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ZDNet Exclusive: Leaked data reveals many police departments are unable to respond in an active shooter situation.
A data breach at a federally funded active shooter training center has exposed the personal data of thousands of US law enforcement officials, ZDNet has learned.
The cache of data contained identifiable information on local and state police officers, and federal agents, who sought out or underwent active shooter response training in the past few years. The backend database powers the website of Advanced Law Enforcement Rapid Response Training -- known as ALERRT -- at Texas State University.
The database dates back to April 2017 and was uploaded a year later to a web server, believed to be owned by the organization, with no password protection.
ZDNet obtained a copy of the database, which was first found by a New Zealand-based data breach hunter, who goes by the pseudonym Flash Gordon.
Working with federal agencies like the FBI, the Texas-based organization provides training to law enforcement and civilians around the US in an effort to prevent or disrupt active shooter incidents. Since its inception in 2002, ALERRT has received tens of millions of dollars in funding from the Justice Department, Homeland Security, and several state governments.
[...] The database contained thousands of personal data records, including law enforcement officer's work contact information, with many of the records listing personal email addresses, work addresses, and cell numbers.
[...] tables included requests made by law enforcement reaching out to the organization for help through its web form. In doing so, many officials volunteered highly sensitive information about deficiencies in their jurisdiction, revealing their department's lack of training or capabilities.
[...] One police department openly admitted that it "doesn't have a full-time SWAT team," and is unable to respond to an active shooter situation. An ALERRT staffer responded, saying that the organization "couldn't facilitate his request at this time."
Source: https://www.zdnet.com/article/a-massive-cache-of-law-enforcement-personnel-data-has-leaked/
(Score: 0, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Monday July 02 2018, @10:05AM
My local gang of police thugs doesn't have a SWAT team! I feel sooooo unsafe!
(Score: 5, Insightful) by The Mighty Buzzard on Monday July 02 2018, @10:35AM (18 children)
What kind of extra special herp-a-derp do you have to be to think all police departments should have a SWAT team? Fuck's sake, my home town had three cops total. There wasn't even always a cop on duty much less a full time SWAT team.
My rights don't end where your fear begins.
(Score: 4, Funny) by BsAtHome on Monday July 02 2018, @11:34AM
But, but,... think of the children! Our children are so much safer with a SWAT team nearby. The SWATs may even miss the children when shooting real bullets at empty words and that is a great win-win situation.
/s
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday July 02 2018, @12:26PM (1 child)
Don't you read the news? There's the terrorists, the illegals and the opioids and the human trafficking and the meth labs... And that's just liberal news! The real news also warns you about the cat sacrificing satanists, child raping priests, the serial killers masked as social workers, the kidnappers masked as door-to-door salesmen, the suicide inducing computer games, the racial mixing music, the head ache inducing imported foods, the lead contaminated water, fake prescription drugs, abortionists doctors killing our children, children running with scissors killing other children, schools shootings, sonic attack on embassies... I'm sure we can justify a SWAT unit or 10 in between all these very credible threats on our lives and/or our way of living!
(Score: 2, Funny) by Anonymous Coward on Monday July 02 2018, @12:37PM
Don't forget the telemarketers. It would be a shame if this data fell into the hands of telemarketers. Imagine all those police officers getting calls from all those police fundraisers.
(Score: 3, Insightful) by Runaway1956 on Monday July 02 2018, @01:41PM (7 children)
I read that, initially, as "what kind of herp-a-derp do you have to have to be on a SWAT team?". Yeah, I know, that's not what it says, but that's what I read as I skimmed quickly over it.
And, I'd like to answer the question that I THOUGHT I saw posted.
The answer would be, "Balls, and a willingness to do the job you're are paid to do." We saw that cop in Florida, who stood around outside the building while the shooter was busily killing kids. We saw that, because some outraged observer brought it to our attention. I've wondered how many other cops have stood on some insane protocol, and waited for backup before making any kind of a move.
SWAT team training? I suppose you get the ballsiest of the ballsy, and put them through the motions, praise them, tell them what great warriors they are, and convince them that they really are ten feet tall and bullet proof. Then, you remind them that police have "limited" immunity if they pull some crazy shit, so don't be afraid to pull the trigger. (limited put into quotes, because cops sometimes do get away with murder)
IMO, since SWAT teams are run very much like the military runs it's squads, those teams should have leadership similar to the military. Some old cop should be tagging along, and calling the shots. Boys in their mid-twenties shouldn't be making those life and death decisions. People of any sex shouldn't be so freaking gung-ho, hopped up on adrenaline, not to mention testosterone. The courts go along with the executive branch, and pretend that all those boys in blue are responsible, that they would seldom make a mistake, and never lie about it.
