Crying Louder

Often only the IT person can raise a red flag. Sometimes we don't because we fear losing our job or creating friction. While I haven't mentioned it much, a lot of my frustration with the job actually stems from the thick politics and poor work environment. It's been so bad that I have seriously contemplated quitting over a dozen times in the three weeks I've been there. I have never worked anywhere for less than a year. My last two jobs were four years each. There was enough excitement going in that I started this blog. It has been a shock to feel my morale sapped at such a rate.

The environment has left me in such a state that I don't care what happens. I still want to fix what ails this organization because I know I can and should to help all the people that the non-profit aids. But it is tough to look beyond the bad vibes. Never have I experienced a work situation like this. Doubly surprising since it is a small company.

The comment a reader made in a previous post, Laximum Security (post), helped me some. I suggested placing the tapes in an in-house safe and one or two a week in a secure offsite location. The boss agreed to half but still insisted on taking one backup a week home as the offsite solution. In response to my objections the boss threaten me, informing me to leave the issue alone. Of course I can't and won't. Aside from tons of donor data involved, there is employee data, company data, and most importantly (at this point), my personal information. I would rather lose my job than be victim to identity theft, which could be crippling for years. If the rest of the staff knew what was going on...

I will press him on the issue again next week. It will get nasty and I will have to go over his head or resign or something. He is simply being much too liberal with confidential information. As the only person in a position to do something about this I cannot allow it. There must be something in Sarbanes-Oxly, HIPAA, or some other law that I can use to convince him. Otherwise this blog may end quite prematurely.