Hacking into your former paper's website?

[gravehunter]

Has anyone heard of anything like this happening?

A former employee, who claims to be one of the top sports writers in the country (and he says that with a straight face), left the paper to take a job with another paper out of state. The other night, he covers a story in his new city and decides to post a copy of his story on our website.
Evidently, his logon information was never killed and he was able to get back into the system.

If you knew the guy, it wouldn't come as a complete shock that he would even try something like this, but isn't that like a pretty serious offense? Aside from removing his access the site, I would think that some legal issues would come into play...and the story in question was pretty ****ty.

 

[TheSportsPredictor]

That's not hacking.

 

[Versatile]

Yeah, it's not hacking since you left his permissions up, but it is ridiculous. Tell his new bosses immediately.

 

[jr/shotglass]

I'd post a story on your website uncovering the guy for the douche he is.

 

[LongTimeListener]

What kind of amateurs don't deactivate an account the moment a person leaves the company? Maybe the publisher and editor should channel their anger into hiring at least one part-time IT person who doesn't work in India.

 

[YankeeFan]

What kind of amateurs don't deactivate an account the moment a person leaves the company? Maybe the publisher and editor should channel their anger into hiring at least one part-time IT person who doesn't work in India.

When I "resigned" from Continental Airlines to "pursue other opportunities" they didn't lock me out of my email right away.

I was able to "reply all" to the email that was sent out announcing my resignation. It was pretty awesome.

At the Devil Rays, they were locking you out of your computer at the very moment you resigned/got fired.

 

[Walter Lippmann]

If Deadspin doesn't have a story up soon, this didn't happen.

 

[TheSportsPredictor]

My sister worked at a place where you needed keycards to get in. They were laying off people, deactivating their keycards, and escorting them out. Well, one woman walked out with another person to commiserate on the latter's layoff. While she was outside, her card was also deactivated. That's how she found out she was being laid off.

 

[Baron Scicluna]

When I "resigned" from Continental Airlines to "pursue other opportunities" they didn't lock me out of my email right away.

I was able to "reply all" to the email that was sent out announcing my resignation. It was pretty awesome.

At the Devil Rays, they were locking you out of your computer at the very moment you resigned/got fired.

Did you send something nasty to everyone, or was it a polite goodbye?

 

[Versatile]

You really need to ask?

 

[YankeeFan]

I kept it classy. I just didn't like my boss getting the last word, and she really didn't like it that I did get the last word.

Here's her email:

Sent: 5/4/2004 11:22 AM
Subject: Brand Marketing Staffing Changes

Hello everyone. I wanted to let you know that YankeeFan has resigned to pursue other opportunities. While we will miss him I am very happy to report that we are promoting AstrosFan to the Sponsorship Manager position. AstrosFan has been with Continental for over 7 years and most recently was the Senior Analyst of Sponsorships. I am sure each of you has had a chance to work with AstrosFan over the years but if you have not, you will find him to be smart, strategic and extremely personable.

Ill be back in touch with celebration plans but in the meantime please congratulate AstrosFan on a promotion well deserved.

Thanks!
Not a YankeeFan

And, my reply:

From: YankeeFan
Sent: Tuesday, May 04, 2004 8:24 PM
Subject: RE: Brand Marketing Staffing Changes

Yes, it's true. My tenure at Continental has come to an all too abrupt end.

But by leaving sat this time, I'd like to think that I'm following the advice of former GE Chairman & CEO Jack Welch when he said, "change before you have to."

I've enjoyed my time at Continental immensely. I've learned a lot and traveled to far-flung locals that I never imagined that I'd visit.

But, what I'll miss most are the people that I've worked with. Continental Airlines, and the marketing department in particular, is blessed with some of the finest individuals I've ever had the pleasure to meet. Continental is lucky to have you and I was lucky to have worked with you.

I'm not sure what the future holds for me, but I hope that I'll be able to keep in touch with many of you.

You can reach me on my cell phone at (xxx) xxx-xxxx or by email at [email protected] and for those of you who would like to join me, a group of us will be gathering next Wednesday, the 12th, at the Crown Plaza for a proper send off.

I'd also like to congratulate AstrosFan on his promotion. He's more than earned it.

Lastly, I'd like to thank everyone for their support & kind words. It means a great deal to me.

YankeeFan

 

[LongTimeListener]

Your typos are endearing even in a professional environment.

 

[YankeeFan]

I meant to fix them before posting here, but forgot to.

 

[playthrough]

I've never heard of a news organization failing to cut off an employee's passwords/doorcodes/logins more than .0001 second after a layoff, and we've heard a stadium full of such stories here. It's the one thing they always cover their asses on.

 

[Moderator1]

Until last week, I had full access to Washington Times email. Had dinner with one of my former writers who left soon after I did. He still has access.
Some companies are slow about some stuff.

 

[RecoveringJournalist]

Until last week, I had full access to Washington Times email. Had dinner with one of my former writers who left soon after I did. He still has access.
Some companies are slow about some stuff.

I had email access to my first paper five years after I left. I found out when I got an email sent to my personal email saying that my mailbox was full.

 

[Ace]

The Continental coffee was always the best.

 

[YankeeFan]

The Continental coffee was always the best.

Haha. Timothy's coffee.

They were the first chain in NYC to have a lot of outlets, and we were trying to be very New York centric.

At the time, I really wasn't much of a coffee drinker.

 

[Ace]

It would be very easy for a disgruntled ex-employee to get into most paper's systems, especially if they planned ahead and/or knew other people's codes.

 

[lantaur]

I'm still trying to figure out why someone would post a story on a former website. Was this just a straight up story? Does he/she realize page views are being taken away from the new place and being given to the old. Maybe I am just misunderstanding what happened here.