Unhappy Worker Locks Down San Francisco's Wireless Network
Hell hath no fury like an IT guy scorned. That's the lesson San Francisco officials learned after technician Terry Childs, 43, created a master password to lock everyone else out of the city's FiberWAN network. The system holds e-mails, prison records, and payroll files, and authorities fear he may have shared his code with a third party, putting the information at risk.
Apparently, Childs snapped after he was asked to leave his network administrator job for poor performance and insubordination. He's been employed by the city for five years, despite past convictions for robbery and burglary dating back to the 80's. To add to the city's humiliation, Childs is still being paid his $127,000 yearly salary.
At the time of his arrest, Childs gave up a fake password to police and has remained silent on the magic word. He's facing up to seven years in jail for four counts of computer tampering, and is due back in court tomorrow. Engineers from Silicon Valley are on the case now, so apparently he didn't use "password" as the access code. [Source: SFGate via USA Today]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 3)
Wolfster @ Jul 17th 2008 2:48PM
That could be considered an act of domestic terrorism. Send him to Gitmo - maybe some of those torture techniques would finally be useful.
jeb @ Jul 17th 2008 2:56PM
He's been employed by the city for five years, despite past convictions for robbery and burglary dating back to the 80's.
ONLY IN CALIFORNIA!!!
duh...let's let a convicted felon have access to sensative personal information...I hope everyone involved SUES their pants off!!!!!
Deez @ Jul 17th 2008 3:04PM
hey Jeb you Smarty learn how to spell sensitive you Dumb@$$!!!!
c00kiee @ Jul 17th 2008 3:20PM
Only in california? Shut up.
Captian kirk @ Jul 17th 2008 3:21PM
The ultimate insanity!
Kirk calling enterprise. Mr spock, have scotty beam me up immediatly! no indiginious intelligant life on this planet! - kirk out.
Jonathan :) :)
Michael @ Jul 17th 2008 3:24PM
Yeah Jeb there you go sue sue sue.
Mike Sanders @ Jul 17th 2008 3:41PM
I hope that they can work somethng out. Perhaps, a plea-bargain... 1 character of the password, for each year of reduced sentence, or amnesty for the entire password.
"Don't cuss the man who cooks your eggs, or he might just spit in them."
While I cannot agree with what Childs did, this does serve to remind administrators, that maintaining good relations with the technical people is always in their best ineterst. I worked with UAW electricians on the plant floor of a GM assembly plant, years ago. I soon discovered that these guys could make my life a living hell, if they wanted to... Pins stuck through coaxes, thirty feet up... Stealing my Cushman and submerging it in the sludge pond... Changing the letters on my keyboard around... Throwing lugnuts at me from 100 feet away (dangerous)... I could write a book! Anyway, after giving up on the "Security" force, I learned that Gitmo didn't work half as well as just buying them a cup of coffee. I just didn't understand the protocol, that's all.
CFelthauser @ Jul 17th 2008 5:04PM
and everyone of those guys should have been fired, but because they were probably Union they were protected. What they did to you is nothing less than extortion and harrassment. If I worked there I would fire the whole lot and bring in a new one. People need to learn how to behave at work. Why would they let only one person have control over passwords like that and not have back up somewhere. I can understand how people get upset about comments like "only in California"...but that seems like where these stories always seem to come from, so blame it on the media.
GLDuff @ Jul 17th 2008 7:01PM
I suspect the employee conduct described here has something to do with GM's troubles. No wonder the Japanese car companies are kicking GM's butt.
Stop Smoking @ Jul 17th 2008 3:44PM
Thats so cool that he's able to do that. Did he hack in or did he have access to that information already?
G @ Jul 17th 2008 4:05PM
hate the sin, love the sinner. forgiveness
Better yet, bosses, managers, talk to your employees//employees, talk to your bosses, managers and fellow employees. Talk, talk, talk to each other.
Zaphod @ Jul 17th 2008 4:06PM
this reminds me a movie i once watched a long time ago where i a guy created a operating system everyone used and started shutting down the citys, with a back door he put in it.......cant remember what it was called though
corki @ Jul 17th 2008 4:25PM
it was called Windows
Adam @ Jul 17th 2008 4:09PM
This is funny. Kinda makes ya go life imitating art. It is somewhat similar to the last Die Hard movie. Of course this isn't on as grand a scale. and it also shows that the IT guys could pretty much bring the world to it's knees if so inclined.
slvcab @ Jul 17th 2008 4:09PM
jeb ur an idiot....just because ur from som other state u think its just fine to rip on california? well im from california and i wanna say that its a good state and wutever problem u have with it you should just keep it to yourself
Pam @ Jul 17th 2008 4:13PM
Jonathan, you can't spell, capitalize correctly or say something original. Too bad we Earthlings have to let you stay here anyway. (It is beyond ironic whenever anyone misspells "intelligent" while insulting others.)
s13hybrid @ Jul 17th 2008 4:28PM
"Hold on to your butts."
-Jurassic Park
That is what this reminds me of, but not quit as dangerous.
BdKrma2 @ Jul 17th 2008 4:30PM
Sarah said: just because someone fXXXXX up and got arrested in the 80's doesn't mean they are still a "criminal", people mess up and change all the time. That was 20 years ago!
FYI? "things" change, people don't.
Joan Viscounty @ Jul 17th 2008 4:36PM
Waterboard him
erik @ Jul 17th 2008 4:45PM
California SUCKS!