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MS Exchange “remote wipe” is a terrible, terrible bug

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Re: MS Exchange “remote wipe” is a terrible, terrible bug

#21

Post by mseebach »

dablya wrote: post #9
tomjen3 wrote: post #3

Bug? No this was done intentionally. Does anybody know how you disable that "feature"? Preferably in such a way that it causes maximum harm to the organization that uses it.

Don't connect personal devices to corporate exchange?

Yeah, and girls who walk home alone at night had it coming if they're raped.

Of course, we know it's a bad idea to mix work-devices and private devices, and we probably also have little trouble procuring a work-smartphone if we need that. But for a non-IT person with his new iPhone, exited that pointing the Exchange app to mail.work.com just works, it's unacceptable.

Re: MS Exchange “remote wipe” is a terrible, terrible bug

#22

Post by pavel_lishin »

xpaulbettsx wrote: post #5

If an IT department did this to me without warning, I'd quit that day , CC'ing my manager and the IT guy's manager telling them exactly why they'll now have to spend months finding and training my replacement.

I'd probably also send them a bill for the cost to me, in time and effort, or restoring all my data.

Re: MS Exchange “remote wipe” is a terrible, terrible bug

#26

Post by 16s »

xpaulbettsx wrote: post #7
ams6110 wrote: post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Well, if people are using un-approved personal devices on the corporate network, it seems there is some fault on both sides. Assuming there is policy addressing this issue.

Sure, but you send out an Email warning people first. There's no reason to wipe people's devices unless they are willfully defying policy, and even then, you've got a list of the people doing it - just go to their office and talk to them in person (involve their manager if needed). Wiping a personal device to "send a message" is passive-aggressive and totally destructive to morale.

They typed "AGREE" to the policy on day one when they were hired. IT is 2000 miles away. No one from IT is going to visit their office. They are going to wipe the device per corporate policy.

Re: MS Exchange “remote wipe” is a terrible, terrible bug

#27

Post by patio11 »

Do folks here not work in a regulated industry? We went through a yearly course on How To Not End Up On Front Page of The Paper For Leaking Customer Information. One core part of that is putting up with a little hassle with regards to managing one's cell phone, such as a) not using it for work if at all possible and b) very carefully regulating what got saved on it if it was used for work.

(Nobody at my office should have more than "P. McKenzie" and my phone number saved on their phone. Including full name, email address, a photo, my address, and the like would give me a cause of action against the company if the phone was ever lost or if that information were misused.)

A smart device capable of downloading an email attachment could cause a multi-million dollar incident if it was lost. All it would take is a bug tracking system report with an attached file showing e.g. the wrong number of lines printed per page of radioactively sensitive customer data.

Re: MS Exchange “remote wipe” is a terrible, terrible bug

#28

Post by tomjen3 »

dablya wrote: post #9
tomjen3 wrote: post #3

Bug? No this was done intentionally. Does anybody know how you disable that "feature"? Preferably in such a way that it causes maximum harm to the organization that uses it.

Don't connect personal devices to corporate exchange?

Look I have a degree in Computer Science, I wrote software to send the strings necessary to use IPOP, heck I even memorized the RFC number (1939).

And in all this time, never did I once see anything on that protocol that could do anything more than download mail and delete the mail you had in your account.

So I hear about Exchange and figure "oh just another protocol MS came up with, properly has extensions for calendars and stuff".

Now if I don't know this is going on, how can anybody know?

It would be one thing if the device said "by connecting to this system, you allow it to removely wipe this device allow/deny?" but it doesn't.

And that is criminal.

Re: MS Exchange “remote wipe” is a terrible, terrible bug

#29

Post by tomjen3 »

16s wrote: post #25

He's blames the remote wipes on the local IT guys. Calls them sadists. But I bet they are just doing what their corporate policies require them to do. The policies are written by the suits in management, not the local IT guys. If you want to bitch, bitch at them.

Why not just bitch at them both? And then call the police on the IT guys, since they just hacked your device.

Doing your job isn't an excuse.

Re: MS Exchange “remote wipe” is a terrible, terrible bug

#30

Post by kuahyeow »

At first read it seems like a normal, in fact, useful feature, but the key line is this:

"When he turns it back on, it’s back to factory defaults. All the settings, apps, and data have been erased. wtf?"

Major case of Exchange over-reaching and wiping more than just Exchange data !?

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