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boss ordered not release admin password

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by shipeev

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Hi all,
my boss ordered me to change administrator password on our customer server and not to release it to customer. Is that legal?
Server and network belongs to customer and in their office.

to me its like mechanic changes the key to the car and not giving it to the car owner.
But my boss says- this is my order. I am signing you pay chek and I responsible for that not you.
what I should do?
thanks.

13 replies

by thechas

The Admin password is more like placing a lock on the hood rather than taking away the keys.

Am I correct in my suspicion that you have a lot of service calls for 'problems' that are caused by the customer not knowing what they are doing?

Elsewise, there could be financial, or contractual issues with the customer that your boss has not shared with you.

I would go ahead and follow instructions.
You may damage your relationship with your peer at the customer. But, you will still have your job.

When they call to complain, see if you can transfer the call to your boss. He should be the one to explain why they do not have the admin password, not you.

Chas

by road-dog

meets the eye. Your company might be contractually liable for service interruption and having the customer using Admin privileges exposes your company to risk.

If day to day admin responsibility is maintained by your company, then securing the password is a valid part of the deal.

This may not be sinister in the least. You may want to ask your supervisor how to answer the customer's questions should the issue arise onsite. This is justifiable under the circumstances.

Good luck

by maxwell edison

The Chas is right in pointing out that you work for your boss, not your client. Your boss is the one who works for your client. And he (or she) may have a perfectly good reason for doing such a thing. People do tinker with computers and screw them up. Even if he doesn't have a good reason, you should really follow his instructions.

As far as being illegal, I rather doubt it. I've never heard of such a law. But legal and libel are two different things. Being libel, now that may be another issue. Now-a-days anyone can sue anyone for anything, or so it seems. And I have heard of cases (not necessarily technology related) where lower tier people had to spend some $$$ on attorneys to represent them for things done by upper management. Attorneys sometimes use the shotgun approach - spreading out their potential targets - hoping one of them will bleed. It would certainly be a stretch to hold you (instead of your boss) accountable in any kind if civil action, but I think it's sad to say that it's not totally outside the realm of possibility. (Even though it is highly unlikely.) So a short written memo or email (something in writing) to your boss could cover your culpability in that regard.

Hey Boss,
I understand that you don't want me to give so-and-so the password for their server, and I'll certainly follow your instructions. But I'm not sure what to tell so-and-so if they specifically ask me for it. What should I do if that happens?

Thanks,
Your lowly servant

By theway, if you question what your boss does - especially if this is not an isolated incident - perhaps it's time to freshen up the old resume and look for other opportunities.

by generalist

There may be a chance that there are other security problems involved and the customer requested that your boss change the administrator password.

If the customer can state that nobody on their site knew the password, then anybody outside your organization who gets in would be breaking in illegally. And since I suspect that your access to the site is tracked, the customer would be able to prove that fact.

by tbragsda

I concur with the other posters. I will add that a number of places I have consulted for, I have provided the password in a sealed envelope, given to the Pres, CEO COO, etc. This way, they have the password if they fire me, I get hit by a bus etc.But there's no question whether the seal was broken, and password exposed.

by ed

why do you have a problem with this as you work for a company you must do as your boss asks.

Any problems will rest with him. If you think you will be blamed for this and tell the customer what you have to do, see how long you keep your job.

by shipeev

sorry I did not explained that-
he gave me that order because one of the clients was arguing regarding last invoice(I do believe boss increased rate).
And he want to tell customer that if he did not pay he never get the password.
Thats the reasonfor order.
In my opiniom this is like prevent owner from using his/her property. And what would be my role here?
thanks all for responce, I realy appreciate that guys.

by maxwell edison

Legal implies that there’s a law or statute prohibiting certain behavior. For example, there are written laws prohibiting murder, assault, and driving over the posted speed limit. So what you are asking is this: Is there a written law prohibiting a consultant from withholding a password from a client (Or something more general). Would the police come in and arrest him for this?

Imagine this scenario:

"Hello, Police Department. This is John Q. Customer. I want to report a crime. Charlie Consultant won't give me my password. Will you please arrest him?"

Well, suffice it to say that a call like that would make the rounds among the police officers, but not as a crime to be dealt with, but rather a joke they could all laugh about. So no, it is not illegal.

Now libel, that's another issue. Could John Q. Customer bring a lawsuit against Charlie Consultant and ask for civil damages? Sure he could.

Imagine this scenario:

"Hello, Larry Lawyer. This is one of your clients, John Q. Customer. Charlie Consultant did some computer work for me, and he won’t give me my password. I'm not going to pay the bill until he does, but he won't give me the password until I pay the bill. In the meantime, I was denied access to my server and it prevented me from doing such and such, and as a result I lost some business. It cost me a lot of money in revenue. Can I sue him for a million dollars to recover the damages I incurred?"

Needless to say, some lawyers would salivate over a call like that (since they get a percentage of the damages), and a lawsuit could be filed in civil court in a heartbeat - if, of course, the claim has merit.

But my guess is that your boss would say, “I don’t give a rat’s behind. Let the jerk sue me.”

Bottom line: Do what your boss tells you to do unless you want to risk losing your job.

by thechas

While I admire your sense of responsibility to the client, your first responsibility (in a business relationship) is to your Boss.

I suspected that a billing issue was at the root of the order.

One question, does your firm simply provide support, or do you have 'custom' software installed on the clients server?

If you have 'custom' software installed, you are simply protecting your firms 'intellectual property' by restricting the password.

You should not have any personal legal issues in this, unless, you refuse to follow the bosses orders.

Chas

by admin

that the quickest way for someone in authority to fix a problem with their orders was to follow them exactly.

:)

by dbgirl

It has always worked well for me. Of course, the attempt is generally made to turn the blame on me for the results. So don't forget to CYA (Cover Your Assets), and get the order IN WRITING!

by shipeev

100%% of you said- follow the orders.
well, what if boss says go and steal something?
who will go to jail in that case? probably the person who actually stole, right?

to me it is not that clear in case with the password or if boss said go and install unlicensed software.
I would rather lose my job than steal or do something illegal.
This order is ethicaly questionable if not say more. Well, customer probably sue my boss, not me, but I dont whant to be involved by screwing customer. I think it is possible to do business and be fair to the customer.
already started to send my resume...
thank you all again!

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