3 ms·

So... the county sheriff showed up, decided he needed to be a big boss man, and made everything worse for everyone. Sounds pretty typical.

thinkingtoilet 9mo ago
Exactly. A fragile man needed assert his authority.
- mikkupikku 9mo ago
  You don't know the man, and you don't know all of the details and nuances of the situation he was called into. How then do you think to judge him like that? You're just stereotyping.
  - thinkingtoilet 9mo ago
    I do know the details of the situation. And so did the jury who awarded them $600k.
    - tiahura 9mo ago
      The detail that there was no jury?
    - e44858 9mo ago
      > And so did the jury who awarded them $600k What jury? The payment happened before the trial: "five days before a trial was scheduled to begin in the case, Dallas County officials agreed to pay $600,000 to settle the case".
      - bawolff 9mo ago
        In fairness, people don't generally give 6 figure settlements if they think the jury will agree with them
    - mikkupikku 9mo ago
      You're confusing your own assumptions with knowledge.
      - GibbonBreath 9mo ago
        Are they or are you? How have you determined that they don't understand the details?
        mikkupikku 9mo ago
        Being flat wrong is a subtle hint.
  - dns_snek 9mo ago
    Those "details and nuances of the situation he was called into" become completely irrelevant once one is presented with irrefutable evidence that their actions were completely legal. What matters is his conduct after that happened, which was blatant and persistent abuse of power. Stop justifying and excusing abuse of power, he hurt innocent people, cost the taxpayers $600k in a single incident of abusive and wrongful conduct, and he's now enjoying taxpayer-funded retirement without facing any accountability. https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2019/11/how-a-turf-war-and-a-botched-contract-landed-2-pentesters-in-iowa-jail/ https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2019/11/how-a...
    - cindyllm 9mo ago
      [dead]
petcat 9mo ago
I might be mistaken, but it sounds like these guys showed up at a facility and did the classical "breaking and entering" thing. The onsite (terrified) staff called 911, the police showed up and arrested them. The perps said that they were hired to do this (they were), but nobody told the Sheriffs office or the staff about it. So yeah, it sucks for these guys' reputations and criminal histories, but... what? The onsite staff didn't know what was going on, the Sheriffs didn't know what was going on. The county basically said: "We want you to go try to break into this government building. We aren't going to tell the staff or the local police about it. Tell us what you find."
- unsnap_biceps 9mo ago
  you are mistaken. There was no (terrified) staff present. The building was empty and they tripped an alarm on entry.
- QuercusMax 9mo ago
  Did you read the article? They broke in and set off an alarm, the local cops responded, the pentesters showed their credentials, and there was no issue. Then the sheriff arrived, was butthurt because he felt left out and wanted to show his authority, and caused these guys 6 years of grief for literally no reason at all.
  - petcat 9mo ago
    > the local cops responded Extremely dangerous and irresponsible for the county not to alert the local police and Sheriffs office that this operation was taking place. I'm glad these guys got their money.
- noitpmeder 9mo ago
  Did you even read the article or review the story? The police showed up, reviewed and even verified their documents (called the numbers on the form to confirm their authorization) and we're seemingly satisfied all was in order. Only once the sheriff himself arrived on scene did he order the arrest that caused all the issues. If that didn't happen it wouldn't have been a story other than "security professionals doing their authorized job".
Aurornis 9mo ago
That was my first impression, but reading the original story from 2019 has a much less one-side pictures: https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2019/11/how-a-turf-war-and-a-botched-contract-landed-2-pentesters-in-iowa-jail/ https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2019/11/how-a... My other comment has more details, but a summary is that they the pentesters had been drinking before breaking into the building, were doing things that could be interpreted as being forbidden by their own contract, and the big one: The person listed on their authorization letter denied that they were approved to enter the building when called. That last one is a big deal. If your own authorization contacts start telling the police you're not authorized to be in the building, you're in trouble.
- janalsncm 9mo ago
  Yeah I think that’s pretty useful context. I can understand arresting them and clearing it up with a judge in the morning. I can’t understand continuing to defame them as the lawsuit alleged. If that’s all that had happened I’m guessing it would’ve avoided a lawsuit, since their purpose was to restore their reputational damage.
  - tag2103 9mo ago
    This seems to be on par for this Iowa county which their ignorance sadly has painted a major target on their innocent citizens- related article: "Dallas County Attorney Matt Schultz told KCCI: "I want to be clear that the decision to dismiss the criminal charges that resulted in this civil case against Dallas County was made by a previous County Attorney. I am putting the public on notice that if this situation arises again in the future, I will prosecute to the fullest extent of the law." https://www.kcci.com/article/coalfire-contractors-settle-dallas-county-lawsuit/70179636 https://www.kcci.com/article/coalfire-contractors-settle-dal...
    - lux-lux-lux 9mo ago
      Schultz (a ‘tough on crime Republican’) is the prosecutor who filed charges when this thing happened originally, so no surprise he still defends his decision.

