I’ve worked with massive customer databases of over a million people multiple times in jobs I’ve had. And while each company has spent tens-of-thousands of dollars in cyber security to protect that data from outside hackers, none have given any fucks at all about who accessed it internally or what they do with it.
I’ve literally exported the entire customer database in two different jobs, dropped the CSV into my personal Google Drive (from my work computer), and worked entire databases at home.
No one has ever known I’ve done it, cared, or checked if I have any customer personal data when I quit.
Sounds like the company doesn’t have a clue about cyber security then. Tens of thousands is a piddling infosec budget for anything but a tiny company. Also, Insider threats, malicious or otherwise, should always be on an infosec professional’s radar.
Companies not giving a shit about cyber security is probably not a secret but it is still pretty common, I think, so nobody should be surprised when there are major breaches.
Infosec is usually seen as an expense that cuts into profits. Assuming top level management and the board give a shit about security that’s great but often the risk isn’t fully appreciated at the top or is managed poorly.
Adequate infosec requires a company to have very mature processes across the board in IT (and likely beyond). C-level “buy in” isn’t enough. If the C level management and board doesn’t actively demand it, infosec will lose out to myriad other priorities every time.
The big tell is the org structure. If the CISO reports to the CEO, great. If they’re reporting to the CIO, CFO, etc., that can cause conflicts of interest. It can still work. If there is no CISO or they are the same person as the CIO, or if infosec reports several levels down in the org–beware!
This exact scenario is in our annual training. Also I wouldn’t be able to in the first place because we block those kinds of sites. Even if we didn’t they would likely detect it and come a-knocking lol.
Lol same here. Some for ecomm, but the most egregious was underwriting PPP loans. There was a database none of us could access after the loans were underwritten and sent to processing. But most of those documents came in thru the portal and we had to download that package and combine it with anything we got in email… Tax forms, IDs, and all the most sensitive personal info as a lot of businesses that applied were sole proprietors. All those documents say on my local HDD and I catalogued them in case they were needed again.
None of that was handled securely, it was on my home network with no VPN, and after the project was over very suddenly I sat on that laptop for 6 months until they sent a return label. I was a good worker but it was a mass hire and not a lot of vetting that happened.
I’ve worked with massive customer databases of over a million people multiple times in jobs I’ve had. And while each company has spent tens-of-thousands of dollars in cyber security to protect that data from outside hackers, none have given any fucks at all about who accessed it internally or what they do with it.
I’ve literally exported the entire customer database in two different jobs, dropped the CSV into my personal Google Drive (from my work computer), and worked entire databases at home.
No one has ever known I’ve done it, cared, or checked if I have any customer personal data when I quit.
Sounds like the company doesn’t have a clue about cyber security then. Tens of thousands is a piddling infosec budget for anything but a tiny company. Also, Insider threats, malicious or otherwise, should always be on an infosec professional’s radar.
Companies not giving a shit about cyber security is probably not a secret but it is still pretty common, I think, so nobody should be surprised when there are major breaches.
Infosec is usually seen as an expense that cuts into profits. Assuming top level management and the board give a shit about security that’s great but often the risk isn’t fully appreciated at the top or is managed poorly.
Adequate infosec requires a company to have very mature processes across the board in IT (and likely beyond). C-level “buy in” isn’t enough. If the C level management and board doesn’t actively demand it, infosec will lose out to myriad other priorities every time.
The big tell is the org structure. If the CISO reports to the CEO, great. If they’re reporting to the CIO, CFO, etc., that can cause conflicts of interest. It can still work. If there is no CISO or they are the same person as the CIO, or if infosec reports several levels down in the org–beware!
Yeah, if I did what he did, I’d be in jail. I would be caught quickly.
There are only a few ways to get immediately fired from my employer, and that’s one of them.
This exact scenario is in our annual training. Also I wouldn’t be able to in the first place because we block those kinds of sites. Even if we didn’t they would likely detect it and come a-knocking lol.
That sounds highly illegal depending on what’s on the databases.
Lol same here. Some for ecomm, but the most egregious was underwriting PPP loans. There was a database none of us could access after the loans were underwritten and sent to processing. But most of those documents came in thru the portal and we had to download that package and combine it with anything we got in email… Tax forms, IDs, and all the most sensitive personal info as a lot of businesses that applied were sole proprietors. All those documents say on my local HDD and I catalogued them in case they were needed again.
None of that was handled securely, it was on my home network with no VPN, and after the project was over very suddenly I sat on that laptop for 6 months until they sent a return label. I was a good worker but it was a mass hire and not a lot of vetting that happened.