Missouri governor threatens to prosecute journalist for sharing internet safety flaw | Engadget

Missouri Governor Mike Parson may need to learn up on the variations between disclosing and exploiting safety flaws. According to The Missouri Independent, Parson accused a St. Louis Post-Dispatch reporter of being a “hacker” for having the audacity to… report safety holes. The journalist disclosed a Department of Elementary and Secondary Education internet app flaw that allow anybody see over 100,000 lecturers’ Social Security numbers in website supply code, and Parson interpreted this as a “political game” meant to “embarrass the state” — that’s, a malicious hack.

The governor has already referred the case to the Cole County Prosecutor, and even has the Missouri Highway State Patrol investigating. An legal professional for The Post-Dispatch maintained that the reporter “did the responsible thing” by sharing the flaw with the federal government to get it fastened. The lawyer additionally helpfully refreshed Parson on his web lingo. A hacker is somebody who “subverts” safety with sinister intent, not a reporter making an attempt to bolster safety by sharing publicly accessible data.

This flaw wasn’t latest, both. University of Missouri-St. Louis professor Shaji Khan advised The Post-Dispatch that this sort of vulnerability had been recognized for “at least” 10 years, and that it was “mind boggling” the Department would let these issues linger. Audits in 2015 and 2016 had highlighted information assortment points at each the Department and faculty districts.

No, prosecutors in all probability will not file fees. It’s a bit troublesome to convict somebody whose ‘hack’ successfully amounted to clicking “view page source” of their browser. However, this highlights an all-too-familiar drawback with politicians that do not perceive tech. It does not simply result in embarrassments, reminiscent of letters to long-gone CEOs — it may discourage accountable safety disclosures and put hundreds of individuals in danger.