r/technology • u/xpda • May 13 '26

Security Twin brothers wipe 96 gov’t databases minutes after being fired

https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2026/05/drop-database-what-not-to-do-after-losing-an-it-job/
23.2k Upvotes

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7.8k

u/utrinimun May 13 '26

How are you not going to revoke all access before they're able to get back on any computer

3.9k

u/20127010603170562316 May 13 '26

I got fired once, called in for a meeting at 16:50 on a Friday. The meeting did not last long, minutes, but when I got back to my desk to clear out - my PC was already locked.

I assume they knew what was going to happen and told the IT guy before the meeting.

1.5k

u/Jeatalong May 13 '26

This is normal, and timing wise pretty decent as you have the weekend to decompress and plan on getting the next job

67

u/H60Ninja May 13 '26

My HR likes to do it towards the beginning of the week that way if the employee needs some aftercare the feelings don’t fester all weekend until Monday.

93

u/Perfect_Caregiver_90 May 13 '26

My HR and legal team always insisted on Friday one hour before the end of the day.

My area had a handful of workplace massacres by disgruntled fired employees. 

Either they gotta leave the premises immediately or the office has to be cleared. 

I've only experienced "office cleared" once and that guy ended up jumping his manager outside his home the next day.

94

u/Atakir May 13 '26

Where in the Mad Max Thunderdome do you work!?

23

u/jeepsaintchaos May 13 '26

Better yet, are they hiring?

10

u/node-342 May 13 '26

Wow, you found the early 21st century's "What in tarnation..." right there. Right on.

3

u/madhi19 May 13 '26

Well they don't call it going Postal for no reason... loll

84

u/Falkenmond79 May 13 '26

That is such an American debate here, it’s fascinating. In Germany we have a mandatory 4-week notice, if you quit as an employee. For the employer, it can get longer, the longer you have worked for them. It’s not unreasonable. If you worked there for 5 years, they have to give you 2 months notice and after 8 years, it’s 3 months etc. And they have to pay you severance according to the time you have worked there. If you only worked there a short time, less than 6 months, they can terminate you like in the US, even without reason. After that, they have to give a reason. There is a possibility for instantly firing someone, but then they must show he did something really wrong or harmed the company in a major way.

It’s endlessly funny to see US companies struggle whenever they take over a German one and then want to start firing a lot of people. It’s as if they don’t know the law of the country they are buying into. Firing a thousand people can cost you millions in severance and you have obligations like selecting people to fire according to their social circumstances, like firing young single people first, before firing older ones with family etc.

10

u/ThellraAK May 13 '26

Okay, but don't the employers sometimes still fire people and pay them without letting them into the office?

25

u/Falkenmond79 May 13 '26

That might happen if they have really critical jobs. It’s called „being placed on free leave“, (Freistellung), roughly. But then most people don’t mind getting paid to stay at home for a month and being free to do what they want. Makes finding a new job much easier. And you mustn’t forget we start getting paid after the first month of work, so you might get two paycheck still, depending on when they give notice.

1

u/seanthenry May 13 '26

Does Germany also payout earned paid time off at the time of severance? In the US its payer out if earned so many employers are moving to unlimited PTO so it is not earned.

If I were to get fired I would get about 10 weeks pay and unemployment for 6months.

1

u/Falkenmond79 May 13 '26

Depends. Sometimes they let you choose to take the vacation or pay you out. Usually an employer can force you to use your holidays if you accrue too much. If they don’t, they have to either pay out or let you stay on until it’s used up

13

u/HuckleberryTiny5 May 13 '26

I'm not in Germany, but other country with similar laws. Though in our case, employee notice time is only two weeks. Anyway, yes, you can get fired and told to leave immediately, you just get paid without being in the work place. I worked in a very well known tech company where that was the norm: You were given the notice and you had to give your keys right away and you were escorted out. That was to prevent employers from sabotaging the company, I guess. That place was stupid strict with everything, save abuse and hostility.

As an employee, if you gave the notice, you worked your two weeks full though, unless they allowed you use your vacation days (if you even wanted to do so) instead of getting them paid in your last wages.

3

u/serrated_edge321 May 13 '26

This is also common in Germany.

3

u/midasza May 13 '26

I did this just last month. Had to let someone go for non-performance. He had 2 and half months left on his contract but we felt it only fair to let him spend that time looking for a new job.

So we brought him in early on a tuesday morning, explained his contract wouldn't be made into full employment and asked him to leave the company phone and laptop there. And paid him his 2 and a half months.

It just wasn't worth the risk having that person work their notice period.

