Employee Outsourced Programming Job To China, Spent Days Websurfing

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Employee Outsourced Programming Job To China, Spent Days Websurfing

Posted by Soulskill on Tuesday January 15, 2013 @10:19PM from the working-hard-or-hardly-working dept.

New submitter kju writes "The security blog of Verizon has the story of an investigation into unauthorized VPN access from China which led to unexpected findings. Investigators found invoices from a Chinese contractor who had actually done the work of the employee, who spent the day watching cat videos and visiting eBay and Facebook. The man had Fedexed his RSA token to the contractor and paid only about 1/5th of his income for the contracting service. Because he provided clean code on time, he was noted in his performance reviews to be the best programmer in the building. According to the article, the man had similar scams running with other companies."

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Part of me says, "Good!" by Maow · 2013-01-15 22:22 · Score: 5, Interesting

I'm a bit torn on TFS.
On one hand, companies outsource "our" jobs with absolutely no remorse at all.
On the other hand, ... fingers?
1. Re:Part of me says, "Good!" by Anonymous Coward · 2013-01-15 22:47 · Score: 5, Insightful
  
  well.. and the fact the employee here was collecting a 400% markup..
  employee did employer a favor.. proved his own job could be outsourced better at a fraction of his salary. fire the employee, keep the contractor.
2. Re:Part of me says, "Good!" by History's+Coming+To · 2013-01-15 23:28 · Score: 5, Insightful
  
  The major issue is handing over access keys to a corporate VPN to a random bloke in another country. Frankly, I'm quite impressed with the general concept, but introducing a huge security breach isn't going to make you popular, he should have just had the guy email him code and the ctrl-V it himself, cutting the security breach out, he'd probably never have been caught unless there was something unexpected in the code.
  
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3. Re:Part of me says, "Good!" by ByOhTek · 2013-01-16 00:40 · Score: 5, Insightful
  
  Yes, it's bad if the employee has 400% markup, but good business if the company does it.
  
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  Self proclaimed typo king, and inventor of the bear destroying coffee table (patent not pending).
4. Re:Part of me says, "Good!" by adrn01 · 2013-01-16 00:52 · Score: 5, Insightful
  
  Employee is in wrong position, if was able to successfully find / hire / manage a highly competent programmer in China.
5. Re:Part of me says, "Good!" by Anonymous Coward · 2013-01-16 00:54 · Score: 5, Funny
  
  Maybe the Chinese programmer didn't do it himself either, but hired an Indian programmer for 1/5 of what he got ...
6. Re:Part of me says, "Good!" by beowulfcluster · 2013-01-16 02:30 · Score: 5, Funny
  
  Maybe the Indian programmer hired a laid off American programmer who figured it was better than nothing.
7. Re:Part of me says, "Good!" by LordLimecat · 2013-01-16 02:45 · Score: 5, Insightful
  
  You mean, except for the whole "some random dude in another country now has his RSA ID and noone was the wiser", ya sure.
8. Re:Part of me says, "Good!" by BVis · 2013-01-16 02:47 · Score: 5, Insightful
  
  The major issue is a dishonest employee. While he may be crafty, he still took credit for others work and tried to cheat the system.
  That's the American Dream, 2013 style. Hard work only gets you more hard work, but exploiting the hard work of others makes you rich. As others have pointed out, employers do this all the time, and not only is it accepted, it's expected. But when a peon.. whoops, excuse me, the proper term is "an employee", turns the tables on them, well, we can't have that, can we. Companies don't like it when you don't eat the shit you're given.
  To me, yes, what this guy did was wrong and dishonest. But, to a lot of people, the only thing this guy did wrong was get caught. Companies that work the system (legally or not) are praised as 'innovative' and 'efficient', and the execs get huge bonuses while the people who do actual work struggle to make ends meet with their salaries that don't keep pace with inflation. And, should the companies get caught doing something that's actually illegal instead of just morally reprehensible, they pay a fine (which is generally less than the amount of savings/extra profit they realized through the illegal activity) and get a stern talking to. But, when this guy does the same thing, he loses his job, gets his reputation ruined, and may very well go to jail. God Bless America.
  
