As the Sophos Naked Security blog reports, an IT admin for a startup called ClickMotive quit his job in December of 2011. Instead of being a routine termination, this was pretty much a scorched earth time of termination - the type of nightmare that can keep business owners up at night in terror.
When the IT admin quit, he wiped out over 615 pages of their backups, a notification system for network issues, documentation, and remote access to the office. And according to court documents, there was also damage done to the email system and interrupted communication with the company's customers.
But that's not what's unbelievable.
After being convicted, the IT admin is appealing the decision on the grounds that his employment agreement and role gave him all authorization needed to delete and make those modifications!
Yes, he's saying he was authorized!
I've written about the importance of having a strong relationship with your IT admins and your IT service company. This does not mean to appease them and tolerate bad behavior - but instead, have a healthy relationship and take measures to protect your company.
While most IT folks are honest, some are not and the access granted in order to be able to do the job can make an IT person one of the most powerful people in the company. Just today, at Florida GovCon in downtown Tampa, a fellow cyber industry professional was talking about a client of his whose fired IT admin had written a script into their systems to start digitally deleting the patients' medical files three days after he'd been fired.
Build in checks and balances.
If you have an IT department, consider outsourcing a portion to an outside firm. Just like with accounting, it is wise and safe to have at least some IT functions run separately. Have them require frequently updated documentation and make sure they can rush in and take over in case of an emergency. This is good business!
For more information on what to do when the worst occurs, check out this Cyber Security expert panel, including our founder and CEO Angel Rojas, from today's Florida GovCon in Downtown Tampa. Find it HERE.
