Federal Agency Smashes Up $175K Worth of Usable Electronics….By Mistake

This one IS DeeeeLUX .....

Federal employees in the Economic Development Administration smashed up $175,000 worth of usable computers, printers, televisions, and digital cameras after being warned by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) that their IT system was infected with malicious malware.

But the destruction was based on “inaccurate information” and a series of blunders and miscommunications that wound up costing taxpayers a total of $2.7 million in unnecessary expenditures, or more than half of EDA’s 2012 IT budget, according to a 33-page report by the Commerce Department’s inspector general.

What !!!!

The "Economic Development Administration"

I wonder what new techniques they were trying to 'develop'

Besides spending $1 million to set up a temporary system, and another $688,000 for a “long term recovery solution,” EDA paid a cybersecurity contractor $823,000 to ferret out the malware.

Within two weeks, the cybersecurity experts concluded that the initial malware warnings were “false positives.” However, they “were unable to provide the assurance EDA’s Chief Information Officer sought, because doing so involved proving that an infection could not exist rather than that one did not exist,” the IG said.

Federal Agency Smashes Up $175K Worth of Usable Electronics….By Mistake

Our 'TAX' Dollars Hard at Work !!

1 LN + 1 LN = 2 LNs

Economics 1Ø1 at work !!!

reply to post by xuenchen


More importantly,,,,,,,,,,,,,how does 175k turn into 2.7 million dollars??????

Sigh, I don't EVEN want to imagine what the pentagon is paying for a 5 dollar hammer now..................

But let's keep blaming the other guys for all of our spending problems when it is obvious where the problem lies eh?

WOW America!!!! Really?

I thought this sounded familiar!

US Agency Baffled by Modern Technology Destroys Mice to Get Rid of Viruses via arstechnica, July 2013

In December 2011, the Department of Homeland Security notified both the EDA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) that there was a possible malware infection within the two agencies' systems.

The NOAA isolated and cleaned up the problem within a few weeks.

The EDA, however, responded by cutting its systems off from the rest of the world—disabling its enterprise e-mail system and leaving its regional offices no way of accessing centrally held databases.

So DHS overreacted and caused EDA to overreact while the NOAA just fixed the problem. I kinda want to make a scientist vs. economist joke but...eh.

ETA: It's like getting a virus laden email in your spam folder. Instead of deleting the email without reading it you just trash your whole home network and all the devices attached to it. Then buy a new one and demand assurances that you won't receive any more spam in your inbox.

Technophobes+equipment with problems will generally end up with a similar result as there is a simple solution that will work and its guaranteed and for those people who are high enough to make the decision its better to waste money and get a bit of bad press than do nothing and get a lot more and perhaps be forced to resign a nice fat job

There was no mix up!!!

I have exclusive footage of the destruction that I will share with ATS.

Warning...foul language and extreme violence to inanimate objects.

So, we actually have people in management level positions within a Federal Agency that believe software based malicious programs require the physical destruction of everything from the whole computer box to the printers and monitors?

It sounds like wanton and reckless destruction someone came up with a great excuse for. It's hard to believe we really have that level of outright stupid serving in Government. I know how that sounds, but really, this is a new level of it. It's fence post level of stupid.

So, I'm assuming people have been promoted in the aftermath.

Originally posted by Wrabbit2000
So, we actually have people in management level positions within a Federal Agency that believe software based malicious programs require the physical destruction of everything from the whole computer box to the printers and monitors?

If congressmen and senators can believe it, why can't 15, 20, 25 year government employees believe it?

So, I'm assuming people have been promoted in the aftermath.

As far as I know, the guy in charge at the time is no longer in charge. I can't seem to find what he's doing now.

reply to post by links234

If congressmen and senators can believe it, why can't 15, 20, 25 year government employees believe it?

It's the old 'if they do it why can't we do it' routine eh ?

Well let's think with all the wisdom of Einstein

[thinking real hard]

Oh...here's one -

'But your honor, other people shoot people all the time. Why can't I ?'

reply to post by xuenchen


So you're of the belief that congress can be fallible but government employees can't be?

I hate to stereotype but it's the idea that some old people just don't get technology. That was the point of the post.

Originally posted by links234
reply to post by xuenchen

 

So you're of the belief that congress can be fallible but government employees can't be?

I hate to stereotype but it's the idea that some old people just don't get technology. That was the point of the post.

uumm wellllll bububutt

How 'bout BOTH !!

and...

What 'old people' ?

If congressmen and senators can believe it, why can't 15, 20, 25 year government employees believe it?

:shk:

reply to post by xuenchen


I had a feeling my typing wouldn't come across as intended. You've completely missed what I was trying to say. I'm sorry. Just pretend I didn't say anything at all.

I think I can still edit the post if you'd like me to erase it.

It was just equipment used to develop the program known as Obamacare......... so a reason was manufactured to destroy their evidence of corruption ...

this is a conspiracy site ...... or are they really that stupid?

Originally posted by links234
reply to post by xuenchen

 

I had a feeling my typing wouldn't come across as intended. You've completely missed what I was trying to say. I'm sorry. Just pretend I didn't say anything at all.

I think I can still edit the post if you'd like me to erase it.

Oh, that's OK.

I know what you mean now

Originally posted by fnpmitchreturns
It was just equipment used to develop the program known as Obamacare......... so a reason was manufactured to destroy their evidence of corruption ...

this is a conspiracy site ...... or are they really that stupid?

Good theory

And it makes sense.

I wouldn't doubt that the original 'false positive' malicious malware was actually an email about some new directive from the HHS

EDA paid a cybersecurity contractor $823,000 to ferret out the malware.

I want a government contractor job.

Originally posted by neo96

EDA paid a cybersecurity contractor $823,000 to ferret out the malware.

I want a government contractor job.

I

want a refund !!

Originally posted by xuenchen

Originally posted by neo96

EDA paid a cybersecurity contractor $823,000 to ferret out the malware.

I want a government contractor job.

I

want a refund !!

Don't think either of us is going to get what we want