Ask HN: Ex-Employer gossiping I “hacked” their platform

Ask HN: Ex-Employer gossiping I “hacked” their platform – what to do?

#1

Post by _u844 » Mon, Dec 30, 2019, 2:06 PM UTC

I am really at a loss right now. I worked for a startup for two years and put my heart and soul into helping build the company as a senior manager.

I ended up quiting about 2 months ago to focus on relaxing during the holidays and spending time with my family (did not take a vacation) before seeking a less intense position.

Some old members of my team have come forward to inform me that their was a set of data breaches on the platform and the internal answer was to not announce it and put the blame on me. From what I am told their is no prooof other then a geo location that points to where I (and multiple other employees) live.

I reached out to the CEO and basically the first question whas who was it to leak this and then basicly a statement that the company did not accuse me of anything and there is nothing that can be done about the gossip. When I left the company I took every precaution to revoke my credentials and return my equipment promptly. I now know I can not use anyone at my current employer as a reference and feel these false accusation will greatly damage my future employment opportunities. I am currently have meetings with attorneys on how to protect myself but figured I ask the community if anyone has ever gone though this.

Re: Ask HN: Ex-Employer gossiping I “hacked” their platform – what to do?

#2

Post by bananocurrency » Mon, Dec 30, 2019, 2:36 PM UTC

> I am currently have meetings with attorneys on how to protect myself

...just don't use them as a reference? world is a big place.

Re: Ask HN: Ex-Employer gossiping I “hacked” their platform – what to do?

#3

Post by reilly3000 » Mon, Dec 30, 2019, 2:38 PM UTC

See if you can get them to demonstrate their false accusations by getting them to state that to a reference. Without that, you have no material damages to show, with it you have a case. Talk to an attorney. I’d be surprised if they would be so foolish as to try to wreck your future employment prospects over something you didn’t do.

Re: Ask HN: Ex-Employer gossiping I “hacked” their platform – what to do?

#4

Post by lidHanteyk » Mon, Dec 30, 2019, 2:38 PM UTC

In he-said-she-said situations, have a good story. Deflect:

> Ha, yeah, I did no such thing, but they certainly want a scapegoat, don't they? So, when I was there, lemme tell you about their data security practices...

Gain empathy:

> Right, it's understandable that they'd want to blame somebody. And who better than me, walking out the door, going to spend more time with my family?

And minimize:

> But yeah, there's no real meat to their complaint. No attorneys or anything. They're just upset that they got caught shirking their legal responsibilities.

You might be able to hand-pick a reference from your old team, but you're right to not automatically volunteer your old manager's contact information.

I have to be good at telling stories like this. My first employer used legal strongarm tactics to disenfranchise me of thousands of commits of code, and my second employer tried to pin a sexual-harrassment claim on me and then fired me after I asked their head of HR to follow the law. Employers are dicks. Tell a story that lulls them to sleep.

Re: Ask HN: Ex-Employer gossiping I “hacked” their platform – what to do?

#5

Post by m-p-3 » Mon, Dec 30, 2019, 2:39 PM UTC

Looks like the kind of employer you might not want to use for references anyway, but I'd gather as much evidence of that gossip as possible, talk to a lawyer and have him/her reach the company to cease propagating these gossip, which could as well be considered defamation. If they believe they're been wronged and something wrong actually happened, then they should bring those facts with proofs to back them up.

Re: Ask HN: Ex-Employer gossiping I “hacked” their platform – what to do?

#6

Post by tiku » Mon, Dec 30, 2019, 2:41 PM UTC

Well if they even acknowledge it to you in writing you are in the clear. If they had real "proof" they would not have said this..

You could ask them formally to stop the slander and inform them that you will take legal action if you receive any more word of these rumours..

Re: Ask HN: Ex-Employer gossiping I “hacked” their platform – what to do?

#7

Post by pulse7 » Mon, Dec 30, 2019, 2:47 PM UTC

One can hardly prevent gossip. You can do everything perfect and still get gossip... I would just move on and do quality work in another company...

Re: Ask HN: Ex-Employer gossiping I “hacked” their platform – what to do?

#8

Post by alpb » Mon, Dec 30, 2019, 2:50 PM UTC

tiku wrote: post #6

Well if they even acknowledge it to you in writing you are in the clear. If they had real "proof" they would not have said this.. You could ask them formally to stop the slander and inform them that you will take legal action if you receive any more word of these rumours..

Lawyering up just in case might be wise.

Re: Ask HN: Ex-Employer gossiping I “hacked” their platform – what to do?

#9

Post by vorpalhex » Mon, Dec 30, 2019, 2:52 PM UTC

m-p-3 wrote: post #5

Looks like the kind of employer you might not want to use for references anyway, but I'd gather as much evidence of that gossip as possible, talk to a lawyer and have him/her reach the company to cease propagating these gossip, which could as well be considered defamation. If they believe they're been wronged and something wrong actually happened, then they should bring those facts with proofs to back them up.

> talk to a lawyer

This a thousand times over. There are two options here:

1. Your employer wants a scapegoat and is using you

2. Your employer actually believes it was you

Re: Ask HN: Ex-Employer gossiping I “hacked” their platform – what to do?

#10

Post by morpheuskafka » Mon, Dec 30, 2019, 2:52 PM UTC

You should ask your friends if there is any hard proof of such a statement, like an email. If so, that could potentially be grounds for a defamation suit.