McCain Campaign Sells Info-Loaded Blackberry PDAs 165
An anonymous reader writes "A news station in Washington D.C. has reported that the McCain Campaign has allegedly sold to reporters Blackberry handhelds with campaign-related information such as e-mail messages and phone numbers: 'We traced the Blackberry back to a staffer who worked for "Citizens for McCain" ... The emails contain an insider's look at how grassroots operations work, full of scheduling questions and rallying cries for support ... But most of the numbers were private cell phones for campaign leaders, politicians, lobbyists and journalists. "Somebody made a mistake," one owner told us. "People's numbers and addresses were supposed to be erased."'"
Not a surprise... (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:Not a surprise... (Score:5, Insightful)
The cure is to destroy devices, which are trivially cheap, instead of selling them.
Yet another reason... (Score:2, Insightful)
this happens all to often (Score:5, Insightful)
This happens all the time and most of the time we never hear about it.
You would not believe how many times government computers containing critical information have been sold without having their drives wiped or have been lost or stolen.
The private sector is no better.
The vast majority of organizations do not encrypt their data or their communications. In fact data which is supposed to be encrypted such as credit card information or social security numbers is often mishandled internally ( i.e. emailed half-way around the world unencrypted or stored in the clear ).
Re:Not a surprise... (Score:4, Insightful)
</sarcasm>
Re:Yet another reason... (Score:5, Insightful)
I'm a huge obama supporter, but let's be fair to the guy. He's so out of the tech loop he's not personally responsible for this stuff. His tech people are responsible. Of course, they were all let go Nov 5, so I'm not surprised these last duties were neglected.
Re:Not a surprise... (Score:5, Insightful)
The cure is to destroy devices, which are trivially cheap, instead of selling them.
Or, since this is a blackberry, use the built-in, server-controlled guaranteed wipe function before selling them.
Or, use your blackberry server to encrypt the device content with AES, and force the user to have a strong password.
See how easy things are with blackberries? But you do have to click a few options.
Idiots.
Re:Yet another reason... (Score:2, Insightful)
Some slack. But not as much as some people kept wanting to give him.
When it comes to blackberries, PDAs, etc, yes they'd be pretty hard for him to use. But, there are a lot of disabled people that still manage to use the internet. If he had any tech interest, he would have found a way.
That he didn't doesn't make him a horrible person, but it does mean he can't really make a good claim at IT-savvy.
Re:Yet another reason... (Score:5, Insightful)
Yes this is another fine example of why septuagenarians should not be allowed anywhere near tech.
First of all, why would someone who is 70+ not be able to handle technology? I will always remember great uncle who was writing geodesic software on the ZX Spectrum, at the time when most people have not even heard about home computers. Oh, and he was 70+ then.
The second thing that puzzles me is, why would McCain's alleged computer illiteracy be a factor in this incident? So if he is not familiar with computer technology, then his staff will sell blackberries without deleting sensitive information? I think you're making a huge leap in your logic, there.
Re:Excellent... (Score:4, Insightful)
4) ???
5) Profit!
Step 4: Get out of office, write a book, go on the lecture circuit and join the Board of Directors for a few companies.
Being President isn't a big money maker.
Being a former President is the path to riches.
Re:this happens all to often (Score:5, Insightful)
This happens all the time and most of the time we never hear about it.
You would not believe how many times government computers containing critical information have been sold without having their drives wiped or have been lost or stolen.
Which is precisely why no one should trust the government to keep personal information about them private - the kind of personal information that law enforcement and others have been clamoring to collect from the populace at large ever since 9/11 (actually they've been clamoring to collect that kind of stuff forever, the levels were just ratcheted up to unbearable since 9/11).
After all, if the people in government can't be bothered to adequately protect their own personal information, what hope is there that they will protect any information they have about you?
Re:Fresh Set of GOP Numbers (Score:4, Insightful)
Ha, more like...
Me: Is your toilet running?
Joe: Why, yes!
Me: Better hire an actual plumber to fix it.
Yes, I know this was a joke. However...
There are many things you could say about the whole Joe Plumber deal, but there's one subtle message that was not lost on me. If you stick your neck out and actually question the candidates, you will become an overnight celebrity whether you want to or not. Look at the background checks that have been performed against Samuel J. Wurzelbacher and the fact that whether or not he is actually licensed as a plumber (apparently he is not, at least not in Ohio) became a very public issue. Of course none of this has anything to do with his question to Obama about taxes, and so it constitutes an ad-hominem attack. For putting a question to Obama, he was rewarded with reporters trying to dig up dirt on him. Whether they were successful or not has nothing to do with the message, which is "if you're not with the media, then sit down and shut up or we will find skeletons in your closet." That message could not have been more clear.
I know that he has written a book and therefore could profit from this experience, but whether he has something to show for it does not negate anything I am saying. I realize that much of this was because of McCain trying to use "Joe Plumber" as something of a campaign symbol, which probably made him more of a target, but really, the reason why this is the case or how it got to be that way is trivia. It might be interesting to some of you but it won't address the chilling effect that this may have on others who would otherwise stand up and ask similar questions of other candidates.
