Hacker News Reader

Comment by qaq | Hacker News Reader

People mentioned Elon's DOGE team is about 200 people including lawyers and accountants. I am guessing the focus on the 6 youngsters is mainly because here's a bunch of former Deloitte lawyers/accountants is not a newsworthy thing to focus on especially if your angle is to discredit the effort.

View on HN

You're telling me 200 ALLEGED adult professionals are involved in a scheme where some 19 year old cybercriminal has access to classified nuclear weapons systems as if that's any indication of a better situation than critics allege and you think you've got sober and thoughtful take to offer on this situation, do you?

I didn't know FED data that was accessed at the Treasury department contained data on classified nuclear weapons systems. I've also never seen this level of freakout over real breaches like say SolarWind done by APT-29(Cozy Bear) actual Russian foreign intelligence group. That breach included Treasury, DoD, DoJ, State Department, DHS, Energy Department and so on.

From CNN[0]:

> Farritor was granted access to basic IT including email and Microsoft 365, one of the people said. The chief information office only does a small amount of IT and cybersecurity work for the National Nuclear Security Administration, they said, including providing connectivity and running basic internet services for NNSA’s headquarters. It does not run IT systems for the nuclear agency’s labs controlling the nation’s nuclear stockpile.

As to this part of your comment:

> and you think you've got sober and thoughtful take to offer on this situation, do you?

Please take note of Dang's comment at the top of the page, hyperbole and hysteria are not interesting.

[0] https://edition.cnn.com/2025/02/06/climate/doge-energy-depar...

Just look in this thread for how many posters here are 100% certain that irreparable damage is being done - because they want to feel mad.

There is no proof of anything bad. Regardless how many people want that to be false, oddly.

So I guess tough to not think that the worldwide media that has been receiving government money would be mad and willing to focus on ”a handful of 20 year olds” as a means to discredit.

What I find strange is that it’s working so well. So many people here KNOW so much that hasn’t been reported or happened.

If there is even a 1% chance irreparable damage is being done to 350 million Americans, chances should not be taken

This is the same as saying nothing should ever be done.

So, you don’t care about the waste fraud and abuse that has been happening - but are concerned about something that maybe could happen.

You’re being manipulated by the people who are mad their paychecks are being cut.

The alleged fraud ( https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=42994862 ) which disappears when people try to verify the claims ( https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=42995667 , https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=42995978 , https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=42996385 )?

Google SolarWinds

I would agree with you were it not for the fact that Musk, Trump, Vance, and several of the DOGE boy squad have links to Curtis Yarvin and believe that his idea of Dark Enlightenment is the way forward. He was even invited to the Coronation Ball for Trump's inauguration. If you aren't familiar, you should read up. It's truly demented and twisted. The minds of people who would follow such a philosophy have been utterly compromised and corrupted beyond help. These people are not to be trusted.

Well I remember a certain freakout from the other side about Hilarys email server... This seems like a far greater security violation

In what sense is it a security violation a person authorized by the Treasury secretary accessed data in Treasury department. The granting of security clearances is in the authority of the President which President can exercise directly or by delegating.

And I'm sure Hilarys email server was cleared and authorized by those with authority. That did not stop the right from making it a huge issue

It was not but regardless how is this a bigger security violation? Also is the claim here that Secretary of Treasury lacks authority to grant access to treasury data or that President lacks authority to grant security clearances? Keep in mind Scott Bessent was confirmed by a huge margin. This was a rare bipartisan vote as he is an extremely qualified individual for the role (unlike many other Trump nominees).

Hiring someone who was part of the Com and who was already terminated once for leaking secrets seems like a pretty big security violation, whether or not it was signed off by someone.

I advise you never look in into backgrounds of most top cyber sec people cause prob about half used to be on the black hat side in their youth days some even served time.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com