thinkingtoilet 9mo ago

Exactly. A fragile man needed assert his authority.

mikkupikku 9mo ago
You don't know the man, and you don't know all of the details and nuances of the situation he was called into. How then do you think to judge him like that? You're just stereotyping.
- thinkingtoilet 9mo ago
  I do know the details of the situation. And so did the jury who awarded them $600k.
  - tiahura 9mo ago
    The detail that there was no jury?
  - e44858 9mo ago
    > And so did the jury who awarded them $600k What jury? The payment happened before the trial: "five days before a trial was scheduled to begin in the case, Dallas County officials agreed to pay $600,000 to settle the case".
    - bawolff 9mo ago
      In fairness, people don't generally give 6 figure settlements if they think the jury will agree with them
  - mikkupikku 9mo ago
    You're confusing your own assumptions with knowledge.
    - GibbonBreath 9mo ago
      Are they or are you? How have you determined that they don't understand the details?
      - mikkupikku 9mo ago
        Being flat wrong is a subtle hint.
- dns_snek 9mo ago
  Those "details and nuances of the situation he was called into" become completely irrelevant once one is presented with irrefutable evidence that their actions were completely legal. What matters is his conduct after that happened, which was blatant and persistent abuse of power. Stop justifying and excusing abuse of power, he hurt innocent people, cost the taxpayers $600k in a single incident of abusive and wrongful conduct, and he's now enjoying taxpayer-funded retirement without facing any accountability. https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2019/11/how-a-turf-war-and-a-botched-contract-landed-2-pentesters-in-iowa-jail/ https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2019/11/how-a...
  - cindyllm 9mo ago
    [dead]

petcat 9mo ago

I might be mistaken, but it sounds like these guys showed up at a facility and did the classical "breaking and entering" thing. The onsite (terrified) staff called 911, the police showed up and arrested them. The perps said that they were hired to do this (they were), but nobody told the Sheriffs office or the staff about it. So yeah, it sucks for these guys' reputations and criminal histories, but... what? The onsite staff didn't know what was going on, the Sheriffs didn't know what was going on. The county basically said: "We want you to go try to break into this government building. We aren't going to tell the staff or the local police about it. Tell us what you find."

unsnap_biceps 9mo ago
you are mistaken. There was no (terrified) staff present. The building was empty and they tripped an alarm on entry.
QuercusMax 9mo ago
Did you read the article? They broke in and set off an alarm, the local cops responded, the pentesters showed their credentials, and there was no issue. Then the sheriff arrived, was butthurt because he felt left out and wanted to show his authority, and caused these guys 6 years of grief for literally no reason at all.
- petcat 9mo ago
  > the local cops responded Extremely dangerous and irresponsible for the county not to alert the local police and Sheriffs office that this operation was taking place. I'm glad these guys got their money.
noitpmeder 9mo ago
Did you even read the article or review the story? The police showed up, reviewed and even verified their documents (called the numbers on the form to confirm their authorization) and we're seemingly satisfied all was in order. Only once the sheriff himself arrived on scene did he order the arrest that caused all the issues. If that didn't happen it wouldn't have been a story other than "security professionals doing their authorized job".

Aurornis 9mo ago

That was my first impression, but reading the original story from 2019 has a much less one-side pictures: https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2019/11/how-a-turf-war-and-a-botched-contract-landed-2-pentesters-in-iowa-jail/ https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2019/11/how-a... My other comment has more details, but a summary is that they the pentesters had been drinking before breaking into the building, were doing things that could be interpreted as being forbidden by their own contract, and the big one: The person listed on their authorization letter denied that they were approved to enter the building when called. That last one is a big deal. If your own authorization contacts start telling the police you're not authorized to be in the building, you're in trouble.

janalsncm 9mo ago
Yeah I think that’s pretty useful context. I can understand arresting them and clearing it up with a judge in the morning. I can’t understand continuing to defame them as the lawsuit alleged. If that’s all that had happened I’m guessing it would’ve avoided a lawsuit, since their purpose was to restore their reputational damage.
- tag2103 9mo ago
  This seems to be on par for this Iowa county which their ignorance sadly has painted a major target on their innocent citizens- related article: "Dallas County Attorney Matt Schultz told KCCI: "I want to be clear that the decision to dismiss the criminal charges that resulted in this civil case against Dallas County was made by a previous County Attorney. I am putting the public on notice that if this situation arises again in the future, I will prosecute to the fullest extent of the law." https://www.kcci.com/article/coalfire-contractors-settle-dallas-county-lawsuit/70179636 https://www.kcci.com/article/coalfire-contractors-settle-dal...
  - lux-lux-lux 9mo ago
    Schultz (a ‘tough on crime Republican’) is the prosecutor who filed charges when this thing happened originally, so no surprise he still defends his decision.