6 ms·

Who could have guessed that the greedy, opportunistic, evil corporation whose sole intent is to invade our privacy in the name of "security" would be run by inc

Who could have guessed that the greedy, opportunistic, evil corporation whose sole intent is to invade our privacy in the name of "security" would be run by incompetents in the security realm?

ncr100 9mo ago
Here's an elucidation, taking that question seriously, supplying a bunch of "Why's" -- * https://medium.com/@ajay.monga73/why-developers-still-hardcode-credentials-a93312ca32d1 https://medium.com/@ajay.monga73/why-developers-still-hardco...
- robot-wrangler 9mo ago
  A root-cause analysis here that's about intrinsic difficulty is misguided IMHO. Secrets and secrets-delivery are an environment service that individual developers shouldn't ever have to think about. If you cut platform/devops/secops teams to the bone because they aren't adding application features, or if you understaff or overwork seniors that are supposed to be reviewing work and mentoring, then you will leak eventually. Simple as. Cutting engineering budgets for marketing budgets and executive bonuses practically guarantees these kinds of problems. Engineering leadership should understand this and deep down, it usually does. So the most direct way to talk about this is usually acknowledging willful negligence and/or greed
  - catlifeonmars 9mo ago
    Agreed. Proper secrets management is table stakes for any company entrusted with paying customers.
  - ncr100 9mo ago
    Thank you robot wrangler - i don't have that insight without people sharing things like do here <3 I agree with what you write here. It was a bad proffer / explanation on my part.
hopelite 9mo ago
FYI; Flock was/is a YC backed company https://www.ycombinator.com/companies/flock-safety https://www.ycombinator.com/companies/flock-safety
- deleted 9mo ago
  [deleted]
- nxobject 9mo ago
  > We are committed to protecting human privacy and mitigating bias in policing with the development of best-in-class technology rooted in ethical design, which unites civilians and public servants in pursuit of a safer, more equitable society. …and of course they do the exact opposite. All a bunch of bullshit from inception.
  - darig 9mo ago
    [dead]
- niij 9mo ago
  This is extremely disappointing. Absolutely turned off applying for or working for any YC companies now.
  - windexh8er 9mo ago
    It's also interesting Garry Tan (YC Partner) has a lot of comments for the masses when it's on a one sided platform like X. But, will never engage here. Oh the irony. He seems to enjoy spreading factually misguided "statistics" [0] about how Flock is "solving crime". OK buddy. I mean, just look at how he enagages with those replies. If that's at the helm of YC? WTF. [0] https://x.com/garrytan/status/1963256544524640456 https://x.com/garrytan/status/1963256544524640456
    - femiagbabiaka 9mo ago
      He and the entire tech ecosystem is in a bubble where being as right wing as possible is currency. Literally middle of the road liberal pg is basically a communist compared to this ecosystem now. It’s extremely short sighted on their part as the dialectic is guaranteed to flip back the other way. Much better to hold your own genuine beliefs than to kowtow to whatever is popular at the time
Spooky23 9mo ago
Their CEO comes off as a real self-righteous character. One has to wonder whether these passwords were that way purposefully to avoid accountability for privileged partners. Most of these systems are deployed with grant money that it comes from the department of justice.
- therobots927 9mo ago
  He’s clearly mimicking Alex Karp. And there’s no doubt in my mind that this is one of many backdoors built into Flock.
  - JohnMakin 9mo ago
    this is more of an unlocked front door
    - therobots927 9mo ago
      Hahaha
- nxobject 9mo ago
  “Wow, we totally didn’t know we had everything accessible on Shodan! We totally hope that no federal entities exploited this (fake tears), but I guess we can’t tell anyway! It’s not as if they found out about it from us :(”
- lcnPylGDnU4H9OF 9mo ago
  > Their CEO comes off as a real self-righteous character. https://www.ci.staunton.va.us/home/showpublisheddocument/13448 https://www.ci.staunton.va.us/home/showpublisheddocument/134... (PDF) My favorite part: > [Activists are] also trying to turn a public records process into a weapon against you and against us. As if people are not simply asking for something to which they are entitled through legislation.
  - callc 9mo ago
    Ah yes, the teeneager point of view of “why is everyone trying to ruin my life!” Adults that didn’t grow up.
123sereusername 9mo ago
[dead]
ummonk 9mo ago
I'm surprised they didn't name it after some Tolkien reference that they completely misinterpreted...

