Why Should I Trust My Network Administrator?

Andrew writes "I'm a manager at a startup, and decided recently to outsource to an outside IT firm to set up a network domain and file server. Trouble is, they (and all other IT companies we could find) insist on administering it all remotely. They now obviously have full access to all our data and PCs, and I'm concerned they could steal all our intellectual property, source code and customers. Am I being overly paranoid and resistant to change? Should we just trust our administrator because they have a reputation to uphold? Or should we lock them out and make them administer the network in person so we can stand behind and watch them?"

That is an incredibly dumb question.

[tlambert]

That is an incredibly dumb question.

You should trust him because, as the manager of the startup, it is within your area of responsibility to ensure apriori that the people you hire to do this are trustworthy, or you are simply not doing your job and you should be fired and replaced with someone who can. Since your company is already on a path for doing outsourcing, I am sure your job could be outsourced to someone more competent in Bangalore.

-- Terry

Right out from under your nose.

[consumer_whore]

They're stealing your IP while you're goofing off on slashdot.

do you trust your cleaners?

[cluemore]

the cleaners have physical access to your everything. what contract did you sign with them? you know, to minimize your risk, you should outsource your IT to the cleaners. they already have physical access to everything, so it's not much of an extra step to let them maintain your systems too. they're even in the office on a daily basis. if you have any IT issues, just leave them a note!

Re:That is an incredibly dumb question.

[Anonymous Coward]

There are no dumb questions.

What about this one?

Re:Worried about the results of your actions?

[Moryath]

Sounds like someone is improperly prepared to start up their business then...

I handle mine like Blackbeard

[Anonymous Coward]

You see, I hire an admin to do a job, and then, I kill him and place his body in the server cabinet. With all that heat and dry air circulating, it mummifies the dead ex-admin. Now, as an additional profit source, I sell the mummified bodies to mummy collectors. I have an artist who's into Ancient Egypt and ancient Peruvian art so I can pass off these mummies as the real thing. I'm currently working with a chemist to fake bog mummies, but that's off-topic. The downside? When a job applicant asks what happened to the previous guy. it's awkward, but I just say the old guy moved on to another life. The applicant usually nods in understanding - I think he's thinking that the old admin moved on to management or medicine or something.

There you go! I'm thinking of writing one of those management books that sell millions of copies - you know, the ones that your boss walks in every other week with the management idea du jour. Mine will be called - Pirate Mangement: How to succeed in a cut throat business environment as taught by Blackbeard.

Anyway, that's how I have an ultra trust worthy admin staff. Now, what to do with all those cops poking around.

Re:That is an incredibly dumb question.

[owlstead]

"There are no dumb questions."

Oh, yes there are. I remember in college that we all had a laugh when each and every professor told us this. Problem was this guy who was really good at learning things but had zero capability for performing logic thought. And this being a computer science study, we sure had a lot of fun when the professors subsequently tried to explain things to him after his "not dumb question".

Re:That is an incredibly dumb question.

[belthize]

      True, but there are some *very* inquisitive idiots.

Re:spoken like a true sys-ad

[CAIMLAS]

Exactly!

If anything, we should be teaching electricians, sysadmins, secretaries, and the like management skills, and going without managers. Costs would be lower, proficiency would be higher, and people would want to come to work on Monday!