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> No startups are hiring sysadmins to do any kind of work anymore. Then maybe people should be willing to work for more grown-up businesses. HN tends to get a

> No startups are hiring sysadmins to do any kind of work anymore. Then maybe people should be willing to work for more grown-up businesses. HN tends to get a distorted view of what's important in the tech industry. The tech industry is way, way, way bigger than startups, and there are still plenty of companies that recognize the value of good sysadmins. Let the startups learn their lesson in their own time.

dikaiosune 12y ago
The alternative is that many of the startups don't learn this in their own time, and they go on to become bigger, more successful companies who can set the tone and shift the market. Of course, if they're actually able to succeed by doing so, then that says something too. Although the trend of many data breaches certainly wouldn't decline in that case.
- rudolf0 12y ago
  >Although the trend of many data breaches certainly wouldn't decline in that case. Exactly. Successful and profitable are not mutually exclusive with "secure" or "well-architected". At least until those last two come to bite you later and start eating into your profits.
  - Lord_Zero 12y ago
    Sony is a great example of this.
    - jjoonathan 12y ago
      Did the PR hit actually translate into a monetary hit and eat into their profits?
      - thaumaturgy 12y ago
        I don't know about the cost of the negative PR, but the compromise itself cost them $15 million in real costs (http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/envelope/cotown/la-et-ct-sony-hack-cost-20150204-story.html http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/envelope/cotown/la-et-c...) and potentially much more (http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/12/09/us-sony-cybersecurity-costs-idUSKBN0JN2L020141209 http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/12/09/us-sony-cybersecur...) once you count the downtime involved and potential lawsuits, settlements, and other fallout over the breach of information. IIRC there were some embarrassing emails released regarding some Hollywood big-wigs, for example. It should be a huge cautionary tale for any big organization that doesn't have good internal security, but unfortunately this isn't the first such case in history, and it almost certainly won't be the last. But that doesn't mean there aren't other smart businesses out there.
        _yosefk 12y ago
        $15M sounds like a rounding error for Sony. It sounds like a rounding error as well when compared to the cost of brand-name IT solutions when deployed in a company of Sony's size.

dikaiosune 12y ago

The alternative is that many of the startups don't learn this in their own time, and they go on to become bigger, more successful companies who can set the tone and shift the market. Of course, if they're actually able to succeed by doing so, then that says something too. Although the trend of many data breaches certainly wouldn't decline in that case.

rudolf0 12y ago
>Although the trend of many data breaches certainly wouldn't decline in that case. Exactly. Successful and profitable are not mutually exclusive with "secure" or "well-architected". At least until those last two come to bite you later and start eating into your profits.
- Lord_Zero 12y ago
  Sony is a great example of this.
  - jjoonathan 12y ago
    Did the PR hit actually translate into a monetary hit and eat into their profits?
    - thaumaturgy 12y ago
      I don't know about the cost of the negative PR, but the compromise itself cost them $15 million in real costs (http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/envelope/cotown/la-et-ct-sony-hack-cost-20150204-story.html http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/envelope/cotown/la-et-c...) and potentially much more (http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/12/09/us-sony-cybersecurity-costs-idUSKBN0JN2L020141209 http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/12/09/us-sony-cybersecur...) once you count the downtime involved and potential lawsuits, settlements, and other fallout over the breach of information. IIRC there were some embarrassing emails released regarding some Hollywood big-wigs, for example. It should be a huge cautionary tale for any big organization that doesn't have good internal security, but unfortunately this isn't the first such case in history, and it almost certainly won't be the last. But that doesn't mean there aren't other smart businesses out there.
      - _yosefk 12y ago
        $15M sounds like a rounding error for Sony. It sounds like a rounding error as well when compared to the cost of brand-name IT solutions when deployed in a company of Sony's size.