Governor Goes After ‘Hacker’ Journalist Who Spotted Flaw… In HTML Code
Image via ID 91322214 © Rufatjumali | Dreamstime.com
During a press conference this week, Missouri Governor Mike Parson called out a well-meaning journalist who had reported a vulnerability spotted in the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education’s site. Turns out, the webpage had been displaying educators’ Social Security numbers in its HTML source code.
St Louis Post-Dispatch reporter Josh Renaud first broke the news, saying that “though no private information was clearly visible nor searchable on any of the web pages, the newspaper found that teachers’ Social Security numbers were contained in the HTML source code of the pages involved.”
However, despite reporting the breach to the appropriate authorities, Parson hinted that the reporter could be charged in court. This has left social media users baffled, as Renaud did not engage in any “hacking” when he spotted the vulnerability. All he did was simply right-click and select “show page source” on his browser. Ta-da.
Even with tons of tweets telling him the reporter’s actions didn’t constitute as “hacking,” Parson doubled down. He tweeted: “A hacker is someone who gains unauthorized access to information or content. This individual did not have permission to do what they did. They had no authorization to convert and decode the code.”
Thankfully, according to Mashable, the St Louis Post-Dispatch is standing by Renaud. “We stand by our reporting and our reporter who did everything right,” the newspaper’s president, Ian Caso, told the site.
“It’s regrettable the Governor has chosen to deflect blame onto the journalists who uncovered the website’s problem, and brought it to the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education’s attention.”
Fingers crossed this mess gets untangled, so Renaud can receive thanks—instead of blame—for his goodwill.
A hacker is someone who gains unauthorized access to information or content. This individual did not have permission to do what they did. They had no authorization to convert and decode the code.
— Governor Mike Parson (@GovParsonMO) October 14, 2021
[via Mashable, cover image via ID 91322214 © Rufatjumali | Dreamstime.com]
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