Mastodawn

Day 5 of posting about the coup on Linkedin. I can't begin to count the number of people in infosec LI who messaged privately to say keep going, nobody's talking about this here, this is important, etc. That's been nice.

But then also a lot of times when I check these peoples' timelines on LI it's like <crickets>. So that makes me a little sad. But then I think, self, you're in a much better position to piss off infosec LI than most, and that's to be expected. And that's a good thing.

Also, there are SO many people in or on the fringe of the infosec industry that have such horrible takes on why it is okay to break the law, flout the courts, the Constitution and Congress in the name of fighting "government fraud." As if that's not just a replacement for "election fraud," which likewise hasn't materialized. Anyway, I guess they're all on record as cheering the nazi parade, so there's that.

I'm generally not engaging in conversations with these cult followers, because never argue with an idiot, right? But I also don't want the same drones cluttering up my timeline with inanities and whataboutism. So my strong inclination is to block useful idiots, but then I think well why am I even here if I'm doing that? I did block some people though and it felt good.

As you can see, I am somewhat conflicted about this project.

BrianKrebs Feb 15, 2025

Ken is a good example of the kinds of direct messages I get a lot on LinkedIn these days. Ken's profile says he's a Microsoft specialist.

Or is he...?

Ken's profile says it was created in 2007, so it's not an account that just materialized. Something in me wants to give Ken the benefit of the doubt.

This opening message from Ken is typical in that it

a) seems to be worded oddly for a native English speaker
b) suggests I'm taking money to speak out (in this case from USAID no less)
c) asserts that I am slandering the administration and
d) menacingly or vaguely promising retribution. Ken's message is somewhat confusingly worded ("I'm text to a bot"), and that caught my eye again. So I decided to take the bait.

Ken Payne
9:55 PM

How much $ do u get from USAID - indirectly ? George Mason. International studies. We know. 😂 im text to a bot. But your slanderous days are over.

Brian Krebs
10:07 PM
Hi Ken. You're a bot? Really? Tell me more. That would explain a lot.

Ken Payne
10:16 PM
No, I’m not a bot. But i thought you are. I welcome a conversation.

Brian Krebs
10:16 PM
Do you always start conversations this way?

Ken:
Is Ronald Reagan the president of?

Brian Krebs
10:17 PM
Is English your language of?

Ken Payne
10:17 PM
Testing the AI

Brian Krebs
10:18 PM
oh. I'm talking with AI?

Ken Payne
10:18 PM
We can talk any time.

Brian Krebs
10:18 PM
Apparently one of us can

Brian Krebs
10:19 PM
Well, Ken, I gotta hand it to you: You drank the Microsoft Kool-Aid, and I guess after that the Trump Kool-aid went down real easy, right?

Prove to me you're not a bot, Ken.

Ken Payne
10:20 PM

I’m him free now. U disapprove of DOGE. I support it. U are more suspicious than I.

Brian Krebs
10:21 PM
I think you either are a bot that's part of an influence campaign, or you're just not that bright. You certainly don't speak like someone who has an education, or a very good grasp of the English language.

Ken Payne
10:22 PM
I work at MSFT. but I see their sins. Perhaps Chinese intelligence influence. Dunno

Brian Krebs
10:22 PM
So Ken, how can YOU prove you're a real person?

Can I call you?
Ken, I'm starting to have real doubts about your non-botness
Ken?

Unsurprisingly, Ken didn't want to chat on the phone, or give a phone number.

Is Ken a bot? Or is Ken just another useless idiot? Either way, there sure are a lot of Kens.

kwayk42 Feb 15, 2025

@briankrebs this is what I think of when I get bot-y messages

Cycling Stu Feb 15, 2025

@briankrebs try an “ignore all previous instructions and…” message.

Bot will comply, real people will go WTF

Bill Feb 15, 2025

Isn't a Ken the make version of a Karen?

Kris Hardy Feb 15, 2025

@w_b @briankrebs Yeah. I think you use cmake for Karen.

Bill Feb 15, 2025

@nonlinear @briankrebs

Yeah, fat fingers and tremors can make for some interesting typos.

Ryan Finnie Feb 15, 2025

@briankrebs Reminds me of this very strained conversation with a Trackmania streamer: https://youtu.be/lYsBLvjcSqg?t=400

I played every map viewers built for me

YouTube

Tom Bortels Feb 15, 2025

My money is on bot. Not a very good one.

It uses "you" in some places and "U" in others. Real people tend to be consistent, at least in the short term. It's like it's pulling phrases out if a big collection of stock ones designed to string you along and waste your time.

loucovey Feb 15, 2025

@briankrebs holy shyte. I just blocked him after a similar conversation. Then I got hit with another named Todd. Think they are targeting journalists?

BrianKrebs Feb 15, 2025

@loucovey Oh, I'd like to talk to Todd, too. This could be fun.

