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Government Security The Military

How Edward Snowden's Actions Have Impacted Defense Contractors 180

Posted by timothy from the budget-suddenly-has-room-for-a-shredder dept.
An anonymous reader writes "A new study sheds light on the attitudes of a very exclusive group of IT and security managers — those employed by U.S. defense contractors — at a time when national cybersecurity is under scrutiny. Most indicated that the Edward Snowden incident has changed their companies' cybersecurity practices: their employees now receive more cybersecurity awareness training, some have re-evaluated employee data access privileges, others have implemented stricter hiring practices. While defense contractors seem to have better security practices in place and are more transparent than many companies in the private sector, they are finding the current cyber threat onslaught just as difficult to deal with."
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How Edward Snowden's Actions Have Impacted Defense Contractors More

How Edward Snowden's Actions Have Impacted Defense Contractors

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  • How Slashdot Beta has impacted my life. (Score:5, Insightful)

    by east coast ( 590680 ) on Thursday February 06, 2014 @09:29AM (#46173337)
    I will not give in to the powers-that-be-Dice and put up with a terrible design with no functional gains.

    Boycott the Beta!

  • About the beta. (Score:5, Funny)

    by Anonymous Coward on Thursday February 06, 2014 @09:30AM (#46173343)

    It is now official. Netcraft has confirmed: Slashdot is dying.

            One more crippling bombshell hit the already beleaguered Slashdot community when IDC confirmed that Slashdot page views has dropped yet again, now down to less than a fraction of 1 percent of all websites. Coming on the heels of a recent Netcraft survey which plainly states that Slashdot has lost more market share, this news serves to reinforce what we've known all along. Slashdot is collapsing in complete disarray, as fittingly exemplified by the stupid fucking beta website and the wholesale discard of user feedback.

            You don't need to be the Amazing Kreskin to predict Slashdot's future. The hand writing is on the wall: Slashdot faces a bleak future. In fact there won't be any future at all for Slashdot because Slashdot is dying. Things are looking very bad for Slashdot. As many of us are already aware, Slashdot continues to lose market share. Red ink flows like a river of blood.

            Slashdot Beta is the most endangered of them all, having lost 93% of its core users. The sudden and unpleasant departures of long time Slashdot users Jordan Hubbard and Mike Smith only serve to underscore the point more clearly. There can no longer be any doubt: Slashdot is dying.

            All major surveys show that Slashdot has steadily declined in market share. Slashdot is very sick and its long term survival prospects are very dim. If Slashdot is to survive at all it will be among S&M enthusiasts. Slashdot continues to decay. Nothing short of a miracle could save it at this point in time. For all practical purposes, Slashdot is dead.

    That crippling bombshell sent Slashdot fans into a tailspin of mourning and denial. However, bad news poured in like a river of water.

    Fuck the beta.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by c0lo ( 1497653 )
      In his last speech as Microsoft CEO, Steve Ballmer endorsed beta:

      "There's nothing that beta.slashdot.org cannot do. beta.slashdot.org can simply do anything. Anything rendered in beta.slashdot.org is fantastic. I love beta.slashdot.org. I can't get enough of beta.slashdot.org. Return to betadom, you insolent insects! You're nothing without beta.slashdot.org! Why not use beta.slashdot.org? Linux is garbage; it wasn't made for beta.slashdot.org. Why do you cower? Because you're not using beta.slashdot.org. Use beta.slashdot.org already! Return, return, return, return, return to beta-dooooooooooooooom!"

      Steve Ballmer, on beta.slashdot.org.

    • Slashdot was dieing before, fewer people were turning to Slashdot before the beta in favor of other aggregate site like Reddit. Dice's answer to this problem is to make it look more like Reddit. The thing Dice doesn't understand is that change for the sake of change irritates their users, Digg changed their interface and people left in droves. Slashdot will never be able to compete with Reddit by being like Reddit instead they will be alienating their loyal followers, for a chance at new users. Betting a do

  • Slashdot Beta: Day Two (Score:4, Insightful)

    by sl4shd0rk ( 755837 ) on Thursday February 06, 2014 @09:30AM (#46173345)

    ..All sense of time has deceived me as the day has started out with thick clouds overhead. It is difficult to tell if morning or early afternoon. I've struck my head on something earlier as I collapsed, shortly after waking, and have no idea how long I've been out. An odd fog has rolled in from the north; cold and dank, reeking of stale piss. I wonder if there are others out there.. Afraid and confused.. Shackled to the same fate as I. This godforsaken Beta UI.

