the card goes with them and the computer locks.
  - kevin_thibedeau 6y ago
    He can explain it himself when he's trying to bargain a shorter prison sentence with prosecutors.
- jedberg 6y ago
  "Hi Representative Foo, I have a presentation on the USB stick here I'd like to show you, mind if I plug it in?" "I just need to download the presentation from my website, can I use your computer real quick?" Do you really think an 80 year old anti-tech representative would even consider that a problem? I'd have to assume the computers are already protected from that attack vector. Edit: I'm getting a lot of downvotes without replies, which makes me thing people don't agree with this. I wonder, how many have actually worked in corporate IT security for a non-tech company with older employees? Because things like this definitely happen on a daily basis. Case in point: Pelosi's screen was unlocked when that guy sat down, which was at least 20 minutes after she left. That means that not only does she not lock her screen when she gets up, but the screen saver doesn't even auto-lock after 20 minutes.
  - memetherapy 6y ago
    Forget older employees, just employees. And I've seen enough poor security practices by 20 somethings at tech firms to have any faith in any user. Favourite example I've seen in several companies including one doing extremely sensitive work - senior devs with root access to the jewels of the kingdom doing pair programming on their own machines with interviewees / interns / new staff and leaving the computer unattended and unlocked to pop to the loo, grab a coffee, or let the junior work something out on their own.
  - saargrin 6y ago
    its nice of you to assume the tech staff on the hill are any younger than 80yo reps themselves i worked for a long while in various near-it jobs before transitioning to my current position in cyber /devops i am quite sure that non-technical office security is crap under the best of circumstances and that before a bunch of yahoos start rampaging around it at least the employees know they are being tracked and easy to find ,pass security clearance and probably are not the dumbest of people whereas Trump lot were obviously idiots,and under an impression they would not be persecuted i dont see why some foreign actor couldnt pay one or more of them to install something or other
- Ruthalas 6y ago
  There's at least one photo of the screen of an unlocked laptop, with a security warning popup in the corner suggesting evacuation.
paxys 6y ago
Multiple computers belonging to congressmen/their aides have been reported accessed or stolen (https://thehill.com/homenews/senate/533162-merkley-says-capitol-rioters-stole-laptop-from-his-office https://thehill.com/homenews/senate/533162-merkley-says-capi...). Someone posted a picture of Nancy Pelosi's email client, stole mail and left a threatening note in her office. Other private chambers were vandalized (https://twitter.com/SenJeffMerkley/status/1347039504528498688 https://twitter.com/SenJeffMerkley/status/134703950452849868...). Can anyone really confirm that there were zero foreign agents among the thousands of rioters who accessed the building? Let's not pretend what happened was normal.
- jaywalk 6y ago
  Not normal, not good. Will cause issues for sure. But those computers did not have access to classified information.
  - paxys 6y ago
    > But those computers did not have access to classified information. Got a source for that? You really think a sitting Senator's laptop has zero useful data for a foreign government, or even the opposition party? Heck his browser history or synced texts could have enough blackmail material.
    - deleted 6y ago
      [deleted]
    - Jtsummers 6y ago
      Useful data != Secret/TS data. If there is any Secret/TS data on these systems, there's already been a security breach and yesterday wasn't special. Unclassified systems are often assumed unsafe/breached to begin with.
      - randylahey 6y ago
        I don't disagree, however... human beings can be lazy, short-sighted or take short-cuts. I wouldn't put it past someone to keep something where it shouldn't be, intentionally or by accident.
thinkmassive 6y ago
Yep, the important rooms would not accidentally be left accessible, even in a situation like what happened yesterday. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sensitive_Compartmented_Information_Facility https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sensitive_Compartmented_Inform...
meragrin_ 6y ago
> The one person who almost got into an area where they really didn't want people was shot dead. The videos showing her get shot had several police in the area and they never looked like they were very interested in protecting that area before she was shot.
- c_r_w 6y ago
  Difference between the Secret Service and Capitol PD.
  - meragrin_ 6y ago
    Last I heard, it still had not been determined who shot her. What makes you think the Secret Service was involved? They don't typically protect Congress.
    - huntermeyer 6y ago
      The guy that shot her was wearing a suit without any clear badging. This looks like Secret Service who may have been on VP Pence detail. [Viewer discretion advised] Screenshot: https://i.imgur.com/vHvvkHQ.png https://i.imgur.com/vHvvkHQ.png Video: https://worldstar.com/video.php?v=wshh17cIq2bB6L71wx1q https://worldstar.com/video.php?v=wshh17cIq2bB6L71wx1q
    - the__alchemist 6y ago
      Secret Service protect high-profile Congressmen and Senators. For example: Former first-ladies, presidential candidates, and others as appropriate. Hillary Clinton, for example, had an entourage of secret service agents wherever she went, including in the Capitol. Same with Obama leading up to the election. TLDR: It's likely there are secret service members in the Captiol at any given time.