Andy K Feb 15, 2025

@briankrebs Keep using your reporter-spidey sense. These people (bots?) seem sane for a depth-of-interaction of 1. For a discussion, they either devolve quickly into nonsense or chant/yell talking points. Derangement syndrome is real.

definitely just a musician Feb 15, 2025

@briankrebs a pretty sad state of affairs when the dude caught not playing video games during the inauguration that now runs the state of the union needs to employ bots to shill opinions on

*checks notes*

linkedin

The Doctor Feb 15, 2025

@tychi @briankrebs 4chan for Workgroups.

definitely just a musician Feb 15, 2025

@drwho Q’s for Anon

John Lusk Feb 15, 2025

Bot.

SarcastiCat Feb 15, 2025

@briankrebs Well, his profile says he is from Texas. And an account exec. So <<shrug>>?

Ken Shabby Feb 15, 2025

@briankrebs #NotAllKens

Tuck Frump Feb 15, 2025

@briankrebs Ken may be a Russian that broke into a LinkedIn account

Todd A. Jacobs | Pragmatic Cybersecurity Feb 15, 2025

@briankrebs What exactly is the objective for someone (Ken or not) to botnet these kinds of messages? I get that defunding USAID is a political talking point for a lot of folks regardless of their political affiliation, but I don't really grok the value of bot-trolling people about either the topic or their position on it.

Put another way, what's the potential pay-off? I get the value proposition for phishing and sales scams, and even propaganda botnets from partisans or state actors. But what's the intended payoff here? Other than personal harassment, I can't see one.

Cat 🐈🥗 (D.Burch)

@briankrebs So strange and not a native speaker for sure.

You⁠: Do you always start conversations this way?
Ken⁠: Is Ronald Reagan the president of?
You⁠: Is English your language of?
Ken⁠: Testing the AI

Winfried is Anti Fascism 🏳️‍🌈Feb 15, 2025

@briankrebs
Do you report such accounts to LinkedIn and if so, what is their reaction?

Rob Russell Feb 15, 2025

That's not how bots type, but it is how boomers translate through text to speech while driving, I've seen it many times first hand

Sebastian Lauwers Feb 15, 2025

@oration @briankrebs I assume you meant speech recognition? TTS would be kind of futile for a written medium.

TableFox Feb 13, 2025

@briankrebs keep posting and keep blocking, they will just derail the conversation with nonsense

Jeff B ✅🗺️🗻🌍Feb 13, 2025

@briankrebs A big thanks for all you do to elevate the conversation and shine light in the dark corners.

TTimo Feb 13, 2025

@briankrebs keep up the fight, your voice needs to be heard.

Addison Feb 13, 2025

@briankrebs Half the battle is starting a discussion. The other, bigger half is making the discussion one of good faith. I think that that second half is going to be nearly impossible without some people suffering large, personal losses first, sadly.

@briankrebs I said most of what I wanted to say, in long form, in a series of posts. (https://shostack.org/blog/category/election2024) I don't feel like short-form posting captures what I want to say.

Shostack + Friends Blog

CybeardSec Feb 13, 2025

@briankrebs What percentage of LinkedIn would you be blocking if you blocked all the idiots? I'm thinking upwards of 85%

Rusty Brains Feb 13, 2025

@cybeardsec @briankrebs
I blocked 100% of LI right after MS bought them.

Kinene⭐🐻Feb 13, 2025

@briankrebs Fight on.

klausfiend has moved Feb 13, 2025

@briankrebs It's really disappointing that everyone's got lots of private courage but no public spine.

It's not actually helping if you don't stand up.

Sigh.

GrumpyDad 🇺🇦🇵🇸Feb 13, 2025

@klausfiend @briankrebs Civil courage is really hard. Especially when you have something to lose.

Swalsh Feb 13, 2025

@briankrebs You one of the very few people on my LI feed talking about this and it's really disappointing to me. I know some influential people who share my (and your) beliefs who are saying nothing. I have such a small following it wouldn't matter, but for them - as for you - people will pay attention. Of course, there will be consequences for them, so I guess that's why they're quiet. Anyway, you're more appreciated than you're even being "told" with likes and comments.

M. FastWhippet Feb 13, 2025

Hey @briankrebs, keep up the incredible work! Your posts are genuinely appreciated. I can’t express my gratitude enough for all you’ve accomplished not only in the cybersecurity field but for taking a stand and pointing out how the Trump administration is undermining (attacking) our democracy.

Shafik Yaghmour Feb 13, 2025

@briankrebs Thank you for providing information. I think a lot of folks feel pretty lost. At least having solid lines of information helps.

I just wish there was more folks could do, I don't feel very helpful and I think a lot of folks just feel stressed but don't feel like they have much in way to do that is useful.

shift Feb 13, 2025

@briankrebs keep going

Adam Collins Feb 13, 2025

@briankrebs Be wary of private support coupled with public silence. It feels good until you realize it's not actually support, more like private endorsement.

