6 ms·
A surprisingly large amount of data one might think is classified is not at all. In this case all the examples listed are from freely available public data outs
by somenameforme 2y ago
A surprisingly large amount of data one might think is classified is not at all. In this case all the examples listed are from freely available public data outside of the Twitter thing which seems to be just setting up the environment for some local tool. Here are the sites:
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datacatalog.worldbank.org
opendata.arcgis.com
mrdata.usgs.gov / www.usgs.gov
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Sharing things like this isn't very useful because it just causes further divides. People who think DOGE is not a big deal will use this to confirm that 'oh no the worst they could dig up is somebody posting publicly accessible data in public!' And those who do think it's a big deal will often just double down on stupid and insist this was leaking secret information, even when they probably know it wasn't. So you end up with people living in two different worlds, but only one of them is real.
- bburnett44 2y agoYeah the "sensitive geospatial data" is just open data. He also created the geospatial gists before trump was in office so he definitely didn't have access to critical data then https://web.archive.org/web/20250228230950/https://gist.github.com/Jomanw https://web.archive.org/web/20250228230950/https://gist.gith...
- chris_wot 2y agoThe problem is, compiling the list like he has, and being on the DOGE team, makes it all very, very suspicious. And it is sensitive data - even if it is open. Those are important infrastructure locations.
- fallingknife 2y agoThis is nonsense. If infrastructure locations are not classified then every potential malicious actor already knows them.
- amarcheschi 2y agoHe is saying the malicious actor is doge itself, if I understood what is being said by the previous comment. Which is the idea behind which I posted the news here on hn
- chris_wot 2y agoCorrect
- huang_chung 2y ago> And it is sensitive data - even if it is open. This is literally contradictory. Data does not become sensitive because some random on HN says so. You are speaking with authority but have no idea what you are talking about.
- ygjb 2y agoWell, yeah, not from some rando, but that's not some rando, they are an employee of the government department that is trying to gut the government. That aside, the work product that is the result of an alaysis of open data can absolutely be sensitive - not because of the open data, rather because an adversary may be able to infer intent or plans from the tools, access patterns, or outputs of that analysis.
- mmooss 2y ago> This is literally contradictory. Why is it contradictory? It could be sensitive and unsecured. Sensitive doesn't mean 'classified'. > You are speaking with authority but have no idea what you are talking about. What do you know about the GP?
- ur_all_dumb 2y agoHe said, ironically speaking with authority on something he had no idea about.. "classification by compilation" is literally part of the Security Classification Guide (SCG) and given as mandatory training to everyone with a clearance at least once a year. Individually unclassified pieces of information can absolutely become sensitive or even classified when aggregated. Read the SCG people, this is not rocket science. (I am not saying that applies here to this data. Merely stating that none of you have any idea what you are talking about.)
- deleted 2y ago[deleted]
- amarcheschi 2y agoAs I said in anothercomment, using available data in itself can be seen with suspicion. With freely available data you can build a nuclear reactor (if very capable), or buy fertilizer and build a bomb. Chances are, fbi will knock at your door and ask what you're doing. The same way, an agency gathering lot of public available data regarding sensitive infrastructure can be assumed to misuse the data for shady purposes, given the agency isn't exactly one you can trust
- bburnett44 2y agoThis is such a lame comment. He's looking at publicly available geospatial data, not trying to build a bomb.
- amarcheschi 2y agoHe's not looking at, he's gathering
- tomrod 2y agoI gather things like this all the time. I'm against DOGE as much as 90% of the US is, but collection of open data for curiosity and interest is really not a thing to focus on.
- amarcheschi 2y agoThat's completely fair. However, i am let's say, at least dubious about the whys of an agency which is wreaking so much havoc need to collect data on us sensitive infrastructure. If you were dealing with drugs, and you told me you buy codeine based pharma products in bulk, i wouldn't think you caught a cold There are companies that are making bucks selling satellite photos of russian army storage(s) so that it is possible to calculate how much of remaining tanks are in storage. While a single photo of a single storage wouldn't matter on its own, having a clear picture of every russian storage can give you an idea of how many tanks were refurbished and remain in stock
- 2y ago
- throw0101c 2y ago> Sharing things like this isn't very useful because it just causes further divides. Perhaps creating division is the point: * https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Accelerationism https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Accelerationism
- methou 2y agohttps://openstreetmap.maps.arcgis.com/apps/mapviewer/index.html https://openstreetmap.maps.arcgis.com/apps/mapviewer/index.h... There are actually a lot public information available on Layers -> ArcGIS Online. I used to see ongoing Waterworks maintenance in there. In the area I live, there are also very up to date earthquake information from Government feed.
- TwoPhonesOneKid 2y ago> Sharing things like this isn't very useful because it just causes further divides. I gave up trying to gentle parent other adults a long time ago. Newsrooms themselves have no fear publishing disingenuous and polarizing content.
- cratermoon 2y agoIf by that you mean newsrooms are happy to publish stories full of the disingenuous sayings and doings of those who hope to benefit from polarization and chaos, I agree.
- TwoPhonesOneKid 2y ago[dead]
- xocnad 2y agoWhile this is the lede there are other activities posted. If there were true transparency with nothing to hide Mr. Wick would not have taken the repos private but just ensured that that all avenues of harassment were disabled. More of concern to me is the potential for a focus on the union status - though with just the screenshots it is quite difficult to tell what is really going on.
- davidmurdoch 2y agoGiving the benefit of the doubt to the author... finding the quickest and easiest way to stop harassment and backlash is what I would have done too. The author is a mere human, likely not equipped with the mental fortitude to deal with the magnitude of armchair bullies that are likely aimed at them.
- erikerikson 2y agoUsually: actually a third world is real. As constructed in your narrative there is a difference in the deltas between the two worlds and the third (i.e. one is more real).
- desmosabie 2y ago[flagged]
- cavisne 2y agoNot even data, html snippets with links to publicly available data. Watch at the media turns this into “doge bros mapping top secret minerals” and “doge has access to all our DMs!” For those who hate Trump but know what the you are looking at in the screenshots keep this one in mind. The media hates you and their goal is to sow division
- dkkergoog 2y ago[dead]
- deleted 2y ago[deleted]