At some point someone in this case is going to have to wake up and smell the coffee. The type of systems, networks and infrastructure that this admin was responsible for are no different than any other large company or city’s/municipality’s networks anywhere else. They are very complicated requiring specialized knowledge, experience, and skill.

So what do we have here, after much personal investigation into the matter this is what I find…

The admin established security protocol and everything was fine – until users started to bark. The real problem here is control, who has it and who feels a lack thereof. This is a common problem in the IT work environment and this case may help to bring the problem into focus a bit. The problem of non-technical employees requesting/demanding access to resources that they do not currently have or need. This is by design and is the way things should be. The ultimate IT sin? Providing the Administrator’s Username & Password to ANY unauthorized person – even if that means law enforcement.

Security policy is established early on and is adhered to strictly – no exceptions. A title does not automatically grant security clearance to anyone in any environment. This is important stuff because we are not talking about mom’s recipe or your girlfriend’s diary. We are talking about highly secure, private and often sensitive data that is not meant to be seen by just anyone. These systems are no different in relation to this argument than highly secured (one should hope) government and Department of Defense networks. They deserve the same treatment and respect thereof; a strict and enforced security policy. The administrator, or individual(s) in charge of that system should also be afforded the respect of the users to lay off the “entitled” BS.

Administrators are unsung heroes tasked, on a day-to-day basis, to keep businesses running smoothly; protecting them from constant dangers and multi-tasking in ways that most people don’t or won’t acknowledge. Admins often have to perform “magic” to comply with very often unrealistic and down-right ridiculous requests from users, managers and most off all…CEO’s and presidents.

Every bit of work that is performed anywhere in the world by admins and support technicians takes planning, engineering, development and testing to get right. It doesn’t happen in days but more often weeks and months. That is the nature of IT work – plain and simple.

It does not surprise me then to read that this admin was determined to prevent “lamens,” or users, from potentially compromising any of the systems he was responsible for maintaining. Especially when it is government employees he is dealing with!

Take a moment to reflect: Think of what would happen to the economic world if all of the Administrators (read: people who know what they are doing) in the world Unionized! Think about it. Cases like these are the kind that spur workers into forming unions that can protect them and stand up to the unrealistic demands society often places on its workers – especially the societal “infrastructure” workers such as this admin.

People like this defendant wear 17 hats a day to most peoples’ one or two. They are expected to perform miracles that even Scotty would be hard pressed to pull off.
As an IT Director for a company that provides small to large businesses end-to-end network, user and systems support solutions (read:contracted IT Administration), I am deeply disturbed by the lack of reason and logic taking place in this case.

This was a very funny development yes – and every bit ironic. It is also a very sad statement concerning the “lamen’s” place in the technical world.

There are reasons why Administrators do the things they do; why they seem “arrogant”, “power-mad”, even belligerent at times. It is because they know what they are doing….the rest do not. Don’t take it personally – it is what it is.

The fact that this solitary individual holds the keys to the kingdom, however, is rather unsettling to me. That is a simple management issue though and should have been handled internally – nothing to make a case over.

Ultimately a multi-tiered system of administrators and key holders is the industry accepted and standard method of maintaining unbiased, secure and intelligent control of a network or system. As far as control goes – it sounds to me like a lot of people working within the network are just a little too upset about some “geek” having more influence, power and control over the city than they do. This is as it should be where IT systems are concerned. Let the professionals do their jobs. I can only assume the defendant holds the Administrator position because he earned it and knows what he is doing – which is a lot more than any of the users of that network can say I would bet.

I certainly would not higher a cop to do this Administrator’s job anymore than I would higher a chemist to patrol our streets.

We are talking about our government though so it is not surprising to see these developments in this case. Suffice it to say, IT technicians, PC support persons, engineers, network admins, programmers, etc….have very difficult jobs to do. By many estimates and statistics that are publicly available, these are some of the most demanding and stressful jobs on the planet. I salute the defendant and wish him luck. Indeed, I fear the outcome of this case as anything other than complete exoneration would set a very dangerous precedent.