  • The best part about Slashdot... (Score:5, Insightful)

    by Bearded Frog ( 1562519 ) on Thursday February 06, 2014 @09:31AM (#46173363)
    The best part about Slashdot for me was really the people who visit it. This site has had one of the most intelligent communities around. This is how the site is successful IMO. Really good people massing together behind it. Finding and promoting articles is one thing but the commentary is where it really takes off. Almost every time I view a story what I find more interesting is the story that develops below it. I really don't know of another site where I can attempt to follow a debate about nuclear fusion, and find a debate about Apple only a page apart. This is about to be taken away as the best and brightest around here are going to leave as they are fed up with these beta changes, and Slashdot as a quality site will die. The new site takes away from the comments and the user driven atmosphere and plasters it with pictures and wasted space. This protest may seem futile at first to the bigwigs at the top here, but like I said the best part about this site is the comments. Therefore, if the only comments left are ones complaining about beta, its going to be a very accurate view of the future of Slashdot from here onward if the beta continues.

    • Re: (Score:3)

      by Pav ( 4298 )
      The question : what can replace it if/when this is required? This episode is making me wish I'd been keeping up with the federated technologies people have been experimenting with - a federated nerd community that somehow included moderation wouldn't make me cry. It's strange but I've actually returned to IRC after 15 years - the dev communities I'm interested in have channels on FreeNode, and it's one of the only other truly nerd-friendly hangouts left.

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by Pav ( 4298 )
        Actually... I've created a channel on IRC called #slashdot-refugees (on FreeNode... there's even a web client [freenode.net]. Some in the community might want to commiserate, discuss plans of keeping the community together into the future etc.. and a realtime medium might be a good way. It's 2am in Australia though, so although I'm in channel I won't be around for a few hours.

    • Re:The best part about Slashdot... (Score:4)

      by argStyopa ( 232550 ) on Thursday February 06, 2014 @10:12AM (#46173805) Journal

      The best part about Slashdot for me was really the people who visited it. This site had one of the most intelligent communities around. This is how the site was successful IMO. Really good people massed together behind it. Finding and promoting articles was one thing but the commentary was where it really took off. Almost every time I viewed a story what I found more interesting was the story that developed below it. I really didn't know of another site where I could have attempted to follow a debate about nuclear fusion, and found a debate about Apple only a page apart. This was taken away as the best and brightest around here left when they were fed up with these beta changes, and Slashdot as a quality site died. The new site took away from the comments and the user driven atmosphere and plastered it with pictures and wasted space. This protest may have seemed futile at first to the bigwigs at the top here, but like I said the best part about this site was the comments. Therefore, if the only comments left were ones complaining about beta, it was going to be a very accurate view of the future of Slashdot from here onward when the beta continued.

      Ftfy.

      What I think is hilarious is that they can spend resources building the betabomination, but we still use markup from like 1991. Hey guys, there's better forum code out there, where you can even EDIT POSTS! /noveltyshock.

      BETA SUCKS

    • Re:The best part about Slashdot... (Score:5, Insightful)

      by LQ ( 188043 ) on Thursday February 06, 2014 @10:13AM (#46173809)

      The best part about Slashdot for me was really the people who visit it. This site has had one of the most intelligent communities around.

      Exactly. It is not a news site. It is a place where geeky folk discuss techie news items. That's why I've been visiting daily for over 15 years. I'll be sad to see it go. Why does everything turn to shite when the MBAs take over?

    • If this continues, I suspect that another company will take over.

      Perhaps the Stackexchange guys (known for Stackoverflow) can come up with a nice forum for us...
      They already have most of the code in place in the form of a Q/A board. And they have the community (programmers, physicists, electrical engineers, etc.)

      I can see that work.

      • Re: (Score:3)

        by Thud457 ( 234763 )
        beta.slashdot.com will re-write your hard drive. Not only that, but beta.slashdot.com will scramble any disks that are even close to your computer. It will recalibrate your refrigerator's coolness setting so all your ice cream goes melty. beta.slashdot.com will demagnetize the strips on all your credit cards, screw up the tracking on your television and use subspace field harmonics to scratch any CD's you try to play.

        beta.slashdot.com will give your ex-girlfriend your new phone number. It wi

    • I really don't know of another site where I can attempt to follow a debate about nuclear fusion, and find a debate about Apple only a page apart. This is about to be taken away as the best and brightest around here are going to leave as they are fed up with these beta changes, and Slashdot as a quality site will die.

      Yes, but there is hope. Boycott and if that doesn't work, we'll forge another website.

      -- Common Joe

      Valentines Day Slashcott: Boycott Slashdot because "Fuck Beta!": February 10 - 17

      And Support Okian Warrior's [slashdot.org] alternate slashdot idea! A note from Okian can be found here: http://www.altslashdot.org/wiki/index.php?title=AltSlashdot [altslashdot.org]. And be patient. It looks like the site and his email has been slashdotted.

