It would be interesting to know how Facebook corporate security breaks down between “things we have excellent reason to suspect we need” and “the VP of Security likes feeling tacticool and knows how to get the people with the purse strings excited about it as well”.
As noted, I suspect that Facebook is a higher profile target than some; but it also wouldn’t be a huge surprise if they have some people with a toy budget who are bored stiff of a steady diet of escorting the terminated to the exit and hassling homeless and undesireables that approach campus.
Well we’re living in a world where a bunch of jackasses key stone kopped their way to a sarin stockpile at least once before. And we’ve seen bombs sent to media operations recently (though they don’t seem to have been capable of/intended to explode). And people have lashed out at companies, or those associated with technology before.
Especially with Trump’s nut bar take on Facebook and other social media companies out there constantly, and his tendency to egg people on toward violence. I’d say it’d be pretty stupid not to keep an eye out for shit like this. For all the talc filled letters. People have actually mailed Anthrax. Its not like this is the sort of thing that never happens. Especially these days.
Far as I’m aware nerve agents are on the table for this kind of screening thanks to Aum. I’ve been swabbed for nerve agents in the NYC subway (also explosives!).
Perhaps it was another organo-phosphate? A parcel of fertilizer? You wouldn’t think they would need it given the amount of horse-shit they already produce.
Seems like it worked to me. It performed a presumptive ID (which casts a wide net) which allowed for evacuation, and confirmation testing showed it was a false alarm.
Now back to work folks, that hate-speech won’t post itself!