Re:Fresh Set of GOP Numbers (Score:4, Insightful)
For putting a dishonest, loaded question to Obama
fixed that for you.
captcha: divert
sounds about right
Re:Fresh Set of GOP Numbers (Score:5, Insightful)
I agree with you to a point. I think the moment he started seeking the lime light by going on the talk shows, and showing up at rallies, he invited it upon himself.
Re:Fresh Set of GOP Numbers (Score:5, Insightful)
It also didn't help that as they dug, they started to find connections to McCain and his campaign, almost as if he'd been planted there just to create an issue where McCain could routinely criticize Obama over what amounted to nothing.
Sorry, but when you become a campaign slogan and start doing interviews because you asked a presidential candidate a question that doesn't actually make sense (saying that you're looking at buying a business and suddenly having an annual salary WAY above average for people in that line of work, and then trying to argue you'd only be doing moderately well is, to say the least, stretching the bounds of believability), you forfeit your right to be just another anonymous face in the crowd. that's just how it works.
Re:Not a surprise... (Score:2, Insightful)
don;t know what to mod this...funny or flamebait?
Oh well, I just posted in the discussion. :)
Re:Fresh Set of GOP Numbers (Score:5, Insightful)
You know,
If Joe actually WAS a plumber, as he said he was, he wouldn't have taken so much heat.
If Joe actually WAS in a position to take over his boss's business, he wouldn't have taken so much heat.
If Joe's boss's company actually MADE as much profit as he said id did each year, he wouldn't have taken so much heat.
All in all, he made up a bunch of stuff to pretend to be in the tiny portion of the population that Obama's plan might not be good for.
I think the one not so subtle message is: don't lie your ass off trying to 'nail' someone with a question when you have a ton of cameras pointed at you.
Re:Fresh Set of GOP Numbers (Score:3, Insightful)
Doesn't matter. Simply for engaging the candidate in a discussion, he was investigated by the media. That they found some weirdnesses does not make it OK.
Re:Standard military education ... (Score:4, Insightful)
Comment removed (Score:2, Insightful)
Re:Fresh Set of GOP Numbers (Score:5, Insightful)
Simply for engaging the candidate in a discussion, he was investigated by the media. That they found some weirdnesses does not make it OK.
I could be wrong, but wasn't it the fact that John McCain brought him up over and over again in the debate, and attempted to use him as a model of the "average American" that caused him to be investigated so heavily? It was less that he asked the candidate a difficult question, and more that McCain's camp was so eager to use him for their own ends. --Jimmy
Re:Fresh Set of GOP Numbers (Score:4, Insightful)
"Doesn't matter. Simply for engaging the candidate in a discussion, he was investigated by the media."
Really? Simply for that? Obama was asked questions by THOUSANDS AND THOUSANDS of people during the last 2 years campaigning. Thousands alone in each of the early states where they campaigned early and hard.
How many guys from Maine do you know all about from the media because they asked Obama a question? Answer: None
How many guys from Iowa do you know all about from the media because they asked Obama a question? Answer: None
This guy was investigated because McCain directly pointed him out no less than 5 separate times on a national debate shown on all the major channels.
But I'm sure that never occurred to you.
Re:Fresh Set of GOP Numbers (Score:3, Insightful)
He actually WASN'T a plumber. You do know that right? Being a plumber in Ohio requires a license. He didn't have one (ever).
That just shows how big government is oppressing small businesses.
Re:Fresh Set of GOP Numbers (Score:3, Insightful)
You don't have to be a plumber to own a plumbing business.
You don't have to be a programmer or a computer engineer to own a computer business.
Apparently, you don't have to be objective and competent to be a journalist.
Re:Yet another reason... (Score:3, Insightful)
Oh, really? There are photos here [huffingtonpost.com] that show him using what appear to be Blackberrys and cel phones (some while behind the wheel!) and he told the New York Times [nytimes.com] "I am learning to get online myself, and I will have that down fairly soon, getting on myself. I don't expect to be a great communicator, I don't expect to set up my own blog, but I am becoming computer literate to the point where I can get the information that I need - including going to my daughter's blog first, before anything else."
He sounds sort of like my dad, really. He's a man in his mid 70s doing his best to make sense out of all of this technology that has become so important recently. Blackberrys, Blogs, Twitter etc. either weren't around or weren't all that relevant when he ran for president eight years ago and he's doing best to catch up. He'll still prefer to read a news paper, or talk on the phone with a friend. He'll dutifully visit his daughter's blog.
His war wounds no doubt cause him pain and discomfort in every thing he does in his day-to-day life, but he manages other things and it doesn't sound to me like they pose enough of a problem to prevent him from doing the best he can. Besides, he really doesn't strike me as the sort of person who would let his injuries prevent him from doing something if he really desired to do it.