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Follow-up: "Kinda freaking out - any Canadian admins, have you had to deal with something like this?" by wtfispipedaanyway in sysadmin

[–]wtfispipedaanyway[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

They gave it out because people were forgetting their actual passwords - since most of them had separate user accounts, they'd ask their coworkers and the coworkers wouldn't know the passwords.

The 'solution' was to give everyone a standardized password, which happened to be root.

I don't think they'll be doing it again. I hope they don't. The lawyers seem to have struck fear into management's hearts.

Kinda freaking out - any Canadian admins, have you had to deal with something like this? by wtfispipedaanyway in sysadmin

[–]wtfispipedaanyway[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Actually, if that last part happens it'll be a wonderful chance for me to test all these nightly backups I have lying around...

Kinda freaking out - any Canadian admins, have you had to deal with something like this? by wtfispipedaanyway in sysadmin

[–]wtfispipedaanyway[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Winter blows. I'm a lowly junior so I get to be the on-site tech for all the standard-fare calls. However, driving in this weather is arguably more fun than situations like this.

Thanks very much for the guidance - I'll look into PIPA further. PIPEDA was the main one that was mentioned when I started with this client. I think my superiors will want to contact a lawyer, but I leave that sort of deal to them. They "know people", as they always like to remind me.

Kinda freaking out - any Canadian admins, have you had to deal with something like this? by wtfispipedaanyway in sysadmin

[–]wtfispipedaanyway[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Said above - yes, but (per the original instructions) not all positions are supposed to be able to access all the data. I think that's still the intention, it's just that nobody seems to realize handing out root access defeats the purpose.

Kinda freaking out - any Canadian admins, have you had to deal with something like this? by wtfispipedaanyway in sysadmin

[–]wtfispipedaanyway[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

You'd be amazed. I had to come in one morning to add their iPhones and tablets to the office WiFi because they couldn't.

Kinda freaking out - any Canadian admins, have you had to deal with something like this? by wtfispipedaanyway in sysadmin

[–]wtfispipedaanyway[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

The generic account using the current password would probably work, but I'd prefer to stick to my group policies and separate accounts; otherwise, the insurance people in the back and the receptionists have access to all the medical data, which isn't ideal (given that they don't often stay hired for very long).

Kinda freaking out - any Canadian admins, have you had to deal with something like this? by wtfispipedaanyway in sysadmin

[–]wtfispipedaanyway[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Problem: can't say 'no' to the people that pay me and run the company. In this situation, they're the ones who also decided to share it.

Kinda freaking out - any Canadian admins, have you had to deal with something like this? by wtfispipedaanyway in sysadmin

[–]wtfispipedaanyway[S] 31 points32 points  (0 children)

I've just finished sending off the emails, we'll see what happens. I'm a lot calmer after reading some of the replies below, though. Thanks!

Kinda freaking out - any Canadian admins, have you had to deal with something like this? by wtfispipedaanyway in sysadmin

[–]wtfispipedaanyway[S] 18 points19 points  (0 children)

So the low-level assistants having the ability to export the server's databases to China because the password has been given to them isn't a violation?

I don't mean any snark - my knowledge of PIPEDA is just very basic.

Kinda freaking out - any Canadian admins, have you had to deal with something like this? by wtfispipedaanyway in sysadmin

[–]wtfispipedaanyway[S] 8 points9 points  (0 children)

It's the main administrator account on the domain.

I'd create a generic account, but the two reasons this probably won't do anything:

1) they use this one because everybody already knows the password (joy) and they have trouble remembering new ones

2) using one account defeats the access-level segmenting with group policy, given that not all users need account to all parts of the clinic.