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This was the start of it all: https://www.theregister.com/2023/03/31/capita_confirms_it_outage/ https://www.theregister.com/2023/03/31/capita_confirms_it_ou...

This was the start of it all: https://www.theregister.com/2023/03/31/capita_confirms_it_outage/ https://www.theregister.com/2023/03/31/capita_confirms_it_ou... Some of the data was listed for sale: https://www.theregister.com/2023/04/18/capita_breach_gets_worse/ https://www.theregister.com/2023/04/18/capita_breach_gets_wo... For those not in the UK, Capita runs outsourced IT systems for lots of government agencies, councils, the NHS etc. Their nickname is "crapita" in some circles, due to how bad they can be. It all started with an open AWS bucket...

danpalmer 3y ago
Yeah is it really a "hack" if they left an open AWS bucket. I'm sure some would argue so, but I think access that is entirely read-only and works entirely within the intended access controls of a system is pretty much fair game, at least morally.
- ActionHank 3y ago
  Definitely not a hack, but it should be a crime.
  - danpalmer 3y ago
    I think it should be (is?) a crime to leak data like that, and I think it should be (is) a crime to use data that you "find" like that. However I feel strongly that exploring and finding the data, and then reporting it responsibly, should be a protected activity akin to whistleblowing that is not a crime.
  - mistrial9 3y ago
    you are paid to enforce rules, bet?
MarcScott 3y ago
Crapita is right. When I was a teacher I was forced to use SIMS https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/School_Information_Management_System https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/School_Information_Management_... It's possibly the worst software I have ever had the misfortune to interact with. It started as a Microsoft Access database, written by a teacher, was taken on by a council, and then expanded to be the largest MIS in the UK. It has always been slow, refuses to cache data on the client side which results in data loss if your wifi signal switches off, has the most clumsy UX I've ever seen, and despite being a modern piece of software it makes Curses look like an advanced UI from the next millennium.
- swores 3y ago
  Not that this changes your story at all, but FYI Capita sold SIMS in 2020

danpalmer 3y ago

Yeah is it really a "hack" if they left an open AWS bucket. I'm sure some would argue so, but I think access that is entirely read-only and works entirely within the intended access controls of a system is pretty much fair game, at least morally.

ActionHank 3y ago
Definitely not a hack, but it should be a crime.
- danpalmer 3y ago
  I think it should be (is?) a crime to leak data like that, and I think it should be (is) a crime to use data that you "find" like that. However I feel strongly that exploring and finding the data, and then reporting it responsibly, should be a protected activity akin to whistleblowing that is not a crime.
- mistrial9 3y ago
  you are paid to enforce rules, bet?

MarcScott 3y ago

Crapita is right. When I was a teacher I was forced to use SIMS https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/School_Information_Management_System https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/School_Information_Management_... It's possibly the worst software I have ever had the misfortune to interact with. It started as a Microsoft Access database, written by a teacher, was taken on by a council, and then expanded to be the largest MIS in the UK. It has always been slow, refuses to cache data on the client side which results in data loss if your wifi signal switches off, has the most clumsy UX I've ever seen, and despite being a modern piece of software it makes Curses look like an advanced UI from the next millennium.

swores 3y ago
Not that this changes your story at all, but FYI Capita sold SIMS in 2020