Cops. There are good, and there are bad. When you see them in military gear, possibly carrying military weapons, you're looking at something between not-good and very-very bad.
Unless you happen to be an advocate for a police state, in which case, you can't possibly have enough SWAT teams.
(Score: 2) by The Mighty Buzzard on Monday July 02 2018, @02:06PM (1 child)
Honestly, it's probably a pretty good job as far as low-paying jobs go. Not much actual work and a likely a good retirement plan.
My rights don't end where your fear begins.
(Score: 3, Funny) by frojack on Monday July 02 2018, @10:16PM
The occasional unscheduled retirement can be a bitch.
No, you are mistaken. I've always had this sig.
(Score: 2) by DannyB on Monday July 02 2018, @05:41PM (3 children)
If all police officers were to become indistinguishable from a SWAT team, then would there even be a SWAT "team" any longer? Or simply make all police be part of the military. For our safety.
The bad ones possibly have psychological problems making them unsuitable to even be officers. Among those problems might be an aspiration to be on a SWAT team and not having any accountability.
Your sig:
In this case, your brother would then be a sister. So there would be a sister marrying your
brothersister.Now if I understand how biology works when two sisters marry (yes, I typed that with a straight face...), then the offspring produced by two
brotherssisters marrying would be genetically inbred due to the sibling relationship of the parents.When trying to solve a problem don't ask who suffers from the problem, ask who profits from the problem.
(Score: 2) by Azuma Hazuki on Monday July 02 2018, @09:46PM (1 child)
When two sisters marry you don't get kids. Believe me, if lesbian lovemaking produced children I'd have a baseball--well, softball--team with my girlfriend by now =P
I am "that girl" your mother warned you about...
(Score: 2) by takyon on Monday July 02 2018, @10:54PM
Here is a paper that covers (and supports) the wimpy possibility of having a child genetically related to one mother, but with mitochondria from another:
https://jme.bmj.com/content/early/2018/02/28/medethics-2017-104450 [bmj.com]
But what you'd really want is something like in vitro gametogenesis:
https://www.nbcnews.com/mach/science/you-won-t-believe-what-baby-making-science-could-soon-n714411 [nbcnews.com]
The technical barriers to creating a genetic child from two female (or male) parents are not insurmountable. I predict that it could be done within a decade, but assume a high price tag. Although basic IVF is surprisingly modest cost-wise [verywellfamily.com], I would assume no less than $100k for a same-sex IVG procedure. I also assume that you would only be able to have female offspring initially, but there may be ways around that as well.
(Obviously, IVF/IVG does not happen at the same time as lovemaking.)
[SIG] 10/28/2017: Soylent Upgrade v14 [soylentnews.org]
(Score: 2) by Runaway1956 on Tuesday July 03 2018, @01:19AM
I wonder how many people have read that silly sig, and correctly identified where it came from.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/If_All_Men_Were_Brothers,_Would_You_Let_One_Marry_Your_Sister%3F [wikipedia.org]
(Score: 2) by mhajicek on Monday July 02 2018, @08:33PM
That cop in Florida who stayed outside had been ordered to do so. He was thrown under the bus for not paying his b̶l̶u̶e̶ ̶l̶i̶n̶e̶ ̶f̶e̶e̶ police union dues. And from what I've seen it's more like there area few good apples. Dozens of entire departments are corrupt and filled with quite literally evil officers who will lie, cheat, steal, and murder for personal gain and pleasure. We do not need or want these people to be even more militarized than they already are. I would feel safer with all police departments disbanded.
The spacelike surfaces of time foliations can have a cusp at the surface of discontinuity. - P. Hajicek
(Score: 1, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Monday July 02 2018, @02:58PM (6 children)
Does your town not have a procedure to call on additional resources as necessary? Most places I know of the Sheriff's Department has such a team available to respond to local incidents (and/or organizes a coordinated local response of several different departments). Or do you just let the shooter take out the entire school?
(Score: 0, Troll) by Anonymous Coward on Monday July 02 2018, @03:17PM
We don't need SWAT teams for that. We just need armed citizens. Regular joes with guns.
(Score: 2) by The Mighty Buzzard on Monday July 02 2018, @05:15PM (4 children)
Oh, you mean go with the old "when seconds count, the police are only minutes away" deal? Pass, thanks. Any time you take away people's ability to resolve their problems themselves and force them to rely on the government, you've absolutely, without question ensured that their problems will get much, much worse.
My rights don't end where your fear begins.
(Score: 2) by HiThere on Monday July 02 2018, @06:11PM (3 children)
That's not actually true. The problem is with the "always". And with the lack of analysis into the nature of the problem. I sure don't want my neighbors freely disposing of cyanide. I don't want to be personally responsible for maintaining the street in front of my house. (And I don't want my neighbors doing it as they choose, either.)
