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Submission + - Whistleblower reports terrible things due to DOGE (youtube.com) 9

Submitted by echo123
echo123 writes: NLRB employee Daniel Berulis reports on CNN that within 15 minutes of DOGE staff receiving new accounts with access to highly sensitive Department of Labor (DoL) data, someone within Russia logged in with the correct username and password over 20 times, but were rejected by location-related conditional access policies. Additionally a traffic spike of 10Gb of data exiting DoL was witnessed which is highly unusual activity at anytime.

Also, DOGE is using Starlink to exfiltrate data, and Starlink is known to be hacked by Russia.

He also reports this activity is not limited to the DoL, it has been witnessed across the government I.T. infrastructure, and that sensitive databases have recently been exposed to the open internet.

Daniel Berulis also received a clear message to stop looking. Part of the package he received included drone footage of him walking his dog.

Fast forward to 4min 15seconds if you're in a hurry.

= = =

Via Reuters

Berulis alleged in the affidavit that there are attempted logins to NLRB systems from an IP address in Russia in the days after DOGE accessed the systems. He told Reuters Tuesday that the attempted logins apparently included correct username and password combinations but were rejected by location-related conditional access policies.

Berulis' affidavit said that an effort by him and his colleague to formally investigate and alert the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) was disrupted by higher-ups without explanation.

As he and his colleagues prepared to pass information they'd gathered to CISA he received a threatening note taped to the door of his home with photographs of him walking in his neighborhood taken via drone, Andrew Bakaj, Whistleblower Aid's chief legal counsel, said in his submission to Cotton and Warner.

"Unlike any other time previously, there is this fear to speak out because of reprisal," Berulis told Reuters. "We're seeing data that is traditionally safeguarded with the highest standards in the United States government being taken and the people that do try to stop it from happening, the people that are saying no, they're being removed one by one."

via NPR

The top Democrat on the House Oversight Committee is calling for an investigation into DOGE's access to the National Labor Relations Board following exclusive NPR reporting on sensitive data being removed from the agency.

Ranking Member Gerry Connolly, D-Va., sent a letter Tuesday to acting Inspector General at the Department of Labor Luiz Santos and Ruth Blevins, inspector general at the NLRB, expressing concern that DOGE "may be engaged in technological malfeasance and illegal activity."

"According to NPR and whistleblower disclosures obtained by Committee Democrats, individuals associated with DOGE have attempted to exfiltrate and alter data while also using high-level systems access to remove sensitive information—quite possibly including corporate secrets and details of union activities," Connolly wrote in a letter first shared with NPR. "I also understand that these individuals have attempted to conceal their activities, obstruct oversight, and shield themselves from accountability."

Submission + - Hurricane Helene Took Out NC Town the Entire Tech World Relies On (axios.com)

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes: Spruce Pine is one of the only places in the world to mine high-purity quartz. The mineral is an essential ingredient of chips in countless products, including medical devices, solar panels, cellphones and the chips powering the latest tech craze: artificial intelligence. It's difficult to underscore the significance of Spruce Pine — a town of about 2,000 people, known for its charming downtown and blossoming arts scene — to the global economy. Economics editor Ed Conway put it best in his 2023 book "Material World," writing: "It is rare, unheard of almost, for a single site to control the global supply of a crucial material. Yet if you want to get high-purity quartz — the kind you need to make those crucibles without which you can't make silicon wafers — it has to come from Spruce Pine."

The Quartz Corp and Sibelco both export high-purity quartz from Spruce Pine. While there are other places to find the material, such as Russia and Brazil, this mountain town has the highest quantity of the highest purity, says Conway. A few weeks of shutdown is not the end of the world, Conway tells Axios. However, longer than that could put the industry into "another crisis." The semiconductor industry would need to find alternatives. [...] The mines in Spruce Pine are still accounting for their workers and families, the international companies stated. The level of destruction at the sites is unknown. However, even if the facilities are intact, the railroads that move the quartz will likely need drastic repairs.

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