Mastodawn

Cybersecurity is political. Period, end of story. If you could vote and didn’t bother because it was boring you’re just as responsible for loss of key research, ISAC funding, international collaboration, and federal jobs.

Same if you kept using X.

We warned you.

https://www.cnn.com/2025/03/13/politics/johns-hopkins-layoffs-usaid-funding/index.html

Johns Hopkins laying off more than 2,000 workers after dramatic cut in USAID funding

Johns Hopkins University announced Thursday that it will be cutting more than 2,000 jobs after it lost $800 million in funding from the US Agency for International Development amid the Trump administration’s effort to significantly downsize the federal government.

CNN

(That doesn’t even include the market tanking again in a barely recovering cybersecurity private sector.)

If you made that mistake, you sure as hell had best be getting yourself registered to vote, informed, and very involved at a local level, right now.

T2R Mar 14, 2025

@hacks4pancakes We're in the process of getting our passports renewed this month so we can prove to any voting nitwits that my wife's hyphenated name is indeed legit despite it not being on her birth certificate. FUCK the SAVE act and any one who supports it.

@T2R fuck a whole lot of people and a whole lot of legislation right now,

@T2R especially Tesla owners. A special “fuck you” to them

T2R Mar 14, 2025

@hacks4pancakes I'm going to my nearest Tesla dealership this weekend to flip it off and to take a picture of that for the "bird watching" segment of the Daily Beans podcast. Don't worry, no faces, just birds.

@T2R feel this to my soul

Sepideh Mar 15, 2025

@T2R @hacks4pancakes Our Senator was at an Indivisible meeting, and he was so clueless about the SAVE act.

This legislation that could prevent married women from voting? Never heard of it. Our State's Attorney knew his stuff though.

Autumn 🍂Mar 14, 2025

@hacks4pancakes also applies to those of us who were already informed, involved, and voted.

@Autumn the work does not stop for us, no.

@hacks4pancakes prreeaaaccchhh

Eric McCorkle Mar 14, 2025

@hacks4pancakes

It's going to be a long time before I forgive those people.

If I ever do.

@hacks4pancakes @chillybot “I don’t do politics” my ass. Everything is political, and pretending that it isn’t is either malicious intention, or just plain ignorance.

Michael T Babcock Mar 14, 2025

@phillip @hacks4pancakes @chillybot I'm tired of explaining to people that everything is political. You can be ignorant of it, that's fine. Doesn't make you less responsible in a democracy though. I'm sure *someone* in WWII Germany didn't know about the roundups. Are they innocent as a result? Sigh.

@mikebabcock @hacks4pancakes @chillybot A democracy only works if the people living in it are educated and aware. Otherwise we fall into the oligarchy we have now

Michael T Babcock Mar 14, 2025

@phillip @hacks4pancakes @chillybot there's a lot more to it than that. You need to approach democracy the way we do network security and assume bad actors. For instance right now, the USA is realizing the problem with assuming congress can stop a run-away executive -- they don't *have* to do so. They can just sit on their hands and watch. I'd want a requirement for congress to review all presidential acts in the future as a result.

Världens bästa Kille™Mar 15, 2025

@mikebabcock @chillybot @phillip @hacks4pancakes this is very true.

Also one has to understand that the bad actor doesn’t give a fuck about what one should/ought to/is expected to/is allowed to do.

All that matters is what the bad actor can do. Rules and reason mean nothing, that’s what makes the actor bad.

Anthony, of course Mar 14, 2025

@mikebabcock @phillip @hacks4pancakes @chillybot relevant ad from 2004 in the UK that's always stuck with me:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ame0j8jbMY4

The Electoral Commission - Don't Do Politics (2004, UK)

YouTube

@anthony @mikebabcock @hacks4pancakes @chillybot I love this!

@phillip @hacks4pancakes @chillybot Sigh. Like the people who "don't like chemicals" -- wrong universe, babe!

Fear and Tooting in Las Vegas Mar 14, 2025

@hacks4pancakes UMass Medical has basically dropped their entire incoming biomed graduate students. Welcome to the Thunderdome, I guess.

https://arstechnica.com/health/2025/03/umass-disbands-its-entering-biomed-graduate-class-over-trump-funding-chaos/

UMass disbands its entering biomed graduate class over Trump funding chaos

Schools across the country are cutting back as US research takes “severe blow.”…

Ars Technica

Dormouse Mar 14, 2025

@hacks4pancakes cybersecurity is not political, you just need enough responsible people to handle their keys and enough firearms so that nobody tries something funny on those with keys.

Oh no that's politics isn't it. Guns always mean politics. Such violent profession.

Tindra Mar 14, 2025

@hacks4pancakes I really hope someone accepts the “cyber is a social science” talk I’ve started submitting places so I can shout this from a stage

Alan VK3XE Mar 15, 2025

@TindrasGrove not in infosec but that’s a talk I want to see

Dan, the US is the threat!Mar 14, 2025

@hacks4pancakes Our Premier here in Québec is still using the #fascist site:
Time to put pressure for them to ditch the #nazis.

Vickie Gray 🍁Mar 14, 2025

@hacks4pancakes YES! I’ve been ranting on LinkedIn about CS being political. Fortunately my reach is about 13 people and they all agree. But man, the blinkers are strong on those ones.

RRB Mar 14, 2025

@hacks4pancakes Putin is getting a good RoI. Also, this is mainly the medical end of JHU. Have not heard about Whiting, APL or SAIS funding, but that could come.

@rrb it absolutely will; the national labs are already being hit.

RRB Mar 14, 2025

@hacks4pancakes They already attacked the NNSA. How stupid do you have to be to fire the people taking care of the nuclear warheads?

@rrb stoupid and also wanting the country to crumble

SpaceLifeForm Mar 14, 2025

@hacks4pancakes

Reminds of the time years ago when someone at schneier.com wondered why there was less discussion of security issues, and more political.

My response: If you do not pay attention to the political issues, you will not have any computer network security issues to worry about.

You S Blues Mar 14, 2025

@hacks4pancakes it doesn’t matter the good they could do for the world. Maryland is a blue state and they did not bend the knee to the dicktater.

LisPi Mar 15, 2025

@hacks4pancakes @deepbluev7 Obviously it is.

It starts at something as fundamental as "Right to Silence". If there is no such thing, there is no security from the state or any abuser within it.

The UK is an example of such a nightmarish police state.

Frank J Mar 15, 2025

@hacks4pancakes 100% agree

Steffen Christensen Jun 3, 2025

@hacks4pancakes 100%, Hacks.

100%.