Arrested network admin holds SF city FiberWAN network hostage

An inexplicably motivated San Francisco city computer engineer is in the middle of a bizarre Thermopylaean stand-off against city officials, with his total and complete control of the city's FiberWAN network as his own personal Hot Gates.

According to the SF Gate, Terry Childs — a 43 year old network admin who lives in Pittsburg — created a password that gave him exclusive and total control to the FiberWAN system, which records such data as official city emails, payroll files and law enforcement documents. Childs apparently put together his ace-in-the-hole after he was disciplined a few months ago for poor performance, and was almost fired.

Once suspicion started to mount against Childs, the police were called in and he was asked for the master password. He gave them several dummy codes, then flat-out refused to give police the real one, prompting his arrest. He's facing four felony charges and a $1 million bond.

His motives are inscrutable. City officials are worried that he's going to somehow send the password to a co-conspirator, who will then go on a massive purging sweep of the FiberWAN network, deleting hundreds of thousands of incriminating files and bringing the network to its knees. But except for his own hubris, Childs seems like he has everything to lose by not giving back the password: as a deterrent from being fired, it seems like the scheme has epically failed.

Are we looking at one middle-aged network admin's own personal, Dr. Strangelove-esque Doomsday Device? If so, awesome

S.F. officials locked out of computer network [SF Gate]

Discussion

Take a look at this

#1 posted by Marley9 , July 16, 2008 5:13 AM

I think the pay and EAP programs for his peers are going to start to increase.

But his story is epic fail, indeed.

#2 posted by SamF , July 16, 2008 7:15 AM

Well, at least he wasn't eaten by dilophosaurs.

#3 posted by bardfinn , July 16, 2008 9:50 AM

So, when it comes out that he previously pointed out this poor design issue (A single point of control with no two-man control and no recovery) to his superiors, who dismissed it as irrelevant, will any of them be disciplined for poor performance?

He's already going to spend a considerable amount of his life in prison, owing money to officials, and never work in the field again.

What, precisely, is his motivation to disclose the password, thereby letting the incompetent management off the hook for their part in this fiasco?

#4 posted by bbonyx , July 16, 2008 1:12 PM

I worked with a Cisco admin a few jobs ago. Great guy, really funny. When the layoffs started he joked (I emphasize, he was just joking) that if they walk him out his response will be:
"You have 20 minutes to get everything shut down"
I didn't understand what he meant until he explained that he could make it home in 20 minutes and if they didn't have the servers shut down by then, he'd be back in remotely and bring the company to its knees. I laughed so hard I almost coughed up a kidney. Great guy. And no, he was never laid off nor did he have any need to retaliate.

#5 posted by Anonymous , July 16, 2008 2:43 PM

This is why you don't let liberal government idiots control computer systems.

In the corporate world, single individuals can't do this kind of damage, because we design our systems and policies on the theory that someone will one day attempt this maneuver.

#6 posted by Improbus , July 16, 2008 4:25 PM

My IT department treats me like a jack of all trades. As a result of wearing multiple hats I have the power, if I so wish, to erase all company data stored on servers and destroy the backups. Not that I would do it ... but I can. I'm not to worried about being laid off though. I will be one of the last out the door if it comes to that.

As for the guy in the article. His haggis is already in the fire what does he have to lose?

#7 posted by colonel gentleman , July 16, 2008 5:34 PM

Wasn't this the plot of Live Free Or Die Hard?

#8 posted by Santa's Knee , July 16, 2008 7:45 PM

Fire Sale!

#9 posted by John Brownlee , July 17, 2008 1:15 AM

"What, precisely, is his motivation to disclose the password, thereby letting the incompetent management off the hook for their part in this fiasco?"

What are you talking about? The cops told him give him the password or they'd throw him in jail. He didn't give them the password. What do you THINK his motivation would have been?

There's also the motivation of not adding felony counts and money you can be sued for to the already extensive charges. He could strike a deal if he gave them the password. He's basically just alienating everyone who could actually help him make this a mistake that lands him 2 years in jail versus being a mistake that lands him in jail for 20.

#10 posted by Anonymous , July 17, 2008 1:51 AM

I've worked with Terry, and honestly he is a knowledgeable and helpful guy. All of us have *thought* about it once or twice, haven't we? I suspect that there is quite a lot more to this story that isn't being told.

#11 posted by boingboing ate my name , July 17, 2008 5:35 AM

City officials are worried that he's going to somehow send the password to a co-conspirator...

Its never just a conspirator anymore is it? Well, lets hope his co-partner in crime will give the password up.

#12 posted by Bloo , July 17, 2008 4:29 PM

What happens if the SF network comes under some sort of attack (DDOS or whatever) requiring network admin help and he doesn't help? Is he liable, in a civil suit sense, for damages?

#13 posted by bardfinn , July 23, 2008 1:25 PM

I'd just like to say - I called it:

http://it.slashdot.org/it/08/07/23/1515203.shtml

"Childs intends to 'expose the utter mismanagement, negligence, and corruption at DTIS, which if left unchecked, will in fact place the City of San Francisco in danger,' according to his motion."

I was working under the assumption that with or without "cooperating" with the police, his career and much of his life were forfeit. I thought he probably had a goal - this goal.

#14 posted by mdhatter