> these computers are likely different from the system that sent the false missile alert<p>I can't speak to the particular console it was sent from, but I would place a modest wager that it's in that same room.
This hasn't been authenticated as being real. All we know is that there is an AP image and there is a post it note saying something on the monitor. We don't even know if the enhancement or anything else about it is real.
Ok, if the system is an isolated system, not accessible via the open internet, but perh via VPN, is the sticker a big issue, if they have decent physical security (i.e. cleaning crew cannot get in there).
“Pencil” Reference to wargames of course. Passwords are fundamentally broken. Don’t blame the post it note nor the person making it. Blame the concept of passwords.