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sweetmorty t1_j5pp7fi wrote

You have to be a certain kind of dense idiot to post technical documents or other factual information related to your job to strangers, especially if that is military defense related.

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realmastodon2 t1_j5q5ws4 wrote

People posted classified info on American, British, Russia, and Chinese tanks. I think there were others.

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Starr-Duke t1_j5qol4g wrote

The vehicle sim community is wild. I've never seen a community have such engrained lines. Like war thunder, many can't take being proven wrong so they gotta pull this shit.

That and the flight sim community got split because all the new games would "water down" the veterans experience with new players.

I love my community

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redditnshitlikethat t1_j5qecfm wrote

Pretty sure there was just information on where and how many nukes are stored across Europe on Chegg flashcards online… in the public domain.. these are highschool / college dropouts dont forget

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Blastie2 t1_j5r0taz wrote

But if I don't post classified information to the internet, how will this random guy know that he's wrong?

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maybeitsjustu t1_j5t9vbe wrote

The article doesn't state that this ever happened. It simply states that the documents (thought to be secret) were posted online proving they weren't that secret.

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Kristophigus t1_j5qoffq wrote

> a certain kind of dense idiot

I mean, they work for government, so it checks out.

−8

shellofbiomatter t1_j5pd83o wrote

Well guess I'm on another watchlist then.

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[deleted] t1_j5pmfdh wrote

*thinks about search history.

I’ll be aight.

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themagicbong t1_j5rrcba wrote

Pretty sure it's easy to distinguish my ADD ass brain hopping from

"how, exactly, does a nuclear fusion reaction work"

To

"Rash." "Rash on arm." "Can you die from a rash on your arm?"

To

"When was the first fuel injected engine made?"

Shit, not like it's illegal to wanna know things.

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shellofbiomatter t1_j5s1nz3 wrote

No it's not illegal to ask questions and acquire knowledge. Just acquiring some certain knowledge is suspicious.
I do the same thing, coincidentally i have adhd too.

Just googling "lethal dosage of paracetamol" or "bleeding out from neck wound" is kinda suspicious. The anwser is 10-15 seconds if Carotid Artery and Jugular Vein is cut.

3

SmokeyJoescafe t1_j5s4f70 wrote

Acetaminophen aka Tylenol for those in the US asking yourself what paracetamol is.

2

DavidBrooker t1_j5qhwbg wrote

The sum-total of the 'news' in this article is that an interviewer asked a yes/no question about a game. That 'may' in the title is probably going to buckle under the strain its taking, since we have no idea what the consequences of that question are, there's no indication that it's unto itself a security flag, and we don't even know if there's a follow-up question.

Now, this is just pure speculation, which I suppose qualifies me to write for PCMag, but I'm going to guess there is at least one or two more forks in the interviewer's question script before they declare you a risk to national security.

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UglyInThMorning t1_j5rko66 wrote

Also their source for Raytheon asking about it is a guy said an investigator asked about it.

They don’t ask about it.

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hawaiijim t1_j5rq8o6 wrote

In the USA, defense contractors like Raytheon don't even do their own security clearance investigations. The US government does it. This was a bad article all around.

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UglyInThMorning t1_j5t3g8t wrote

If it’s a job that doesn’t require clearance (there’s a lot of them) they just use one of those private services and do a generic background check. If it does require clearance they usually want you to have it when you apply.

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hawaiijim t1_j5t7hfi wrote

The article specifically says, "As part of the security clearance process," which is part of what makes the private investigator claim dubious.

1

UglyInThMorning t1_j5t7y43 wrote

The article also has no idea what it’s talking about because it’s based on a comment that someone made up.

I work at Raytheon with access to the same level of material that’s been leaked on the WT forums (export restricted but not otherwise classified) and my background check was just “upload some documents and we’ll call you if anything comes up”.

2

Flame2512 t1_j5shckc wrote

And they based the entire article off the claims of one Reddit user who later admitted he made the whole thing up.

Raytheon also denied the story both on their official Reddit account and in a statement given to other news outlets.

2

lisa_frank_trapper t1_j5pv8rg wrote

If they saw how bad I am at flying in DCS, they’d know I’m definitely a security risk.

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brandontaylor1 t1_j5qqgfn wrote

I picked up a VR flight sim, and after several hours in it, I’m confident, that given the chance, I could crash a real helicopter.

