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Punishing Security Breaches
Schneier has a story on his blog this morning about
punishing security breaches. This one is in response to the tale of Gray Powell, the Apple engineer who left an important bit of technology in a bar recently. You might have heard of it. You also might have been on either the breacher or the corporate side. I'd hate to be in either position myself.
California law prohibits the sale of stolen goods and states that a person who uses someone else’s lost property without permission may be guilty of theft.
And since it's over $950, it's a felony. Even if they didn't know it was stolen, they could face a lesser charge of "misappropriation of lost property" which is a crime but not theft. Charges haven't been pressed yet but the police say they're investigating the options.
My work here is dung.
No I have not! What is this "Apple" you speak of?
If someone wants to take something classified out of a top secret military compound, he might have to secrete it on his person and deliberately sneak it past a guard who searches briefcases and purses. He might be committing a crime by doing so ...
Are you joking? Try losing their security clearance, being court marshaled and a probable investigation into 1) what motive you had removing classified material 2) where it was going and 3) how many other violations you knowingly committed.
I've gotten a corporate laptop with semi-sensitive material on it about the company I work for. I was given it when I traveled to various states. The guidelines were very clear. From locking it in the safe when I left the hotel room to not leaving it in my car. While it's less likely that someone would show up at a bar with a laptop, this is outright out of the question. Regardless of how lax their security measures are you might misplace a phone while drinking so don't bring it drinking! If you want to or accidentally take it drinking, you're accepting the risks.
It'd be hard for me to imagine that Apple -- the pseudosecretive company that it is -- wouldn't have stringent policies in place. Still, firing Powell would look less than heartless. I'd be shocked if any company as big as Apple didn't have such policies explicitly spelled out.
My work here is dung.
Please stop these stupid articles about someone fucking up or planting a phone.
Stop it.
Stop advertising for them.
There's only one way to take care of someone who leaks mission critical information.
First you fire them. No sense in keeping them around if they are going to fuck up like that.
Next you sue them for major damages. Make an example out of them.
Since a corporation has no way to punish someone with actual jail time, the next best thing is to make sure people think twice before making big mistakes again.
Then you wonder where all the job applicants went.
Out of modpoints but really liked a post? 1BDkF6TtmmeZ3yqXbz9yhdYVqRYnwFoXDj
In this case, what are the damages exactly?
Apple's got no trouble attracting applicants.
They might do, if they continue to grow a reputation for Stasi style tactics and policies that make Orwell look like an optimist. Which firing and suing this guy would certainly do.
How far Apple is from the tipping point of going from "a cool place to work" to "last chance saloon for those desperate enough and unable to get work elsewhere" is an open question, particularly in today's economy. But one thing is certain...they are closer to that point now than they were two years ago, and will be a whole lot closer still if they act in a vindictive manner toward a guy who simply made a mistake any of us could have made.
After all, who hasn't lost a cell phone at least once in their life? (A good reason to never volunteer to test prototypes, especially if your lifestyle includes the occasional pub visit)
The Future of Human Evolution: Autonomy
Because a world where that happens is a world I'm sure we'd all fucking love to live in.
But the multitouch screen understands pinching! That would be a waste!