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posted by Fnord666 on Friday September 20 2019, @07:55AM   Printer-friendly
from the just-doing-my-job dept.

The document showed that the state authorized Coalfire's team to "perform lock-picking activities to attempt to gain access to locked areas." But the document also stated the testers should "talk your way into areas" and allowed for "limited physical bypass."

The rules of engagement also dictated that the state authorities said they would not notify law enforcement of the penetration test.

[...] At 12:30am on the morning of September 11, penetration testers Justin Wynn and Gary Demercurio were caught with lock picks inside the Dallas County courthouse by Dallas County Sherriff's Department officers. They presented documents showing they had authorization from the state; the officers contacted state officials on the document, who verified that the test was authorized. But they arrested Wynn and Demurcurio anyway and charged them with burglary.

Wynn and Demurcurio are free on bail and have waived an initial hearing. They still face charges, despite state officials' apology to county officials.

Related: https://soylentnews.org/article.pl?sid=19/09/17/0641246

Coalfire's Comments:https://www.coalfire.com/News-and-Events/Press-Releases/Coalfire-Comments-on-Pen-Tests-for-Iowa-Judicial

https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2019/09/iowa-officials-claim-confusion-over-scope-led-to-arrest-of-pen-testers/


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  • (Score: 3, Insightful) by Common Joe on Friday September 20 2019, @10:40AM (4 children)

    by Common Joe (33) <{common.joe.0101} {at} {gmail.com}> on Friday September 20 2019, @10:40AM (#896448) Journal

    Well, I wouldn't go that far. The state and the penetration testers should have had an explicit contract, but from what I'm reading in TFS, they both know they messed. Ok. Mistakes happen. Annoying, but live and learn. These two sods get locked up for a couple of days while things get sorted out then they should be let out. Things like happen.

    There are two things I don't understand: 1) If the state can control who gets to break into the building for testing purposes, the state should be able to say "My bad, but they were from us. Let them go." 2) Even if the state remains mum on the whole deal, it's going to be pretty hard to convince a jury beyond a reasonable doubt that these guys were there maliciously and breaking laws for their own gain. The prosecutors and local cops have got to know this. Pursuing this means costing money. If I were a tax payer in that country, I'd be pretty pissed that my money was being thrown away to feed these guys in jail when they obviously should be out and about paying for their own food. If this continues, then it looks like these two guys who don't deserve to be locked up will be caught in the middle of a political game between the country and state. And then we'll see another blatant example of our constitution with its reasonable punishments and trials chucked right out the window and stepped on in a mud puddle again.

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  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday September 20 2019, @01:45PM (1 child)

    by Anonymous Coward on Friday September 20 2019, @01:45PM (#896486)

    It doesn't cost the prosecutors any money.

    • (Score: 1) by nitehawk214 on Friday September 20 2019, @04:02PM

      by nitehawk214 (1304) on Friday September 20 2019, @04:02PM (#896536)

      But if they are elected or appointed by an elected official, it could cost them their jobs.

      --
      "Don't you ever miss the days when you used to be nostalgic?" -Loiosh
  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday September 21 2019, @07:04AM

    by Anonymous Coward on Saturday September 21 2019, @07:04AM (#896745)

    This is totally a power play. The sheriff of Dallas County said as much because the Judicial Branch didn't tell him in advance (despite the fact that sort of defeats the purpose of the test). Also, he is one of those right-winger types that doesn't like the State pushing its weight around "local" issues. Part of the problem is that he may be technically correct, because if they took one step out of the court's area of the building they did enter into County Property without County permission and the state permission isn't good enough for non-court areas.

  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday September 21 2019, @07:09AM

    by Anonymous Coward on Saturday September 21 2019, @07:09AM (#896747)

    I should also point out that the power to prosecute crimes has been almost fully delegated to the Counties. There is little that Iowa can do to stop this. The only real option I see if Dallas County doesn't want to play is that the Attorney General's office can take over the prosecution using the Area Prosecutions Division process by claiming there is a conflict of interest in the prosecution, since the County itself is one of the alleged victims of the crime.