Study examines motives for office sabotage

[Algorem]

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5/17/2005, 9:10 a.m. ET
By TED BRIDIS
The Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — Corporate insiders who sabotage computers so sensitive they risk endangering national security or the economy commonly are motivated by revenge against their bosses, according to a government study released Monday.

The study, paid for by the Department of Homeland Security, examined dozens of computer-sabotage cases over six years to determine what motivates trusted insiders to attack and how their actions damage the country's most sensitive networks and data.

The review described most attackers as disgruntled workers or former employees — typically working in technology departments — who were angry over disciplinary actions, missed promotions or layoffs. The attacks included deleting vital software or data, posting pornography on an employer's Web site or crippling whole networks.

The study said most saboteurs showed troubling signs before the attacks: truancy, tardiness, arguments with co-workers or shoddy performance. Nearly all the employees took some steps to conceal their identities online — sometimes even posing as co-workers — as they plotted their attacks. Attackers ranged from teens to retirees...

http://www.cleveland.com/newsflash/washington/index.ssf?/base/washington-0/111633483461740.xml&storylist=washington

[DBoon]

1. saabotage is class struggle

conducted when there is no other means to express opposition to capitalist domination. When organized alternatives (unions, political opposition) have been eliminated, workers resort to individual acts of destruction to express their resistance to their subservient status.

[applegrove]

2. We know that sociopaths of one type or another are 4% of the population.

They attack the stuff of anyone who hurts their shallow self esteem or anyone who posses a threat to their self-esteem. They'll do anything for revenge. They'll collect information on you, they'll destroy you life if they have to. Really there is no limit to what they will do. But property damage or messing with your computer is an easy thing to do without being caught. Especially if nobody knows their character. My computer was messed with..and I had to just swallow the fact that a whole database was somehow moved to somewhere else on my computer and I had to live with (I don't know what happened).. until I figured out who the sociopath was months later (then I went into shock big-time).

I cannot wait until the day they grab those suckers at an early age and put them in a program where they are monitored for the rest of their lives.

Nobody who is adult messes with stuff unless they have severe ego problems. You just walk away from a bad boss. I've had one but was warned the style was an issue to some the day I was hired. So was my own dam fault. Some people don't know not to yell. Sorry for them. Walk on by.

If you end up with a Bolton type to bullies..who seems to be the sociopath themselves.. in fact if you work with one of those in any capacity... FIND A NEW JOB!