Ethical problem: I install 2-4 wireless networks/week in homes and businesses

[yakko]

I wouldn't tell them.

 

[gopunk]

well, good to hear your family is not in danger

maybe i'm just a wuss, but i do like the idea of an anonymous tip to a watchdog organization.

 

[Geekbabe]

As a professional you would be under obligation to inform a client of the potential risks of wireless along with it's benefits, if they came to you and were paying you to advise them of which service to select

By the time you are involved, at the point of actual installation the client had long since made the choice to go with wireless.I'd say it would have been the reponsibility of the client to do his/her own research prior to signing up for wireless.You are hired to install the service,not to advise the client as to whether or not to select the service to begin with.


All that said it would bother me to be disabling firewalls and I'd probably be looking for another position.However, I wouldn't feel guilty continuing to work to feed my family in the meantime.

 

[WarCon]

You want to hear a pretty bad solution that would probably work but may even be more unethical than what is already going on. Have your sales rep contact the parent company and suggest they sell and extra hour of "tightening up security time" to have you re-enable the limited amount of security wireless provides anyway.

I think honestly you need to talk to your boss, but these are lawyers and if one was found to be a source of release of client data through a leak in a system you installed, I believe you are at least partially responsible or have to plead stupidity (as a tech firm thats not a good rep to have). The parent company you work for will be completely liable for their actions in disabling the protection. I think it would fly around the little circle of lawyers pretty fast and there might be some pretty harsh legal action taken.

 

[AzNmAnJLH]

lol you are installing these for lawyers????? do you really wanna get your company sued? or is there a user agreement making your company not liable?

 

[Gonad the Barbarian]

You need to tell your boss ya'll are asking for a lawsuit or even criminal charges. I'm sure disabling someone's firewall is a crime in one of those new crazy tech bills.

 

[heartsurgeon]

your "legal" responsibility is to the firm that employs you to install these networks. if you say things to harm the company you will be financially liable.
now, this being the U.S.A., rather than looking upon this situation as a moral dilemma, look upon it as a tremendous business opportunity - for yourself! after you've installed the network, let the customer know that you are a security consultant, that you are available, and that you think you can help them improve their security. you don't badmouth your current employer, you warn the customer in a general way that they have security issues, and you may benefit from some additional income...everyone wins. if they ignore your recommendations...well you're not responsible for every idiot out there..

 

[911paramedic]

After you install it, mention that these networks require a few additional considerations that others do not. Explain it simply and give them a couple good sites to visit to learn more about it. Tell them it is easy to protect the information and they should do so.

When you buy a mototcycle they don't tell you that you have a much higher chance of becoming road pizza do they? They say "and what helmet would you like?"

 

[royaldank]

I wouldn't have a problem doing it. However, if you are uncomfortable, look for a new job and quit when you have found one. You seem to be in the field a lot, so you should be able to schedule some interviews during your away time.

I wouldn't tell the companies that are getting the wireless networks anything about security or the like. What I would probably do is maybe start a new company that does security consulting like suggested earlier. If you are really on the ball, make some good snail mail packets that briefly explain some security issues involved with wireless and non-wireless networks. Let them know you can help tighten things up or reccomend other solutions. Again, never bad-mouth the people that actually pay you to install these things.

Also, send it to all the firms around you that you've serviced or could be potential clients. Don't single out just folks you done, mail everyone in the area.

That might help clear your conscious as well. I mean, if you did mail them offering to help, at the very least you've outlined potential problems for them and given it to the on paper. I wouldn't feel too bad after that.