City IT Manager Goes to Jail - Won't Give Up Admin Passwords

unbasslichkeit · #1 07-23-2008, 07:57 AM

Here's a guy who felt so strongly that he was working with idiots that he went to jail for it. What would you have done?

http://www.pcworld.com/businesscente...e_network.html

moomoocajoo · #2 07-23-2008, 08:25 AM

Personally no but props to him for sticking to his guns!

BetterBottomEnd · #3 07-23-2008, 08:33 AM

I applaud the guy for handling it that way. My way of handling would have raised all kinds of hell and been a lot more fun although I'd probably end up in jail for a lot longer then him.

Pilgrim · #4 07-23-2008, 09:19 AM

The guy is 100% WRONG. As a city employee, he doesn't own those passwords - the city does. I'm confident that any of his supervisors can require him to divulge them at any time. It doesn't matter if his supervisor is the biggest idiot since the pointy-haired guy in Dilbert, there is still no possible justification for his not giving up the passwords.

If he goes to court, he will lose big-time. No excuse, none, nada, zip.

sarcastro83 · #5 07-23-2008, 09:26 AM

Sounds almost like comic book villainy, to me. But I'll agree that in spite of how he felt about his coworkers and superiors, there is still a chain of command. He's a civil servant, not a vigilante.

NJL · #6 07-23-2008, 09:30 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pilgrim

The guy is 100% WRONG. As a city employee, he doesn't own those passwords - the city does.

yup.. and even one step farther - the taxpayers do.

**Jerose** · #7 07-23-2008, 09:31 AM

Maybe he had some of his nudie videos on the server.

NJL · #8 07-23-2008, 09:34 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jerose

Maybe he had some of his nudie videos on the server.

or too many visits to talkbass

dancehallclasher · #9 07-23-2008, 09:43 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pilgrim

It doesn't matter if his supervisor is the biggest idiot since the pointy-haired guy in Dilbert, there is still no possible justification for his not giving up the passwords.

oh, you have no imagination.

I of course have to wait until all the facts are in before I praise him for his principles, but I like his style.

peterbright · #10 07-23-2008, 09:55 AM

His bosses need to reboot their Etch-A-Skethes.

Son of Sanford · #11 07-23-2008, 10:37 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pilgrim

The guy is 100% WRONG. As a city employee, he doesn't own those passwords - the city does. I'm confident that any of his supervisors can require him to divulge them at any time. It doesn't matter if his supervisor is the biggest idiot since the pointy-haired guy in Dilbert, there is still no possible justification for his not giving up the passwords.

If he goes to court, he will lose big-time. No excuse, none, nada, zip.

+1

Depth_Charge · #12 07-23-2008, 11:27 AM

This part caught my eye
"In interviews, current and former DTIS staffers describe Childs as a well respected co-worker who may have gone too far under the pressure of working in a department that had been demoralized and drastically cut as the city moved forward with plans to decentralize IT operations."

I feel this individual had just as much of his own interests at heart by failing to divulge passwords to the entire network (something he may no longer be entitled to know under a decentralised support model, potentially thats why they asked him for them haha), not the interests of the department for which he was employed by.

He is completely in the wrong. He had no ownership of the passwords as he was hired to administer them on behalf of someone else and if his bosses asked for the passwords he should have handed them over as part of his duties and allowed them do what he claimed they weren't qualified to do anyway, and let whoever deal with the consequences.

unbasslichkeit · #13 07-23-2008, 02:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sarcastro83

Sounds almost like comic book villainy, to me. But I'll agree that in spite of how he felt about his coworkers and superiors, there is still a chain of command. He's a civil servant, not a vigilante.

One wonders how many people are hoping that he's not a whistleblower, too.

I would never refer to a sysadmin as a 'civil servant.' Not on their network, anyway. Not too many people are familiar with the BOFH anymore.

mjolnir · #14 07-23-2008, 02:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by unbasslichkeit

One wonders how many people are hoping that he's not a whistleblower, too.

I would never refer to a sysadmin as a 'civil servant.' Not on their network, anyway. Not too many people are familiar with the BOFH anymore.

BOFH is an absolute CLASSIC.

Whether this man is right or wrong (I won't say either way, I don't know all the circumstances), I can definitely relate to how he feels about his department and the way his superiors (supposedly) treat him. IT is a tough business to be in. He had the balls to do what I never will.

L-A · #15 07-23-2008, 03:35 PM

I have to agree with Child, you don't give passwords to whoever claims to have the rights to have them. They need to have the qualification. His responsibility certainly included making sure no harm is done to such an important system.

If I had no choice I'd have had the guy sign a discharge before giving him the passwords. No political protection for the unqualified guy breaking things and then blaming me for it.

**Josh Ryan** · #16 07-23-2008, 04:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by unbasslichkeit

One wonders how many people are hoping that he's not a whistleblower, too.

I would never refer to a sysadmin as a 'civil servant.' Not on their network, anyway. Not too many people are familiar with the BOFH anymore.

I am.

unbasslichkeit · #17 07-23-2008, 06:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by L-A

I have to agree with Child, you don't give passwords to whoever claims to have the rights to have them. They need to have the qualification. His responsibility certainly included making sure no harm is done to such an important system.

If I had no choice I'd have had the guy sign a discharge before giving him the passwords. No political protection for the unqualified guy breaking things and then blaming me for it.

One thing which is gonna weigh heavily on his case is (1) whether or not the City of SF had a written security plan for the system in question, and (2) if so, was it being implemented and followed. Either Child was a loose cannon acting on his own, or he acted in accordance with standard operating procedure.

The fact that they had to get the Mayor out there to get the codes makes you wonder.

bassaficionado6 · #18 07-23-2008, 07:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by peterbright

His bosses need to reboot their Etch-A-Skethes.

At least they don't want to make their laptops lighter. They can just erase some stuff off their hard drive.

L-A · #19 07-23-2008, 07:40 PM

You guys are all ripping off jokes from Dilbert.

**Jerose** · #20 07-25-2008, 05:50 PM

http://www.infoworld.com/article/08/...sswords_1.html

Ohhhh myyyy God. That is incredible. I wouldn't be surprised if that puts Terry Childs closer to a win in this case.

Didn't he do this because he thought higher-ups would be incompetent?!