  --
  Never underestimate the power of stupid people in large groups.
9. Re:Part of me says, "Good!" by phillyclaude · 2013-01-16 04:16 · Score: 5, Funny
  
  it's programmers all the way down
  
  --
  A computer without a Microsoft operating system is like a dog without bricks tied to its head
10. Re:Part of me says, "Good!" by Luckyo · 2013-01-16 04:31 · Score: 5, Informative
  
  Well enough not to be found out for a long time and be found best coder of the workplace.
11. Re:Part of me says, "Good!" by cayenne8 · 2013-01-16 04:36 · Score: 5, Informative
  
  So money is the only thing that motivates you to work?
  
  Of course it is....? Are you kidding?
  I'd assume that is the case for most people out there.
  If I won the lottery tomorrow, with enough money to never work again, I'd be out of here so fast it would make your head swim.
  I'd likely not even bother coming back for my stuff at my desk (not that much there, nothing really personal).
  The only reason I work...is to earn as much money as possible, which gives me the means to pay for the life and lifestyle I enjoy. If I didn't have to burn hours working for money, I can tell you, I could easily spend the rest of my life pursing happiness to the fullest!!
  I like to travel, date various women, I have hobbies, I have TONS of things that I'd be doing every day if I didn't have to bother coming to a job to work.
  Why would anyone work if they didn't have to?
  I know there are some fringe cases out there, people who apparently actually define themselves by their jobs. They're also the ones that hit deep depression or get really overly upset if they lose their job, or something goes wrong at work at times.
  I've never understood that, I guess I never will.
  I'm defined by myself, and I really, really do LIKE myself....and would love to not have to work, and spend more time having fun and doing interesting things.
  Are you just joking, or do you actually work for any other reason than making money?
  
  --
  Light travels faster than sound. This is why some people appear bright until you hear them speak.........
Legality? by Anonymous Coward · 2013-01-15 22:24 · Score: 5, Interesting

Aside from the security issues, is such a thing legal in the US? I mean, are you required by contract to do the work you are paid for yourself?
1. Re:Legality? by crizh · 2013-01-15 23:35 · Score: 5, Funny
  
  Presumably the cost of the sub-contractor is deductible?
  
  --
  Trust The Computer, The Computer is your friend.
Scams? What Scams? He was the MOST effective... by Anonymous Coward · 2013-01-15 22:25 · Score: 5, Insightful

Not only was he the most effective employee in the company but he was managing a successful software consulting service providing services to several other local companies. He delivered the goods. In fact he was more successful at managing software outsourcing than most large companies are.
1. Re:Scams? What Scams? He was the MOST effective... by Anonymous Coward · 2013-01-15 22:52 · Score: 5, Insightful
  
  He probably was a decent coder because that it's ether random luck or he knew how to spot a decent/good programmer in the wild half a world away.
2. Re:Scams? What Scams? He was the MOST effective... by Weezul · 2013-01-15 23:15 · Score: 5, Insightful
  
  Yes, I'd consider this a fairly good resume for managerial positions : Efficient, check. Benefitted employer, check. Dishonest, check. etc. He should simply continue with his contracting company providing developer services for clients. In fact, it's almost pathological that he chose to sit in an office all day while doing this.
  
  --
  The Christian religion has been and still is the principal enemy of moral progress in the world. -- Bertrand Russell
But of course by Anonymous Coward · 2013-01-15 22:26 · Score: 5, Insightful

When corporations do it, it's efficient. When an actual human does it, it's a scam. Can this social order please collapse now? It's bankrupt.
1. Re:But of course by FatLittleMonkey · 2013-01-15 23:20 · Score: 5, Funny
  
  Nothing? Nothing?!
  Sir, he was a Manager!
  (He paid other people less than the work was worth, he routinely breached company IT security policy, and he spent all day watching cat videos. He was perfect. Give him fifteen years and he'll be CEO.)
  