Who could have guessed that the greedy, opportunistic, evil corporation whose sole intent is to invade our privacy in the name of "security" would be run by incompetents in the security realm?

ncr100 9mo ago

Here's an elucidation, taking that question seriously, supplying a bunch of "Why's" -- * https://medium.com/@ajay.monga73/why-developers-still-hardcode-credentials-a93312ca32d1 https://medium.com/@ajay.monga73/why-developers-still-hardco...

robot-wrangler 9mo ago
A root-cause analysis here that's about intrinsic difficulty is misguided IMHO. Secrets and secrets-delivery are an environment service that individual developers shouldn't ever have to think about. If you cut platform/devops/secops teams to the bone because they aren't adding application features, or if you understaff or overwork seniors that are supposed to be reviewing work and mentoring, then you will leak eventually. Simple as. Cutting engineering budgets for marketing budgets and executive bonuses practically guarantees these kinds of problems. Engineering leadership should understand this and deep down, it usually does. So the most direct way to talk about this is usually acknowledging willful negligence and/or greed
- catlifeonmars 9mo ago
  Agreed. Proper secrets management is table stakes for any company entrusted with paying customers.
- ncr100 9mo ago
  Thank you robot wrangler - i don't have that insight without people sharing things like do here <3 I agree with what you write here. It was a bad proffer / explanation on my part.

hopelite 9mo ago

FYI; Flock was/is a YC backed company https://www.ycombinator.com/companies/flock-safety https://www.ycombinator.com/companies/flock-safety

deleted 9mo ago
[deleted]
nxobject 9mo ago
> We are committed to protecting human privacy and mitigating bias in policing with the development of best-in-class technology rooted in ethical design, which unites civilians and public servants in pursuit of a safer, more equitable society. …and of course they do the exact opposite. All a bunch of bullshit from inception.
- darig 9mo ago
  [dead]
niij 9mo ago
This is extremely disappointing. Absolutely turned off applying for or working for any YC companies now.
- windexh8er 9mo ago
  It's also interesting Garry Tan (YC Partner) has a lot of comments for the masses when it's on a one sided platform like X. But, will never engage here. Oh the irony. He seems to enjoy spreading factually misguided "statistics" [0] about how Flock is "solving crime". OK buddy. I mean, just look at how he enagages with those replies. If that's at the helm of YC? WTF. [0] https://x.com/garrytan/status/1963256544524640456 https://x.com/garrytan/status/1963256544524640456
  - femiagbabiaka 9mo ago
    He and the entire tech ecosystem is in a bubble where being as right wing as possible is currency. Literally middle of the road liberal pg is basically a communist compared to this ecosystem now. It’s extremely short sighted on their part as the dialectic is guaranteed to flip back the other way. Much better to hold your own genuine beliefs than to kowtow to whatever is popular at the time

Spooky23 9mo ago

Their CEO comes off as a real self-righteous character. One has to wonder whether these passwords were that way purposefully to avoid accountability for privileged partners. Most of these systems are deployed with grant money that it comes from the department of justice.

therobots927 9mo ago
He’s clearly mimicking Alex Karp. And there’s no doubt in my mind that this is one of many backdoors built into Flock.
- JohnMakin 9mo ago
  this is more of an unlocked front door
  - therobots927 9mo ago
    Hahaha
nxobject 9mo ago
“Wow, we totally didn’t know we had everything accessible on Shodan! We totally hope that no federal entities exploited this (fake tears), but I guess we can’t tell anyway! It’s not as if they found out about it from us :(”
lcnPylGDnU4H9OF 9mo ago
> Their CEO comes off as a real self-righteous character. https://www.ci.staunton.va.us/home/showpublisheddocument/13448 https://www.ci.staunton.va.us/home/showpublisheddocument/134... (PDF) My favorite part: > [Activists are] also trying to turn a public records process into a weapon against you and against us. As if people are not simply asking for something to which they are entitled through legislation.
- callc 9mo ago
  Ah yes, the teeneager point of view of “why is everyone trying to ruin my life!” Adults that didn’t grow up.

123sereusername 9mo ago

[dead]

ummonk 9mo ago

I'm surprised they didn't name it after some Tolkien reference that they completely misinterpreted...