    - c_r_w 6y ago
      It does seem to have been a plainclothes USCP officer per new reporting. I had read possibly erroneous reports that he was part of Pence's detail.
orblivion 6y ago
This is something that surprises me about the whole thing. Wouldn't the chambers full of Very Important People who are presumably targets of many an angry/deranged person be among those highly sensitive areas? When I heard that these people were breaking down barriers and potentially storming the Capitol building, I thought surely they would stop as soon as they foolishly approached the chambers and started getting shot dead. When I was so much as standing across the street from the White House, where all the protesters hang out, I assumed I basically had a red dot on my head, so I should be careful what I do.
- deleted 6y ago
  [deleted]
- Spooky23 6y ago
  They are representatives to people and basically shake hands and kiss babies for a living. They can’t be isolated. Obviously, the security services stood back and had high level direction to do nothing. They left a few capitol police flapping in the breeze and the cavalry (national guard, other law enforcement) never showed up. I work near a VA hospital, and a few years ago a deranged man was running around the grounds with a machete and what looked to be a rifle. They activated their protocol and within 10 minutes mutual aid (Federal Protective Service police, State Troopers, local PD were on site. That didn’t happen. I hope Biden purges the top layers of career management in those police agencies as well as the commanders of the National Guard. They failed the nation.
  - herewulf 6y ago
    The leadership of the police agencies involved should absolutely be investigated. The National Guard, on the other hand, you seem to be misinformed about its status. Most of us work regular ass jobs full time just like everyone else here and we're lucky to get 1/3 of our unit strength to report within a few hours. Plenty of service members don't even live in the same state where they are in the Guard, especially on the East Coast. Then it takes time to make a plan, organize, issue equipment, load/prep vehicles, and roll out. Finally, NG commanders can't just choose to deploy somewhere on their own because there's an emergency. It has to be authorized by the state governor. I don't know how it works exactly for DC though. The Secretary of the Army was part of a press briefing Wednesday announcing NG deployment, but the NGs for the 50 states aren't part of the Department of the Army, but rather the states and the National Guard Bureau until mobilized under Title 10 authority (not a drop of the hat thing). Maybe the DC Guard is under some direct Executive Branch control which in this case would be bad news, because look who was more than happy to have the Capitol overrun.
tunesmith 6y ago
> The one person who almost got into an area where they really didn't want people was shot dead. Wait, what is the context on this? I saw the footage once before I knew she died. It honestly looked like law enforcement with guns coming up the stairs, and it looked like a crowd of people, not a woman acting alone. What area of the building was that that was extra-sensitive? EDIT: I see now, other angles are easy to find. Trying to climb through a blockaded entry point as guns were already pointed at her...
- harshreality 6y ago
  It was at the locked corridor barrier to the Speakers Lobby which adjoins the House Chamber. Rumors that Pence was there and it was Secret Service haven't been confirmed; he had been in the Senate chamber and Secret Service had evacuated him, so it's unlikely he would end up on the House side in a poorly secured area. News reports indicate it was simply Capitol Police, possibly someone associated with the House Sgt at Arms since they have an office somewhere around there. I guess the woman, despite being a veteran (Air Force... why is it the Air Force has so many crazy people?), was so caught up in LARPing that she couldn't rationally evaluate that this was the last meaningful barrier to the House chamber and they might have more liberal rules of engagement or someone might panic and overstep their RoE to prevent an unauthorized mob from entering. If she'd climbed through, she could have opened the door to the mob. On the other hand, I can see the argument that shooting her was an absurd overreaction. There were armed capitol police who had just come up the stairs behind her and that group of protesters, and they were doing nothing. The news reports that the justification for the shooting was that she might have been armed, but if that's really their rationale, it's a bad one. They should have retreated to the main chamber, because they weren't in a good tactical position, trying to defend a barrier with windows large enough for people to climb through. In addition, no such resistance was offered on the Senate side. When you're outnumbered that badly, unless you have special training like the Secret Service would, and plenty of ammo, you're not going to accomplish anything by shooting anyone, unless they are overtly threatening people such that you think you're going to die or be taken captive anyway. I don't think Capitol Police are legally at fault in any way for her death, but I think they did the wrong thing there.
deleted 6y ago
[deleted]
mcintyre1994 6y ago
In the video I saw of the person who got shot, it looked like she was climbing into a room that already had both police and other rioters inside - is that incorrect? I’ve also seen pictures of people inside Pelosi’s office, including on her unlocked computer with emails displayed (albeit I assume these weren’t confidential - the only one mentioned was about the security breach).