Javascript is what you use to allow unknown third parties to run software you have no idea about on your computer.
(Score: 2) by The Mighty Buzzard on Monday July 02 2018, @07:49PM (2 children)
Your examples are both inapplicable. Your neighbors are almost certainly not capable of disposing of cyanide without killing themselves and everyone on the block, we're talking about taking away people's right to do something they're capable of doing. Ditto the roads with the addendum that you absolutely can build and maintain your own roads if you do it on your own land.
My rights don't end where your fear begins.
(Score: 2) by HiThere on Monday July 02 2018, @10:47PM (1 child)
As it happens, I live in a city, and I legally own the land out to the middle of the road. And no, I can't, and shouldn't, be able to control how that road is paved.
Javascript is what you use to allow unknown third parties to run software you have no idea about on your computer.
(Score: 2) by The Mighty Buzzard on Monday July 02 2018, @11:06PM
Sort of. Eminent domain and easement laws make that not precisely the case. But that's off-point enough that I won't go into my feelings on eminent domain and easement laws.
My rights don't end where your fear begins.
(Score: 2, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Monday July 02 2018, @12:02PM
If you are doing nothing wrong, you have nothing to hide.
(Score: 2) by nobu_the_bard on Monday July 02 2018, @01:34PM (1 child)
Surely not every department requires every kind of potential response. Heck, some rural communities where I am in the rust belt don't even have a police department anymore, they make contracts with a neighboring community or the state itself instead to get emergency services coverage.
I know some of the more rural departments where I am, instead of having their own response team, they have an agreement with a nearby city to use theirs for emergencies. It makes sense for those communities - they might not even need them every year, and the city gets a trickle of money to improve training/equipment.
The recent debate has actually been the people in the cities complaining that because the city people are worried about the small chance the police response team goes out into the country for some drug bust or something and so is out of town when a school gets shot up (though I estimate that's incredibly unlikely considering how infrequent both events really are...).
A more realistic problem around here is that we're overdue for a school shooting (based on class size and spending factors) and probably should be trying to cut our risks on that front instead of worrying about rural police SWATs.
(Score: 3, Interesting) by The Mighty Buzzard on Monday July 02 2018, @04:44PM
It's safer to base it on how many parents in the area refuse to spank their kids and teach them violence is never acceptable. I've got a pretty strong suspicion that eliminating their last resort outlet for solving their problems themselves and having to just sit there and stew in ever increasing frustration is what causes them to snap.
My rights don't end where your fear begins.
(Score: 2) by legont on Monday July 02 2018, @03:20PM (5 children)
Just saying...
"Wealth is the relentless enemy of understanding" - John Kenneth Galbraith.
(Score: 2) by Runaway1956 on Monday July 02 2018, @03:55PM (2 children)
The problem is, nearly everyone has forgotten who the militia is. It is all of us. Maybe I'm exempt, because I'm an old bastard, but I'm still available. Every able bodied man, between the ages of something and something. I think that in 1776, those ages were 16 and 40, but it's been changed since then. Basically, if you have a set, then you are expected to protect the community.
Today, if people have a set, all they can do is whine that they can't get laid.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday July 02 2018, @10:40PM (1 child)
When I read your first mention of set, I'm think what set, guns, ammo, boots, arms/legs. It made sense, if you had a set of what it takes to pull out a gun and shoot someone. I'm like yeah.
Then I read your last sentence and it all made sense. A set of cajones! Of course, what red blooded man with said cajones wouldn't be able to bust out a cap or two when required.
(Score: 2) by Azuma Hazuki on Tuesday July 03 2018, @03:42AM
To some people they're almost one and the same. Some guys seriously act like their gun is their penis. Like "This is my rifle, this is my gun, one is for shooting, the other fills me with shame and inadequacy."
I am "that girl" your mother warned you about...
(Score: 2) by HiThere on Monday July 02 2018, @06:15PM (1 child)
Define what you mean by militia.
It is my assertion that when the framers wrote that they had no intention that the government even be involved. (I also doubt that it would work in a city with fast transport.)
Javascript is what you use to allow unknown third parties to run software you have no idea about on your computer.
(Score: 3, Insightful) by legont on Wednesday July 04 2018, @03:00PM
Let me give you a different angle. Nobles, in cities or countrysides, always had right to bear and use arms, while slaves, aka citizens, did not.
The main distinction of the old US was that everybody was treated as noble aka free.
Nowadays we are reduced to slaves and it is better to be dead than enslaved, imho.
"Wealth is the relentless enemy of understanding" - John Kenneth Galbraith.
(Score: 1, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Monday July 02 2018, @05:39PM
How much of this "cache" is already publicly available data, given that these are government entities?