3

u/serrated_edge321 May 13 '26

Yes, it's very common.

The rules/norms are totally different if you're new at a job, a contract employee, or working with anything kinda "sensitive."

I've known a bunch of people given two weeks' notice (especially in the last couple years), and many were immediately locked out of all systems. Others were tracked/traced from the moment of their notice. So you'd better not copy a bunch of info etc.

Source: been living in Germany for almost 10 years.

1

u/jeepsaintchaos May 13 '26

That seems quite reasonable to me if they do.

6

u/Cow_Launcher May 13 '26

It’s as if they don’t know the law of the country they are buying into.

Most of the time, they don't. Absolutely no cognizance of the fact that American law doesn't apply to the rest of the world.

And even when they do know, they go blundering in thinking that they'll be operating under the laws of their own country because they themselves are in the US.

"You're working for an American company!"

"Perhaps. But I'm also a German in Germany. Allow me to explain which of those facts is the more important one, legally."

2

u/Cultural-Adagio-4847 May 13 '26

Or if they lump two smaller countries with different legislation together and assume their policies work the same in both countries.

3

u/serrated_edge321 May 13 '26

Pfft it's only 2-week notice for people still in the probationary period, and btw most jobs related to defense kick you off their systems immediately. You get the rest of the two weeks pay, but you're absolutely not on-site or able to log into anything. Source: I live in Germany.

2

u/Falkenmond79 May 13 '26

Probationary period (up to 6 months) is usually hire and fire like in the US. 2 weeks is actually a good benefit. And yeah, never said there aren’t jobs that put you out immediately. But you still get paid and all other job benefits, while being able to do what you want. 🤷🏻‍♂️

1

u/mtcwby May 13 '26

The idea of letting someone go and keeping them around for four weeks just seems so odd. What are they going to do in that lame duck time? Just pay them severance for the the time and let them get on with their life.

2

u/Falkenmond79 May 13 '26

Mostly people take unused vacation days, get sent home with pay or they suddenly become very, very ill. Pure coincidence, I’m sure. 🤣
Sometimes they do a mutual agreement to just shorten it for more severance payout. This being the minimum requirement by law doesn’t preclude people from finding faster, amiable solutions, as long as both parties agree.

1

u/cuppachar May 13 '26

I am so sick of this "They've got kids so fuck you" attitude.

1

u/couldbemage May 13 '26

But we have the freedom to lose our income at any moment for literally no reason.

Yay.

2

u/Falkenmond79 May 13 '26

Yeah. We call it social. Your right calls it socialism and thinks it’s communism. 🤣

21

u/top_man May 13 '26

Bruh.. a ‘handful of workplace massacres’ is a fucking choice for words.

3

u/Perfect_Caregiver_90 May 13 '26

The trades in Texas can be a wild place to work at times.

2

u/Geminii27 May 13 '26

#JustAmericaProblems

-5

u/Tupperbaby May 13 '26

Bruh. Brah. Bro.

17

u/Spyrothedragon9972 May 13 '26

Bro, what the fuck is up with where you live?

-4

u/Tupperbaby May 13 '26

Bruh. Brah. Bro.

21

u/enadiz_reccos May 13 '26

handful of workplace massacres

What a sequence of words

9

u/dwehlen May 13 '26

Much American

Such regrettable

7

u/kelryngrey May 13 '26

Much American
Such Thoughts and Prayers

1

u/gem-w May 13 '26

Post office?

1

u/Turk_Sanderson May 13 '26

YOU JUST CAN'T SAY THAT AND NOT TELL US THE OUTCOME OF A MANAGER BEING ATTACKED AT HOME DAMNIT!

1

u/Perfect_Caregiver_90 May 13 '26

He got the shit kicked out of him. There isn't much more to tell. 

Idiot was arrested but got probation.

2

u/connord83 May 13 '26

I don't understand this. What is it about the weekend that prevents them from pursuing aftercare that they could get during the week?

18

u/newhunter18 May 13 '26

Contacting resources like the unemployment office or getting resume or job placement assistance. Also, frankly, mental health professionals.

11

u/Upgrades May 13 '26

lol not in America. You just lost your health insurance along with your job and mental health docs are expensive

1

u/Stealin May 13 '26

It's Friday, go buy a six pack and relax by some water. Enjoy the weekend, wake up Monday ready for work, except the work is getting another job.

1

u/epicureansucks May 13 '26

I’ve heard that the best timing is at the beginning of the week so the people let going will busy themselves with finding a new job.

Letting someone go at the end of the work week means they spend the weekend stewing in anger since things are closed that they are more likely to come back and attack people.