saargrin 6y ago

not sure the office computers are typically accessible to public now they gonna check everything for possible keyloggers or whatnot and theres no way of knowing if any computer was left unlocked and might have had something installed on it

NortySpock 6y ago
At least one protestor claimed he found an unlocked computer. Up to others to verify if that claim is accurate. https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2021/01/pro-trump-reporter-gloats-over-access-to-fleeing-hill-staffers-computer/ https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2021/01/pro-trump-report... Windows-L is the keyboard command to lock on Windows. I strike it by habit every time I get up from my chair.
- mkl95 6y ago
  Super-L is the keyboard command to lock on Gnome. The super key is called the windows key on Windows :-)
- raverbashing 6y ago
  Best way I found is to set a "hot corner" that will lock the computer once the cursor is moved there Easier than typing a key combination
  - InitialLastName 6y ago
    I had that at one point, but on Windows, with a high resolution screen and maximized windows there are too many useful operations dangerously close to every corner. Some folks at my office have ID cards that need to be inserted to operate the computer (it locks when the card is removed from the reader). The smart ones have attached the card to their belt so that when they walk away, the card goes with them and the computer locks.
- kevin_thibedeau 6y ago
  He can explain it himself when he's trying to bargain a shorter prison sentence with prosecutors.
jedberg 6y ago
"Hi Representative Foo, I have a presentation on the USB stick here I'd like to show you, mind if I plug it in?" "I just need to download the presentation from my website, can I use your computer real quick?" Do you really think an 80 year old anti-tech representative would even consider that a problem? I'd have to assume the computers are already protected from that attack vector. Edit: I'm getting a lot of downvotes without replies, which makes me thing people don't agree with this. I wonder, how many have actually worked in corporate IT security for a non-tech company with older employees? Because things like this definitely happen on a daily basis. Case in point: Pelosi's screen was unlocked when that guy sat down, which was at least 20 minutes after she left. That means that not only does she not lock her screen when she gets up, but the screen saver doesn't even auto-lock after 20 minutes.
- memetherapy 6y ago
  Forget older employees, just employees. And I've seen enough poor security practices by 20 somethings at tech firms to have any faith in any user. Favourite example I've seen in several companies including one doing extremely sensitive work - senior devs with root access to the jewels of the kingdom doing pair programming on their own machines with interviewees / interns / new staff and leaving the computer unattended and unlocked to pop to the loo, grab a coffee, or let the junior work something out on their own.
- saargrin 6y ago
  its nice of you to assume the tech staff on the hill are any younger than 80yo reps themselves i worked for a long while in various near-it jobs before transitioning to my current position in cyber /devops i am quite sure that non-technical office security is crap under the best of circumstances and that before a bunch of yahoos start rampaging around it at least the employees know they are being tracked and easy to find ,pass security clearance and probably are not the dumbest of people whereas Trump lot were obviously idiots,and under an impression they would not be persecuted i dont see why some foreign actor couldnt pay one or more of them to install something or other
Ruthalas 6y ago
There's at least one photo of the screen of an unlocked laptop, with a security warning popup in the corner suggesting evacuation.

