by Tdarcos » Sat Mar 15, 2025 3:39 am
AArdvark wrote: Thu Mar 13, 2025 5:11 pm
set in the late 70/ early 80s... wrote the database software for a large company...stealing company funds... that if he ever gets fired ,,, the whole database will... turn... into garbage.
That would be either a backdoor, trojan or a virus, depending on how it was done.
AArdvark wrote: Thu Mar 13, 2025 5:11 pmI was wondering if this could have actually been possible.
TLDR: The answer is yes, it's possible, but no, not under the conditions described. If you're not interested in how and why it's both yes and no, skip the next 6 paragraphs.
Yes, depending on what language was being used. Since it mentions 8" floppies, this sounds more like a minicomputer, say a PDP 11/03 (I have used both myself); or some microcomputer.
Now, how a database could be done depends on what programming language was used. If Cobol, it would use random-access files; if Fortran, it would have used a file in random mode; if it was MU-Basic, it would have used one or more virtual files.
However, a "large company" almost certainly isn't going to use a minicomputer and not using 8" diskettes; the formatted capacity for one is around 256K (512K if double-sided). That's way too small. Even a 10 megabyte disk might be too small. And they'd have more than one programmer.
A 1970s-1980s company large enough to need a computer for, say, back-office operations (payroll, accounts receivable, accounts payable, inventory, etc.) is not going to use a minicomputer of those specifications. You usually use a computer because either the job is becoming too big to continue to be done manually, and/or it is cheaper to do through automation.
That means either a large minicomputer like a PDP 11/70, Hewlett-Packard 3000, or similar machines, or a mainframe like a PDP 10 or DECSystem/20, an IBM 360 or 370, or something from the "seven dwarves", the smaller mainframe manufacturers who competed against IBM: Burroughs, Control Data Corporation, General Electric, Honeywell, NCR, RCA, and UNIVAC. In that case, the company would have had one or more "massive" 100 megabyte disc drives, and 1/2" tape reels in the standard 10" reel with 2400 feet of tape and holding up to 60 megabytes. Also, they would have had regular backups and multiple programmers, he might not have had access to everything.
So while what is described is possible, it's not going to happen at a large company (300-500 or more employees). At a small company (less than 25 employees) or medium sized (25-300 to 500 employees, yes, it is possible. Those are small enough to use a mini using a 10 meg disk and 8" floppies, and only have 1 programmer.
AArdvark wrote: Thu Mar 13, 2025 5:11 pmI kind of could understand how the program could check to see if the name entered into the database matches the self-destruct key word but it sounds too easy. Maybe if the name is spelled a non standard way or something?
Even simpler way: check if his name or SSN is deleted from the payroll, or has not been issued a check in over 30 days.
[quote=AArdvark post_id=147762 time=1741911066 user_id=20]
set in the late 70/ early 80s... wrote the database software for a large company...stealing company funds... that if he ever gets fired ,,, the whole database will... turn... into garbage.[/quote]
That would be either a backdoor, trojan or a virus, depending on how it was done.
[quote=AArdvark post_id=147762 time=1741911066 user_id=20]I was wondering if this could have actually been possible.[/quote]
TLDR: The answer is yes, it's possible, but no, not under the conditions described. If you're not interested in how and why it's both yes and no, skip the next 6 paragraphs.
Yes, depending on what language was being used. Since it mentions 8" floppies, this sounds more like a minicomputer, say a PDP 11/03 (I have used both myself); or some microcomputer.
Now, how a database could be done depends on what programming language was used. If Cobol, it would use random-access files; if Fortran, it would have used a file in random mode; if it was MU-Basic, it would have used one or more virtual files.
However, a "large company" almost certainly isn't going to use a minicomputer and not using 8" diskettes; the formatted capacity for one is around 256K (512K if double-sided). That's way too small. Even a 10 megabyte disk might be too small. And they'd have more than one programmer.
A 1970s-1980s company large enough to need a computer for, say, back-office operations (payroll, accounts receivable, accounts payable, inventory, etc.) is not going to use a minicomputer of those specifications. You usually use a computer because either the job is becoming too big to continue to be done manually, and/or it is cheaper to do through automation.
That means either a large minicomputer like a PDP 11/70, Hewlett-Packard 3000, or similar machines, or a mainframe like a PDP 10 or DECSystem/20, an IBM 360 or 370, or something from the "seven dwarves", the smaller mainframe manufacturers who competed against IBM: Burroughs, Control Data Corporation, General Electric, Honeywell, NCR, RCA, and UNIVAC. In that case, the company would have had one or more "massive" 100 megabyte disc drives, and 1/2" tape reels in the standard 10" reel with 2400 feet of tape and holding up to 60 megabytes. Also, they would have had regular backups and multiple programmers, he might not have had access to everything.
So while what is described is possible, it's not going to happen at a large company (300-500 or more employees). At a small company (less than 25 employees) or medium sized (25-300 to 500 employees, yes, it is possible. Those are small enough to use a mini using a 10 meg disk and 8" floppies, and only have 1 programmer.
[quote=AArdvark post_id=147762 time=1741911066 user_id=20]I kind of could understand how the program could check to see if the name entered into the database matches the self-destruct key word but it sounds too easy. Maybe if the name is spelled a non standard way or something? [/quote]
Even simpler way: check if his name or SSN is deleted from the payroll, or has not been issued a check in over 30 days.