{
  "id": 16026957,
  "title": "IT department and auditors at major pharmacy chain got into a rip-roaring fight about using 'password' on Cisco firewall",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/22/it-department-and-auditors-at-major-pharmacy-chain-got-into-a-rip-16026957",
  "topic": "health",
  "section": "Health & Medicine",
  "published": "2026-10-22T10:00:00.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "The Register",
    "slug": "the-register",
    "url": "https://www.theregister.com/security/2026/10/22/it-department-and-auditors-at-major-pharmacy-chain-got-into-a-rip-roaring-fight-about-using-password-on-cisco-firewall/5304592"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "In a recent incident involving a major American pharmacy chain, the IT department and auditors engaged in a heated argument over the use of the word \"password\" as a password for a Cisco firewall. The situation, detailed by red team and pen testing specialist Dahvid Schloss, unfolded during an audit of the organization's corporate switches, routers, and firewalls. Upon discovering the weak password, Schloss marked the issue as a \"high find,\" requiring immediate attention.\n\nUpon presenting his findings to the company's auditing department, Schloss found himself in the middle of a fierce debate between the IT team and the auditors. The auditors expressed alarm over the weak password, while the IT team dismissed it as a less severe issue. The tension escalated into an hour-long shouting match, with Schloss and his team observing the exchange in silence.\n\nThe conflict persisted for three years, as the auditing department controlled the bonuses for the IT team. Any \"high finding,\" such as the weak firewall password, could disqualify the team from receiving bonuses. This misalignment of incentives led to the IT team downplaying the significance of the password issue, in order to protect their bonuses. Schloss later learned that the situation had been ongoing even after he had moved on to other projects.",
  "summary": "Misaligned incentives led to an intractable argument",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 2,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "The Register Science",
        "title": "IT department and auditors at major pharmacy chain got into a rip-roaring fight about using 'password' on Cisco firewall",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/22/it-department-and-auditors-at-major-pharmacy-chain-got-into-a-rip",
        "published": "2026-10-22T10:00:00.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}