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wdomon t1_j5s81n4 wrote

That seems kinda cool. Is it possible to have fun if you have zero idea how to even start playing a flight sim? Or is VR expecting you to already be fluent?

2

ukulele87 t1_j5scdv2 wrote

People play sims because they like the complexity, if you are willing to go trough with the learning then you can do it.
If learning how it works and how to operate it seems fun to you, then give it a go.
If you just want to go fast and clear the map of all signs of an enemy contact then probably start with something more arcade-y.
VR its just the image output, the game or sim you are using its what gives it the complexity.

2

venum4k t1_j5sd6ci wrote

The main thing that takes time to learn in sims is the specifics of the vehicle you're trying to fly, I think it took me a few weeks to really get the planes I have in dcs and I got vr a few months after that, most work after that is rebinding everything that's changed and getting used to it. In dcs no two planes have the exact same set of buttons for everything anyway so there's new bindings no matter what you do. I'm sure if you jumped in with vr from the start it would only add a bit of extra fiddling around.

1

RoundCollection4196 t1_j5titic wrote

I knew nothing about planes before I started, now i know a lot of the fundamentals. Still couldn't fly irl but if I was in a small plane and the pilot passed out, I'd be more confident in landing after playing the sim because i at least know the fundamentals

it does take some research and googling on your own, the sim usually wont teach you much

1

The80Percent_ t1_j5ppxkv wrote

This is probably not true. Their only source is a reddit comment.

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stellarblackhole1 t1_j5pwt6j wrote

Actually, there have been news articles about people getting arrested for leaking documents on classified military secrets before regarding war thunder. A tanker dumped a ton of classified information on a tank to prove a point like 6 months ago.

−6

paulHarkonen t1_j5qgcts wrote

The fact that several people leaked classified documents to prove a point why their beloved vehicle of choice needs a buff (or nerf) in War Thunder is well know and publicized. (It happened several times now)

What isn't established is that as a result playing War Thunder means you are categorized as a security risk.

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DavidBrooker t1_j5qi9q6 wrote

Leaking classified documents is a crime.

Playing a game whose community members have leaked classified documents is not a crime.

By way of comparison, giving classified documents to the Washington Post is a crime. Receiving classified documents as a journalist at the Washington Post is not a crime. Reading the Washington Post is also not a crime.

4

[deleted] t1_j5qtc3x wrote

[deleted]

1

DavidBrooker t1_j5qu035 wrote

I just read through 18 USC 798 and it really does not seem to suggest that the receiving party / 'unauthorized person' is at fault, at least under that law. As I am not a lawyer, could you explain why that is and/or why a layperson's reading is misleading?

Edit: 18 USC 793 and 794 deal with simple possession of "defense information", but not necessarily classified information. Notwithstanding the fact that these descriptions may have significant overlap, is it through this mechanism that you're referencing? ie, are these terms de facto or de jure synonymous, or are they merely commonly mutually applicable?

1

tree_barcc t1_j5pzksk wrote

imagine classifying 22 million people because like 4 leaked national documents

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somerandomguy101 t1_j5qdcnn wrote

Imagine leaking classified documents to fix a small detail in a videogame.

15

TwistyPA t1_j5qlpe2 wrote

One of my first jobs working with the military was to update specs for a lot of assets, planes, missiles, satellites, subs, etc.

Practically everything the public thought something could do they were close but never right. If someone is telling me this one little thing is wrong on a war sim I’m thinking, yeah, that and everything else is not entirely accurate. Good jorb throwing his career away.

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Kristophigus t1_j5qosso wrote

Well the world changed when a handful of idiots crashed a few planes into buildings..why stop there?

6

Strangelet1 t1_j5r3ik8 wrote

Especially when everyone is leaving them around these days.

3

CaptValentine t1_j5qj6ci wrote

There are many honors and awards a game can receive from critics, people's choice, publications, etc.

Being classified as a security risk is a different kind of reward, and a high honor.

6

d01100100 t1_j5r02ve wrote

If I had a nickel for every time someone leaked classified military information on War Thunder forums, I'd have 5 nickels.

Which isn't a lot, but it's weird that it happened 5 times.