paxys 6y ago

Multiple computers belonging to congressmen/their aides have been reported accessed or stolen (https://thehill.com/homenews/senate/533162-merkley-says-capitol-rioters-stole-laptop-from-his-office https://thehill.com/homenews/senate/533162-merkley-says-capi...). Someone posted a picture of Nancy Pelosi's email client, stole mail and left a threatening note in her office. Other private chambers were vandalized (https://twitter.com/SenJeffMerkley/status/1347039504528498688 https://twitter.com/SenJeffMerkley/status/134703950452849868...). Can anyone really confirm that there were zero foreign agents among the thousands of rioters who accessed the building? Let's not pretend what happened was normal.

jaywalk 6y ago
Not normal, not good. Will cause issues for sure. But those computers did not have access to classified information.
- paxys 6y ago
  > But those computers did not have access to classified information. Got a source for that? You really think a sitting Senator's laptop has zero useful data for a foreign government, or even the opposition party? Heck his browser history or synced texts could have enough blackmail material.
  - deleted 6y ago
    [deleted]
  - Jtsummers 6y ago
    Useful data != Secret/TS data. If there is any Secret/TS data on these systems, there's already been a security breach and yesterday wasn't special. Unclassified systems are often assumed unsafe/breached to begin with.
    - randylahey 6y ago
      I don't disagree, however... human beings can be lazy, short-sighted or take short-cuts. I wouldn't put it past someone to keep something where it shouldn't be, intentionally or by accident.

thinkmassive 6y ago

Yep, the important rooms would not accidentally be left accessible, even in a situation like what happened yesterday. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sensitive_Compartmented_Information_Facility https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sensitive_Compartmented_Inform...

meragrin_ 6y ago

> The one person who almost got into an area where they really didn't want people was shot dead. The videos showing her get shot had several police in the area and they never looked like they were very interested in protecting that area before she was shot.

c_r_w 6y ago
Difference between the Secret Service and Capitol PD.
- meragrin_ 6y ago
  Last I heard, it still had not been determined who shot her. What makes you think the Secret Service was involved? They don't typically protect Congress.
  - huntermeyer 6y ago
    The guy that shot her was wearing a suit without any clear badging. This looks like Secret Service who may have been on VP Pence detail. [Viewer discretion advised] Screenshot: https://i.imgur.com/vHvvkHQ.png https://i.imgur.com/vHvvkHQ.png Video: https://worldstar.com/video.php?v=wshh17cIq2bB6L71wx1q https://worldstar.com/video.php?v=wshh17cIq2bB6L71wx1q
  - the__alchemist 6y ago
    Secret Service protect high-profile Congressmen and Senators. For example: Former first-ladies, presidential candidates, and others as appropriate. Hillary Clinton, for example, had an entourage of secret service agents wherever she went, including in the Capitol. Same with Obama leading up to the election. TLDR: It's likely there are secret service members in the Captiol at any given time.
  - c_r_w 6y ago
    It does seem to have been a plainclothes USCP officer per new reporting. I had read possibly erroneous reports that he was part of Pence's detail.

orblivion 6y ago

This is something that surprises me about the whole thing. Wouldn't the chambers full of Very Important People who are presumably targets of many an angry/deranged person be among those highly sensitive areas? When I heard that these people were breaking down barriers and potentially storming the Capitol building, I thought surely they would stop as soon as they foolishly approached the chambers and started getting shot dead. When I was so much as standing across the street from the White House, where all the protesters hang out, I assumed I basically had a red dot on my head, so I should be careful what I do.