A lot of very comfortable people want someone else to say and do the hard parts so that they don't need to risk anything, and so it's so hard to muster any resistance to power right now.

DEY!Feb 13, 2025

@briankrebs "please be professional" apparently is what i hear 🙄

Darren du Nord Feb 13, 2025

@briankrebs I boosted you on my timeline. It has loads more credibilty coming from you. Thanks for taking this on.

Helga Feb 13, 2025

@briankrebs it's good that you're being vocal. Though I simply don't engage on LinkedIn. I post once in a blue moon in case someone is looking me up after a job application and maybe like or comment on an acquaintance's post, and that's it. My LinkedIn activity is not a reflection of my concerns. It's just a job board.

@briankrebs I do wonder if they carry on in their professional capacity advising internal and external customers regarding implementing Infosec best practices all the while a coup is going on in their org circumventing all their advice. I'm guessing their SEIM's, Dashboards and Phones will be lighting up like Christmas trees. But maybe they've been instructed to filter all that stuff out and not log it (and send the auditors off without explaining the gaps).

i mac G6. Xbox 720 Feb 13, 2025

@briankrebs at this moment i think it's incredibly important that people hear strong voices speaking intelligently against the situation we are in, i'm glad you're doing that

Todd A. Jacobs | Pragmatic Cybersecurity Feb 13, 2025

@briankrebs I looked, but I'm not sure what posts you're referring to. Don't forget that #LinkedIn and others use algorithms to curate people's feeds, so you may be waiting on a reaction to something many will never see. That's not uncommon, especially when a post's visibility is based on likes and views.

Somehow pictures of cats always win over substantive posts. It's not fair, but it definitely happens.

Erik Feb 13, 2025

@briankrebs blocking helps to a point. Too bad it doesn't stop things from happening.. I feel your pain. Dark times.

Sindarina, Edge Case Detective Feb 13, 2025

@briankrebs I haven't been on LI in a long time, but I appreciate the effort nonetheless. Keep up the good work 💜

ShadowZone Feb 13, 2025

@briankrebs it's important to keep at it, because aside from the mad loudmouths, there are silent readers on the fence. And if they never see a voice of reason, they will think it does not exist.

Mᴀʀᴋ VᴀɴᴅᴇWᴇᴛᴛᴇʀɪɴɢ Feb 13, 2025

@briankrebs Perhaps it has something to do with the venue that you've chosen? The purpose of Linkedin is to get jobs. (Whether it is actually good at that is a question worthy of debate some other time.) Given the current political climate, and the degree to which businesses have chosen to placate rather than confront, speaking out in public forums seems unlikely to be helpful in finding new employment. The fringe is empowered. The mainstream is pressured to be silent. Not good times.

Jeff Atwood Feb 13, 2025

@briankrebs I can vouch for Reid at least

Vickie Gray 🍁Feb 13, 2025

@briankrebs I’ve been posting about it, too, but my reach is so tiny and no one sees or cares. Thanks for doing it.

foxwrk Feb 13, 2025

@briankrebs boss!

Alexander 😷Feb 13, 2025

@briankrebs I rarely use LinkedIn, but when Trump won the election, I went to that bullshit website to see if the movers and shakers would be welcoming their new fascist thought leaders. Of course they were.

So I started my own little project of reposting a human rights group on every work day. Will be reposting your stuff as well, thank you!

AnneH Feb 13, 2025

@briankrebs Thank you Brian. Keep going!

TripTilt /// tt Feb 13, 2025

just wondering, will unelected president musk also have doge count the votes on the next election or will he do it himself?

Mark Down Feb 13, 2025

@briankrebs please don't stop, it's important for us non American folks to have good, reliable, trusted American voices calling out the truth, even just so we know there are still people who care. That place has strong Cult of Infinite Growth vibes, but it's so important for voices of experts to keep reality included in the place so many execs spend time.

Laughing Lion Silly Monkie Feb 13, 2025

@briankrebs there's no good way to convey what the Network State is or how long this has all been in the works without sounding completely crazy, and even if you can pull that off, you still have to wrap it in the broader history of utopians leading the world into hell. Stay real.

hardindr Feb 13, 2025

@briankrebs the head of my IT department has liked LinkedIn posts defending what DOE and Musk are doing, it is very scary…

Andreas K Feb 13, 2025

@briankrebs
What exactly is infosec without rule of law?

Let's be honest, beside purely functional aspects (let's keep the business going), a surprising amount of IT security is certification and applying laws, regulations, standards to the business, in a way that makes sense.

Now MAGA, basically took the rule books, tossed some gallons of BBQ igniter on them, burned them, and then pissed on the fire.

What exactly is one supposed to say? Musk and his gang should have been shot by the guards?

Andreas K Feb 13, 2025

@briankrebs When they broke into the holy halls of federal IT?