6

Individual_Hearing_3 t1_j5pejk1 wrote

I heard from friends that this is indeed true because they are looking for it in interviews. Definitely quitting war thunder now despite how much I loved making funny skins for meme bombers.

4

SCROTOCTUS t1_j5qj78x wrote

Can it get you classed as a National Security Asset? I mean, if I get some Chinese or Russian teenager to reveal otherwise unknown classified data on on some tech, shouldn't I get a little personal bump? You know, nothing crazy. Maybe $50K per instance.

3

walkslikeaduck08 t1_j5qh7vf wrote

Should nerf Chinese and North Korean advanced armaments until there’s proof of their capabilities 😏

2

nopower81 t1_j5qm5v2 wrote

Only if u lose alot

2

chaybani t1_j5sexj7 wrote

The person who made the post already came back and said the whole thing was a made up lie….. Some people really need to get better judgment

2

VincentNacon t1_j5q3qrk wrote

Isn't everything in the game outdated?

1

thune123 t1_j5qk9gj wrote

Prove it. Drop some classified documents

2

VincentNacon t1_j5qr930 wrote

That's the thing... just because something is classified, doesn't mean it NOT outdated and vice versa.

2

beef623 t1_j5qpm0b wrote

Was there a different game that also had a problem with leaking schematics like this? I'm pretty sure the first time I heard about it was at least a year before the pandemic, but the article says it started in 2021.

1

iamnotroberts t1_j5s2wh1 wrote

That's fucking stupid. So, say someone posts classified documents on a chess forum. Are they not gonna hire anyone who plays chess?

1

riefpirate t1_j5t9rcd wrote

It's free on Steam !! Great game !!

1

Kristophigus t1_j5qp6qj wrote

I still don't see how anyone can treat that game as a sim in any capacity. It's arcade to the max in every aspect. If there were real ballistic calculations going on against realistic surfaces and physics, the game would be a slideshow at best, let alone all the controls, flight model behaviours and environmental conditions.. it's like people throwing tantrums and realworld specs against Contra III. Makes no sense.

0

SpiritOne t1_j5pflok wrote

What does playing the game have anything to do with their security leaks?

−1

DragoneerFA t1_j5pg07h wrote

It's literally in the article.

A ton of classified info has leaked over War Thunder by military and defense contractors going, "Well, actuaaaaally, the way this tank works is..." and then dropping classified docs to prove their point.

It's happened enough times for it to become a red flag and more than some random coincidence.

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Lick-a-Leper t1_j5phcfd wrote

Yeah because tech geeks feel an uncontrollable urge to be right. They can't just let it go. They need the information to be correct so they feel a perceived value from all the time they spend I vested in there projects.

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MasterpieceBrave420 t1_j5plxiz wrote

That is fuckin' prefect. The urge to win an internet argument was so strong they violated national security.

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SpiritOne t1_j5ph09v wrote

Yeah I get that, but…

Some people can just play a game and not participate in the forums. So someone else leaked classified documents. Why should other people suffer and not be employed for what somebody else did?

That doesn’t really make sense to me.

−7

phdoofus t1_j5pi0oz wrote

That's why the category is 'risk' and not 'threat'. If you were going to be an accountant, no one would care. If you were going to work in the defense industry or for the government working on military stuff and require a clearance, they'd definitely take a close look at you. It probably wouldn't keep you from being hired but it would probably bring you under more regular scrutiny if you have access to 'shareable' documents. It's kind of like complaining about security guards and saying 'I don't see why they should have guards here, I'm not a thief!'

9

Kentucky_Fence_Post t1_j5phdij wrote

Unless you're trying to get in to the defense industry currently, I wouldn't worry too much about it. Just don't read the seemingly classified stuff if you come across it.

1

stellarblackhole1 t1_j5pwaux wrote

Don't really play a lot of online multiplayer games, but I've been known to pull out a calculator or spreadsheet to prove a point about damage caused by fall damage, or other points in DND, to the chagrin of my fellow DND members. Why play with online people you don't know and get screamed at by a 13-year-old when you can play a board game or ttrgp game in person with a group of people you know pretty well.

1

SmokeyJoescafe t1_j5s563s wrote

Getting screamed at by people you know pretty well is a more enjoyable experience.

2

Banea-Vaedr t1_j5pjadi wrote

Warthunder players keep leaking sensitive documents

5