“Gizmodo writer disguises as Slackbot, exposes lax security measures”

“Gizmodo writer disguises as Slackbot, exposes lax security measures”

So, it turns out that former Gizmodo writer Tom McKay managed to pull off the ultimate disappearing act by changing his name to Slackbot and hiding out in the company’s workplace Slack for months. Yes, you heard that right – he basically ghosted his own job and nobody even noticed.

I mean, who knew that all it took to go incognito in the digital age was to pretend you’re a bot? Maybe we’ve been underestimating robots this whole time – they’re not just here to steal our jobs, they’re also here to steal our identities. Watch out, humans, the bots are coming for us.

In a move that would make even the most seasoned spy jealous, McKay flew under the radar for months, interacting with colleagues and publishing articles under his new alias. It’s like a real-life version of the movie “Catch Me If You Can”, except instead of Leonardo DiCaprio charming his way through life, it’s just a guy named Slackbot typing away at his keyboard.

Gizmodo, of course, is now scrambling to figure out how they let this happen. I can just imagine the emergency meetings they’re having right now – “How did we not notice that Slackbot was actually a human in disguise? Are we really that bad at our jobs?” I mean, if you can’t even spot a fake bot in your own Slack channel, maybe it’s time to rethink your hiring process.

But hey, at least Gizmodo is taking it seriously. They’re conducting a “thorough review” of their security protocols to make sure this doesn’t happen again. Because nothing says “we messed up” like a good ol’ security review. Maybe next time they’ll actually pay attention to the names on their Slack channel and not just assume that Slackbot is just another piece of software.

In the end, Williams’ little stunt serves as a cautionary tale for us all. It’s a reminder that even in the digital age, where everything is connected and monitored, it’s still possible to slip through the cracks if you’re clever enough. So next time you’re feeling a little too comfortable at work, just remember – you could be one name change away from becoming a bot. And who knows, maybe that’s not such a bad thing after all.

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Source: The Verge
URL: https://www.theverge.com/2024/2/23/24081249/slack-slackbot-gizmodo-tom-mckay

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