The highest bidder…

As a frog, there is one thing I understand very well when it comes to many of you humans. Stupidity! Yes, if you were to be honest with yourselves, you would most definitely agree with me. If you still don’t think I’m right, then let me tell you about something that Bob mentioned to me only yesterday. Ribbit!!!

I understand that you humans are prone to forgetting things from time to time, and losing things too. Well, I was told that someone bought a Laptop on the auction website, eBay, and all for the princely sum of 35 of your pounds. I don’t know about you, but even this is a pretty damned low finishing price even for eBay on such an item. I wonder if they kept the final value fee? Anyway at this level of price, the old alarm bells should have been ringing loud and clear, especially for the one who was the highest bidder and won the auction. Actually, that was probably the case, which is why eBay is now investigating this auction. It’s not that such an item was being offered on eBay, but how it managed to get there in the first place?

The company who had had this item stolen from them explained that theirs is a secure company, and that they don’t understand how it could have been removed from their premises? Quite obviously, their security is not as good as they think it is. Ribbit!!!

It’s bad enough that outsourced companies, and even government departments themselves, are making such confidential and sensitive material easy to steal from them. Take it from a frog, nobody should be able to remove anything from their workplace, apart from the shoes and clothing they entered it in, along with their personal belongings. Giving the excuse that they needed to do some work at, or on the way home, just doesn’t cut the mustard. Secure means just this, secure. Anything removed from the place in which it is normally stored for use, is in no way said to be secure. Croak!!!

Let me give some of these companies some advice: Have all Laptops stored away in a secure cupboard at the end of the day’s work. Let the key be held by security. Do not allow anyone to take data away from the workplace. Allowing anyone to do so, well it’s tantamount to being as guilty as the person who steals, or loses it. Croak!!!

A tip for those outsourced companies, because government officials never get sacked, only rewarded for their incompetence. If you lose vital information that is entrusted to you, you will without a doubt lose your contract… and so you damned well should. Croak!!!

For those who either steal data because you’ve got a grudge against your employer, and are not interested in making anything from your dark deed, or you’ve done it with the idea to sell it on to someone who told you he’d pay a fortune for the info, forget it. Why? Because you simply won’t get away with it. The one you sold it to will be living in another country by the time the transaction has been completed, so the only one left to carry the can… yes, that’s you! If you’ve done it for the former, get a life! Croak!!!

Finally, I fail to understand why it is that none of the data stolen is ever encrypted? Surely, this should be the first consideration, especially under the data protection act, shouldn’t it?

I was going to say something about the Chinese Olympics, but as usual my warnings went unheeded. Well, our glorious sportsmen and women have got their pieces of silver. I hope that they can now live with their consciences? Who says that you humans live in a caring world? It doesn‘t look like it from my side of the fence. Croak!!!

Now I’ve got a headache! Oh, yes I have…

Never mind, I’ll see you all again next week… Bye,

Froggy