    • Right on! It would be a terrible thing to disband this community by curtailing the comment functionalities. The discussions are by far .. by FAR the valuable thing on Slashdot, and it's as much due to a balanced moderation system as to the community itself. You don't see many other sites allowing or handling anonymous posts any more. Please don't ruin it!

      • you may have hit the nail on the head. shifting to a new platform might be a way to remove AC functionality.

        the powers in charge (not slash but 'more in charge' at higher levels) really hate anon speech. I just wonder if there's any push 'from above' to change slash just to remove anon posting features?

        it could be less sinister than that; just a 'jobs program' for a bunch of bored engineers who can't leave well enough alone.

  • And they'll be back to the lowest common denominator level of security.

  • Slashdot beta and defence contractors? (Score:4, Interesting)

    by gallondr00nk ( 868673 ) on Thursday February 06, 2014 @09:38AM (#46173439)
    It's funny, but since yesterday and the javascript popup, I find myself unable to type any comment that isn't directly about the beta.

  • Save Slashdot Classic (Score:5, Interesting)

    by Bob9113 ( 14996 ) on Thursday February 06, 2014 @09:38AM (#46173441) Homepage

    Javascript dancing baloney and giant pretty pictures belong on USA Today, not Slashdot.

    The meat of Slashdot, the substance that draws viewers here instead of the alternatives, is the comments. Lose those comments and you will lose the eyeballs. Lose the eyeballs and you will lose the ad revenue.

    Alternatively, you can accept that you made a mistake, keep Slashdot classic, and keep the steady flow of cash. Make the right business decision, here, Dice. Don't kill the goose that lays the golden eggs.

    No legitimate discussion until Slashdot classic is restored. Sacrifice a few days of discussion now to save all the days in the future. The Spirit of Mohdri Dragon [wired.com] Lives! (feel free to get drunk and naked while posting)

    • "I come not to praise Slashdot, but to bury it".

      Dice have no reason to keep the comment system - commenters don't make them any money. Large click-through rates on huge adverts and paid placements/slashvertisements make money, and those are things that the current user base are extremely sensitive and hostile to. So the easiest solution is to gut slashdot from the inside out by destroying the thing we come here for - then all of us pesky marketing-resistant geeks will fuck off someplace else, leaving the si

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by rts008 ( 812749 )

      (feel free to get drunk and naked while posting)

      The last time I tried that whilst using the library computer, the cops arrested me, you insensitive clod!

      Oh yeah, AND Go AWAY AND DIE, SLASHDOT BETA!!!!

  • What's the Big Deal About Beta? (Score:3, Interesting)

    by SenorPez ( 840621 ) on Thursday February 06, 2014 @09:47AM (#46173527) Homepage
    Me: Beta can't be that bad, right? *clicks link to see beta version of article* Me: Wow. That's terrible. It's like Digg and Reddit had a baby. Whoever thinks it's a good design should go back to working on the latest internet startup that ends in "er" without the "e".

  • Lurker (Score:5, Informative)

    by Octojay ( 3528011 ) on Thursday February 06, 2014 @09:56AM (#46173633)
    I've been lurking on Slashdot since its inception but haven't felt the need to create an account until now. I will be joining the boycott on February 10-17th. Beta is absolutely terrible, I gave them that feedback when they introduced it and apparently so had everyone else but they chose not to listen. This site is something special, please don't let them destroy it.
  • Slashdot Beta..poster child of the new VP in charge of Slashdot at Dice. Budget has been eaten up, Beta is finally ready. VP has to either launch the Beta or quit. I pity the VP! Extremely ugly options, both.

    • Apparently Dice subscribes to the Microsoft/Canonical "Do what we want.. FUCK the users of our product" schoool of thought.. Witness Windows 8 for Microsoft, and Unity for Canonical/Ubuntu... "We know what's best for you, and you'll use it and LIKE it!!".. ummm... No we won't.. For my (shudder) occassional use of Windows, its Windows 7 till hell freezes over, and, though I used to swear by Ubuntu, now I swear AT it.. Moved without regret to Debian... Wonder where I'll go when Slashdot takes the "dirtnap"..

  • Says "nope"

  • I think you mean "How their own actions have impacted defense contractors". If they didn't have dirty secrets, there would have been no motive for Snowden's policing, and nothing for him to publish.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by doti ( 966971 )

      sorry, we will not discuss about the articles until the beta goes away, or /. dies

      also, fuck beta.

