What Do bitter Network Administrators Do
When They Are Unemployed
by Doug Chick
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Federal authorities have cracked
the case of an international hacker who broke into roughly 100 unclassified
U.S. military networks over the past year, officials said.
 A
bored unemployed network administrator might be a hazard to himself. There
are a lot of computer people that are out of work right now with little to
do but scan the Internet. To go from running like a mad man for a bunch of
imbeciles to suddenly being out of work because your employer wanted to
reduce the cost of the IT department can sometimes leave a computer
professional a very disgruntled hacker.
When end-users ask me to do something as ridiculous as break into someone's
mail or maliciously impregnate someone that they dislike with a virus, I
always respond by saying, "I only use my powers for good." It's a
nicer response than saying "I'd rather not risk jail for someone that I
don't know or like." But if you're out of work, bored and see no
prospects ahead of you, your value system may miraculously change over
night.
I know a couple of Networkers that despise SPAMMERS. They hate SPAM, people
that send SPAM and go out of their way to make these people's lives a little
more unbearable. I also know a network administrator / hacker that sends
SPAM, he too used to hate unsolicited e-mail and anyone associated with
it...that is until he found himself without a job. Having above average
computer abilities and being interviewed for positions that are beneath you
by people that don't have one-tenth your knowledge and then to not hire you
because you are over qualified will change a person. It can turn a network
administrator that only uses his or her powers for good, to a hacker/Spamer
that manages the network for a porn site. I'm not suggesting that if you
lose your job you'll be a smack junkie, Spam pushing porn pimp, striped from
all of your certifications and cursed to wander the information highway like
a hobo. (You may have to read that sentence again.) What I am saying is
don't be too judgmental of other computer people in a bad economic market.
I'm also not justifying the actions of the systems administrator in England
whose headlines began this article. People like him are self-destructive and
end their computer careers in jail playing spot the submarine in the men's
lavatory against their will. Or not, I'm not judging anyone. But the
potential to use your networking skills out of boredom or resentment is not
going to make anyone's situation better. Unless of course, using the hot
squat sit down dance as a means of travel every time you exit a prison
shower is your bag.
An experienced Network Administrator has the tools and knowledge to do a lot
of damage if they were so inclined. Many network administrators will joke
around with the idea or may even find his or her happy place in moments of
stress by thinking about all the possibilities, but rarely do they ever act
on it. Those that do act on their evil side cause a lot of other computer
people overtime that they would rather spend with their families.
Overnight it seems the world got more complicated than it should have and we
are all unwilling participants in a political game that I somehow lost sight
of, and it makes me a little nervous. Because of today's global tensions,
hacking corporate and government computers just for the fun of it will carry
serious penalties. If you are a bored or disgruntled computer person, you
better think twice before you end up like the bored bloke that's going to
get deported to the states.
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your comments to dougchick@thenetworkadministrator.com