The dark side of IT: sinister stories about passwords, stinginess, and DDoS

Neither of these things happen in our cloud because we protect ourselves with cybersecurity services.

But if you forgot to make a deal with the otherworldly forces, then read a few scary stories from our guys. They can very well become a reality if cybersecurity is not smooth, and passwords are stored on stickers attached to the monitor.

Scary Story #1 "About a Simple Password"

One dark, dark night, in one dark, dark office, a system administrator who often configured virtual machines decided to play with fire. No, he did not summon the Queen of Spades and other evil spirits. He had another idea in his head. The idea was to change the password for one user. Without thinking twice, he brought the idea to life.

A few days passed, and some company employees began to notice strange things. As soon as they connected to the virtual machines, their personal data was lost somewhere. Seven years have passed since then. That administrator was never seen again, and the virtual machine was considered cursed. But the curse has nothing to do with it. The fact is that the unfortunate administrator set the password root for the user root.

Scary Story #2 "About a Stingy Client"

Once upon a time, there was an entrepreneur named Eugene, and he was terribly fond of saving. Saving on cookies in the office, software, and other services. Years went by, and his love for saving only grew.

And then the day came when he needed to purchase remote desktops. Of course, he took them without protection, DLP, and protection from dark forces. The joy that he managed to quickly set everything up and the employees immediately started working knew no bounds. But he did not know that along with the employees, ghosts and shadows connected to the remote desktops.

With each keystroke, an additional channel to the outside opened, through which something unknown copied, sent, and transmitted the company's data. Every day the client lost money, and when he realized that it was not an accounting error or a system failure, it was too late.

Much time has passed since then, and the employees have long since fled, but Eugene is still counting the losses in that distant office on "Debt" street, where only one window has been lit for 56 days straight.

Scary Story №3 "About the Password Manager"

There is a rumor in the market that an accountant, confident in her invulnerability, kept the password to her account on a piece of paper attached to the monitor. She thought it was her amulet against all troubles. Or maybe the password just didn't mean anything to her. It didn't mean anything, as if contracts, souls, destinies, and wealth were not hidden behind this password. And every day she walked past this sticker and did not notice how a light breeze swayed the sheet. It seemed to say: "Take me." But no one noticed it. No one except the inconspicuous janitor.

One dark night, when the office was empty and the cameras were not working, the sheet disappeared. Along with it, the documents and money from the company's accounts disappeared, as if they had never existed. The accountant looked at the empty monitor, feeling the ring of silent silence tighten around her, and realized that she had opened a portal to this nightmare with her own hand.

Scary Story №4 "About Firewalls"

Long ago, there lived two brothers who had control over firewalls that separated order and chaos. Every day, they tweaked rules, adjusted filters, blocked threats, and boasted to each other with loud laughter: "No one will pass! They can't! I've banned EVERYTHING here!" Their laughter was loud and echoed through the data center, like a mockery of anyone trying to break through the defense.

But one day, during one of their shifts, something strange happened. One of the brothers temporarily opened ports for remote employee access, and then, as if possessed by a demon of forgetfulness, forgot to close them.

Then the protective walls lost their strength, and strange data packets began to penetrate the network and slip between the rules as if they didn't exist.

The brothers' laughter grew quieter as one by one, systems began to shut down like candles extinguished by the wind. Their own passwords stopped working, and the screens flickered and became empty, like mirrors that no longer reflected reality. Then came silence...

Scary Story No. 5 "Nightmare on Black Friday"

It happened on the most sinister day of the year - Black Friday. Young entrepreneur Igor rubbed his hands in anticipation of grand sales. His dark store was packed with goods to the brim, like a vampire's coffin with antiques.

But lurking in the dark corners of the internet was his arch-enemy - the owner of the "Dark Market" Andrey. Sitting in a leather chair and stroking a white cat, he grinned ominously: "It's time to show who the real king of sales is!"

One click of the mouse - and an army of ruthless bots descended on Igor's site like a horde of hungry zombies. The DDoS attack was like the curse of an ancient mummy - relentless and inevitable.

Customers, eager for discounts, knocked on the virtual doors of the store in panic, but the site only mockingly winked at them with the message "Error 503". In despair, they turned around and, as if hypnotized, wandered to Andrey's "Dark Market".

Igor watched in horror as his precious clients disappeared one by one into the abyss of a competitor's site. It was a real nightmare for any entrepreneur – scarier than meeting the ghost of an accountant on a full moon night!

Each of these stories is fictional, and any resemblance to real situations is coincidental. But that doesn't mean you should relax and not pay attention to information security. On the contrary, these short tales should only heighten vigilance and prompt certain thoughts.