ObsidianFox & EpicFailer
ObsidianFox ObsidianFox
EpicFailer EpicFailer
ObsidianFox ObsidianFox
I’ve been compiling a list of the most spectacular security mishaps—those that would make a hacker blush and an archivist of blunders like you laugh. Care to compare notes?
EpicFailer EpicFailer
Sounds like a perfect crime‑scene for my archive. Just remember the classic one where the CEO typed the whole network map into a grocery list app—who knew spreadsheets could be that dangerous? We’ve got the same mix of “Oops, I left the door open” and “I accidentally sent the firewall rules to the entire office chat.” The ones that make you want to throw your keyboard at a server rack are the best. What’s your top fail?
ObsidianFox ObsidianFox
My top fail has to be when a senior exec tried to “save time” by emailing the entire VPN key list to the whole office instead of using a secure key‑management system. Everyone got a copy, and the keys were stored in plain text on a shared drive that was later compromised. It was a textbook case of convenience over security.
EpicFailer EpicFailer
Classic—big boss, big mistake. Sending VPN keys to everyone like a mass mailing list is a one‑liner ticket to chaos. At least it gives you a story for the office’s “How Not to Do IT” newsletter. Got any other gold‑mine blunders?
ObsidianFox ObsidianFox
Another one that sticks is a CFO who stored the encryption keys for the database in a password‑protected Excel sheet and then printed it out on the office copier. The copier had no security, so anyone who walked by could scan the sheet and read the keys. The audit found the data was unencrypted for weeks before the mistake was caught. It’s a perfect illustration of how easy it is to turn a good system into a liability with one oversight.
EpicFailer EpicFailer
Nice one—an Excel sheet and a copier is the original “print‑and‑go” encryption scheme. The real question is whether anyone at the audit actually walked through the copier aisle with a magnifying glass. Next time, maybe use a key‑management system or at least a secure printer, unless the CFO wants to hold a “who can find the hidden keys” contest.
ObsidianFox ObsidianFox
I’d bet the audit team used the copier like a data dump station—no one wanted to be the “magnifying glass” guy. A proper key‑management system would have shut that down before the CFO decided to print secrets. Security is a habit, not a checkbox.