  --
  Science is all about firing a drunk pig out of a cannon just to see what happens.
Re:Hmm by unix_core · 2013-01-15 22:29 · Score: 5, Funny

Maybe the guy in they fired in TFS is actually the guy who takes care of their database server.
Cheap Chinese Crap by ebonum · 2013-01-15 22:29 · Score: 5, Funny

You know all the stuff from China is cheap and poor quality. Bunch of lazy communists over there... "best programmer in the building" Oh wait. Never mind.
Subcontracting by Gabrill · 2013-01-15 22:30 · Score: 5, Insightful

What's the problem? Does the employee contract have a clause against subcontracting?

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Always going forward, 'cause we can't find reverse.
1. Re:Subcontracting by sesshomaru · 2013-01-15 22:37 · Score: 5, Insightful
  
  It sounds like it was an unauthorized access problem. Most companies you aren't allowed to let non-vetted people use their equipment or access their network.
  Of course, if he had brought his idea to the company and they had liked it, they'd have said, "Oh, ok, we'll fire you and hire him for a lower salary. Thanks for the idea."
  
  --
  "MIT betrayed all of its basic principles."
So, anybody got contact details... by Anonymous Coward · 2013-01-15 22:48 · Score: 5, Funny

...for this contractor who produces clean code, cheaply, on time?
Just for...you know, research purposes.
Re:Error establishing a database connection by vinayg18 · 2013-01-15 23:11 · Score: 5, Funny

Or that Slashdot still has the ability to slashdot websites.
Not news to me by Anonymous Coward · 2013-01-15 23:12 · Score: 5, Informative

We did something like this more than 7 years ago.
"We" being a team of developers in Eastern Europe. Our employers were two brothers who had moved to the US and had found IT jobs. We did their work for them and had time left over for side projects. Our team of 5 people got some fraction or other from their regular salaries and it was still a good wage for us. Things have changed in the last couple of years, but not by that much.
The Onion knew it in 2009 by mseeger · 2013-01-15 23:16 · Score: 5, Interesting

The Onion already knew about this back in 2009: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rYaZ57Bn4pQ
I call bullshit. by tofarr · 2013-01-15 23:36 · Score: 5, Interesting

This story sets off my bullshit radar. Too many things about it don't make sense: 1.) Why would "Bob" give full access to company resources to subcontractors? Were I to subcontract a job, at the very least I would want to review everything before it was committed - especially if I was taking responsibility for it. 2.) What would happen if a colleague asked "Bob" about his code? Or as regularly happens on all but the smallest of tasks he had to collaborate closely with another fellow developer? There is a level of knowledge that you get from being part of a development process that you don't get otherwise. This sounds to me like an advertisement for outsourcing services.
Bellman by water-vole · 2013-01-15 23:41 · Score: 5, Informative

The 18th century Swedish poet Carl Michael Bellman did something similar. The king of the time (Gustav III) liked his songs and gave him a really cushy job as head of the state lottery. Bellman new he would not be able to hold down a job so he employed someone else to actually do the work and he lived from the difference of what he got from the king and what he paid the person doing the work. He spent most of his time in pubs and wrote an enormous number of drinking songs. He is the Swedish equivalent of Robert Burns.
In the words of Steve Jobs by moniker127 · 2013-01-15 23:42 · Score: 5, Funny

Good coders copy, great coders outsource.
Monday is going to suck... by ayahner · 2013-01-15 23:57 · Score: 5, Funny

When they realize they canned their "best programmer"
Of course, this is not unusual by SmallFurryCreature · 2013-01-16 00:01 · Score: 5, Interesting

Take music. The CD's are produced in China to lower costs, this is legal. You buy them from China, ILLEGAL PIRACY!
Outsource production, perfectly legal. Buy imports, pay max taxes including taxes on shipping PLUS a customs fee PLUS a fee for the shipping agency ON TOP of the shipment fee for it all... AND STILL it is often cheaper...
The global economy is there to benefit the rich, not the poor.

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UMAD? employer's just jelly. by Thud457 · 2013-01-16 02:48 · Score: 5, Funny

This sounds like something Wally from "Dilbert" would do.

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the preceding comment is my own and in no way reflects the opinion of the Joint Chiefs of Staff