Airport Games

Soooo….just got off the 6 hour flight from Changi Airport in Singapore to the Narita Airport in Tokyo. Got about a 4 hour layover, and as my world-traveler team mate, Steve Riley, told me…”Go to the Admiral’s Club, or be bored to tears.” Yippee. I get here and find out that due to weather (icy mix) in Dallas, the flight is delayed. I thought about making a break into Tokyo…but it’s like 90 minutes away! Too much risk, not enough reward. I’ll have to see you some other time Tokyo.

However…I have to do something to pass the time, so I swear that people just give me stuff to write about. Let me tell you, business travelers are not getting any wiser. I’ve seen two things literally in the last 15 minutes that would make a Network Administrator cringe. Let me explain a bit:

1) This laptop should be okay by itself….

What in the world is this guy thinking? I literally sat here and watched him leave for about 20 minutes, laptop unlocked, opened to his critical business app. Who neds to write a rootkit…the users are giving data away. Seriusoly, is there any place you’re more likely to secure your laptop, then in a foreign airport terminal? I feel the administrator’s pain in this dude’s company. He’s running WinXP, so I know he’s not probably not running any type of encryption (and apparently no password protected screen saver either). Before everyone jumps up and starts talking about how BitLocker in Windows Vista would save him, remember….the machine is already up and running. BitLocker doesn’t protect against stupidity. This is a “security awareness” problem and a physical security one.

2) Toilet Synching

While typing my last blog post, I just heard over the PA system “Would the owner of the Blackberry left in the Men’s Toilet please reclaim it….”. This is disturbing to me from several reasons. One, anyone who synchs their email in the can might possibly be “addicted to email”. (Now I’m not saying I don’t….but I try not too). Next, do you not do a full “diagnostic” prior to walking out to ensure you got everything?? I guess this is my old Ranger NCO brain kicking in again. I am constantly checking/re-checking my stuff before I head out anywhere.  Passport? Check. Smartphone? Check. Of course, given the unique nature of a Japanese toilet (yes, it’s level with the floor)…he may just have left in frustration.

I still got 3:59: 40 seconds for something else to happen…..