      • I think you should make /r/slashdotrebooted and take your whining there.

        It's hilarious that these people think Slashdot is being destroyed by more javascript, as if the last redesign didn't fuck it all up and they just kept on reading it. It was actually destroyed years ago by shitty editors and the eternal september of its readership. Slashdot hasn't had influence or an interesting community in a long time.

  • Holy god the beta (Score:5, Insightful)

    by jonnythan ( 79727 ) on Thursday February 06, 2014 @10:01AM (#46173701)

    The beta is bad. It's so bad. The comments are reduced in screen width about 50%. Subject lines are deemphasized, scores are minimized, etc.

    The discussions are the reason to come to Slashdot, and the beta trivializes them entirely. It looks like the comment section on a generic news site.

    The comments now look like an afterthought, whereas they used to be the primary focus of the site.

    • Re:Holy god the beta (Score:4, Insightful)

      by bjoast ( 1310293 ) on Thursday February 06, 2014 @10:17AM (#46173849)
      A few more points:

      - The user IDs don't even show.
      - The comment date says things like "Yesterday" or "4 hours ago".
      - Beta sucks.

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by ender- ( 42944 )

        Perhaps they are aiming for a new demographic, who might feel embarrassed by every one else having low user ID's, and who aren't smart enough to understand yyyy-mm-dd date formats?

        That's the only thing that makes sense to me. The beta is horrible and as a *LONG* time reader and commenter here, I won't continue visiting if they go live with that horrid beta interface.

        • I don't understand why anyone likes the ambiguous time on any website on any feed, I could understand "about 4 minutes ago (Thursday February 06, 2014 @10:09AM)" but I like having exact time on posts.

  • dice non est arbiter elegantiarum (Score:3, Informative)

    by CaptainStumpy ( 1132145 ) on Thursday February 06, 2014 @10:16AM (#46173837)
    beta is crappy.

  • I thought the previous redesign was bad (Score:3, Informative)

    by ThEATrE ( 1071762 ) on Thursday February 06, 2014 @10:17AM (#46173847)
    This most recent redesign is just unusable. I will leave 100% if this is the new Slashdot.

    • Re: (Score:3, Informative)

      by ThEATrE ( 1071762 )
      I tested out the beta in a new window and if it keeps up, I will remove it from my history so it doesn't autofill in my browser navigation bar and just stop coming here.

  • In an earlier Snowden story, it was revealed that:

    "British intelligence agency Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ) reportedly used spoofed LinkedIn and Slashdot pages to compromise the computers of network engineers working for global roaming exchange providers based in Europe."

    http://news.idg.no/cw/art.cfm?... [news.idg.no]

    Is it possible that all of us, right now, are logged into a spoofed page that has replaced the real Slashdot for reasons known only to GCHQ and the NSA? 'Beta' is probably the final stage in

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by caseih ( 160668 )

      -1, offtopic. ;) Your post is the only post visible to me at the moment that has anything to do with the actual article.

      What I want to know is how did snowden cause this horrible slashdot beta design to happen?

    • Is it possible that all of us, right now, are logged into a spoofed page that has replaced the real Slashdot for reasons known only to GCHQ and the NSA? 'Beta' is probably the final stage in whatever sinister plot they have planned for us.

      I would think a more believable story is that the NSA/GCHQ is simply paying Dice to destroy a possible/actual forum for IT dissent.

      More honestly, "Never ascribe to malice, that which can be explained by incompetence". The simplest explanation is that Dice has no idea what

  • Beta Sucks. (Score:3)

    by csumpi ( 2258986 ) on Thursday February 06, 2014 @10:24AM (#46173927)
    Beta Sucks.

  • And where is the training on ethics, and legal responsibilities, and how to get hold of an inspector general, and how one is allowed to blow the whistle when your PHB dreams up some utterly unConstitutional scheme?

    Not gonna happen.

    And, off-topic, with all the screaming and yelling about the "new" version (which I didn't even bother looking at - I'm still on "classic", and don't know why it needs to change), maybe it'll piss off enough of the brain-dead dorks and trolls who have nothing to say about an actua

  • Cybersecurity is a joke as long as NSA and other government agencies are poking access, surveillance and disruption holes in everything that they can. There will be much hype about cybersecurity to "protect" us as a guise to control, subvert and shutdown at will as much actual "computer power to the people" as possible. Be aware and do not play into this.

  • Please address people's concerns about the new web site look or put it off for a long time. I am trying to read very important stories on this web site and it's drowned in protesting (annoying but I understand why). So would the peeps running slashdot please ADRESS THE CONCERNS of people so we can have comments RELATED TO THE STORY. Thanks.

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