When it rains…
From Network World:
This should be a vendor’s first rule when inviting 1,200 IT pros to a seminar about securing data and protecting personal information: Make sure you protect the personal information of the 1,200 professionals you’re trying to impress.
How did Verizon do in that regard on Tuesday? They failed miserably … and not just once.
David Williams, technology coordinator for a Texas school district, alerted me to the situation because he had read my recent post — “Run-amok Verizon robo-caller torments 1,400 customers” — which recounted the nine phone calls in 24 hours that were received at my house last month.
So what, you may ask, did they punt on? Well, they sent out numerous spam emails to the attendees in advance of the seminar with all of their email addresses in the…
…wait for it…
“To:” field.
I shit you not.
Then some more fun from the article,
Verizon again: “We (are) having issues with our (Microsoft) Exchange server and I am working with our help desk to correct the problem. I apologize for the inconvenience.”
Verizon’s “Secure the Information” lecture series includes a segment called, “Are you prepared for data loss?”
So, Exchange was responsible for the email addys in the “To:” field?
Er, no. That would be the duplicates but, it does give the impression that they are trying to duck the whoops by invoking the spectre of an errant mail server. I would assume that Verizon staffers will be attending their own seminar en masse then?
Oh, and just to flog the dead horse once again…one installment in the series is called, “Are you prepared for data loss?”
Um, yeah, FAIL.