$960M and the FBI's Art of Branding Insecurity

In previous posts "Are cyber criminals or bureaucrats the industry's top performer?", and "Insiders - insights, trends and possible solutions" I emphasized on how bureaucracy results in major insecurities, and provided further info on various issues related to insiders and risk management solutions -- ones the FBI is obviously far from implementing given the access control issues they have in place. It seems like two years ago, a Consultant Breached FBI's Computers :

"A government consultant, using computer programs easily found on the Internet, managed to crack the FBI's classified computer system and gain the passwords of 38,000 employees, including that of FBI Director Robert S. Mueller III. The break-ins, which occurred four times in 2004, gave the consultant access to records in the Witness Protection Program and details on counterespionage activity, according to documents filed in U.S. District Court in Washington. As a direct result, the bureau said it was forced to temporarily shut down its network and commit thousands of man-hours and millions of dollars to ensure no sensitive information was lost or misused."

How he did it? With access to hashes and 90 days password expiration period, he had all the time in the world, excluding the fact that according to the article a FBI agent even game him his password.

Passwords are a hot topic, and so are the insecurities posed by them. Moreover, spending near $1B for a non-existent case system, while dealing with access control issues is rather unserious for thought to be serious institution -- have you guys considered an open source alternative? You wouldn't come across lots of developers with top-secret clearances applying for the top, but obviously a top-secret clearance cannot prevent insider behavior as well.

Travel Without Moving - North Korea Missile Launch Pad

Seems like it's North Korea's most active PR month given the public outbreak due to their unsuccessful launch of an intercontinental missile, so in these Travel Without Moving series I decided to feature the launch pad, originally came across it, nowhere else but at Cryptome's well sorted photo gallery of the event. Whereas the U.S is activating diplomatic ties in order to put more pressure on North Korea's tests, China and Russia among the rest of the superpowers seems to be teasing the U.S in a way only they can afford to -- let's don't forget the financial incentives for Russia to enrich Iran's uranium altogether. As far as Kim Jong Il is concerned, in between fueling growth in the infrastructure necessary to maintain a regime, he enjoys making secret meetings with ex-comrades while travelling to Moscow with his armoured train, as he's afraid of flying.

Previous series, related posts :
Travel Without Moving - Typhoon Class Submarines
Travel Without Moving - Cheyenne Mountain Operations Center
Travel Without Moving - KGB Lubyanka Headquarters
Travel Without Moving - Korean Demilitarized Zone
Travel Without Moving - Georgi Markov's KGB Assassination Spot
Travel Without Moving - Scratching the Floor

North Korea - Turn On the Lights, Please
Who Needs Nuclear Weapons Anymore?
Who's Who in Cyber Warfare?
Is a Space Warfare Arms Race Really Comming?
EMP Attacks - Electronic Domination in Reverse