deleted 6y ago
[deleted]
Spooky23 6y ago
They are representatives to people and basically shake hands and kiss babies for a living. They can’t be isolated. Obviously, the security services stood back and had high level direction to do nothing. They left a few capitol police flapping in the breeze and the cavalry (national guard, other law enforcement) never showed up. I work near a VA hospital, and a few years ago a deranged man was running around the grounds with a machete and what looked to be a rifle. They activated their protocol and within 10 minutes mutual aid (Federal Protective Service police, State Troopers, local PD were on site. That didn’t happen. I hope Biden purges the top layers of career management in those police agencies as well as the commanders of the National Guard. They failed the nation.
- herewulf 6y ago
  The leadership of the police agencies involved should absolutely be investigated. The National Guard, on the other hand, you seem to be misinformed about its status. Most of us work regular ass jobs full time just like everyone else here and we're lucky to get 1/3 of our unit strength to report within a few hours. Plenty of service members don't even live in the same state where they are in the Guard, especially on the East Coast. Then it takes time to make a plan, organize, issue equipment, load/prep vehicles, and roll out. Finally, NG commanders can't just choose to deploy somewhere on their own because there's an emergency. It has to be authorized by the state governor. I don't know how it works exactly for DC though. The Secretary of the Army was part of a press briefing Wednesday announcing NG deployment, but the NGs for the 50 states aren't part of the Department of the Army, but rather the states and the National Guard Bureau until mobilized under Title 10 authority (not a drop of the hat thing). Maybe the DC Guard is under some direct Executive Branch control which in this case would be bad news, because look who was more than happy to have the Capitol overrun.

tunesmith 6y ago

> The one person who almost got into an area where they really didn't want people was shot dead. Wait, what is the context on this? I saw the footage once before I knew she died. It honestly looked like law enforcement with guns coming up the stairs, and it looked like a crowd of people, not a woman acting alone. What area of the building was that that was extra-sensitive? EDIT: I see now, other angles are easy to find. Trying to climb through a blockaded entry point as guns were already pointed at her...

harshreality 6y ago
It was at the locked corridor barrier to the Speakers Lobby which adjoins the House Chamber. Rumors that Pence was there and it was Secret Service haven't been confirmed; he had been in the Senate chamber and Secret Service had evacuated him, so it's unlikely he would end up on the House side in a poorly secured area. News reports indicate it was simply Capitol Police, possibly someone associated with the House Sgt at Arms since they have an office somewhere around there. I guess the woman, despite being a veteran (Air Force... why is it the Air Force has so many crazy people?), was so caught up in LARPing that she couldn't rationally evaluate that this was the last meaningful barrier to the House chamber and they might have more liberal rules of engagement or someone might panic and overstep their RoE to prevent an unauthorized mob from entering. If she'd climbed through, she could have opened the door to the mob. On the other hand, I can see the argument that shooting her was an absurd overreaction. There were armed capitol police who had just come up the stairs behind her and that group of protesters, and they were doing nothing. The news reports that the justification for the shooting was that she might have been armed, but if that's really their rationale, it's a bad one. They should have retreated to the main chamber, because they weren't in a good tactical position, trying to defend a barrier with windows large enough for people to climb through. In addition, no such resistance was offered on the Senate side. When you're outnumbered that badly, unless you have special training like the Secret Service would, and plenty of ammo, you're not going to accomplish anything by shooting anyone, unless they are overtly threatening people such that you think you're going to die or be taken captive anyway. I don't think Capitol Police are legally at fault in any way for her death, but I think they did the wrong thing there.

deleted 6y ago

[deleted]

mcintyre1994 6y ago

In the video I saw of the person who got shot, it looked like she was climbing into a room that already had both police and other rioters inside - is that incorrect? I’ve also seen pictures of people inside Pelosi’s office, including on her unlocked computer with emails displayed (albeit I assume these weren’t confidential - the only one mentioned was about the security breach).