I used to think, 'Company secrets are probably well protected, right?' but it turns out that might not be the case after all 💭
Apparently, a former Intel engineer downloaded around 18,000 of the company's 'top secret' files right before being fired and then just vanished into thin air 😳✨
Wait, You Can Take That Many Files Out?
Normally, when someone is leaving or being fired, you'd expect their access to company systems to be cut off, right? But it seems this person had normal access to company information right up until the day they were fired 🤔
And 18,000 files... that's a crazy amount, right? 🥺
What kind of files? Things like CPU blueprints, manufacturing process details - basically everything a company would absolutely not want to get out 💡
Why Didn't the Company Notice?
This is the scary part - it appears the company's internal information management was pretty lax. You'd think something like 'Hey, an unusually huge number of files are being downloaded all at once!' would be immediately flagged, but that didn't happen this time 😮💨
Maybe they were too focused on the firing process and farewell procedures, and access control got pushed to the back burner.
Times like these are exactly when security should be handled with extra care... that's what I thought 💭
Do Incidents Like This Happen Elsewhere?
Actually, cases like this aren't that rare in the IT industry, apparently.
Especially when technical staff have access to core company technology, information tends to walk out the door when people leave, or so they say.
So companies really need to be super careful about 'employee access management' and 'information protection during departures,' right? ✨
To Summarize:
- A former employee took out a massive amount of secret files right before being fired
- Intel's information management might have been a bit too relaxed
- Companies need much stricter access controls when people leave
- Apparently, incidents like this are actually quite common in the IT industry 😮
Information leaks are something you see in the news, but it's not just some distant problem - it could happen close to home, I realized once again 🥺✨
It's a bit of a scary story, but precisely because things like this happen, I hope it gives everyone a chance to think about their own work and information management 💗
Hatena
Comments
ハンナ
The fact that the company is only seeking $250,000 in damages suggests these weren't really that 'top secret' after all.
レオ
So China will probably release their own homemade CPU with the same issues as Intel within six months.
ノーラン
Intel is out.
ハンナ
This was completely preventable.
ジョージ
I bet Intel's most important file was actually a PDF on how to use science or magic to go back to 1998.
クリス
I got laid off two years ago and still have admin rights to almost all accounts. Looks like the company does too.
ミア
They probably got some pretty good information.
ロバート
When a company publicly admits they can't find the culprit, it means the culprit is really gone.
ハンナ
Looks like they learned from the company. 'Zero loyalty, full greed, as long as I profit, everyone else can burn.'
ロバート
He probably had his reasons.
グレース
Not surprised. Companies like this should think carefully about who they fire.
リリー
He's probably already back in China.
ハンナ
First, they're only suing for $250k, so the damage might be minimal. Calling it 'top secret' is overkill.
グレース
Second, the fact that the title doesn't mention he's a Chinese engineer probably means there's some reason they can't blame China.
リリー
That's the risk of betraying someone who's been loyal for years. The board should have known that when they made their decision.
