Hero or rogue? That was the question from the very start in the case of Terry Childs, the San Francisco network administrator who refused to give server passwords to a manager he believed had no authority over those servers. Our view is that Childs was right, and his punishment was a miscarriage of justice.
You can follow the sad saga of Terry Childs from the chronology below, going from most to least recent. We've also highlighted key stories in the mini TOC at left and at the bottom of the story.
Insult to injury: San Francisco wins $1.5M from Terry Childs
It's abundantly clear that San Francisco is making an example of Terry Childs. But for whom?... more
The Terry Childs case: San Francisco is just as guilty
The end of the Terry Childs saga is no less perplexing than the rest of the case: sad, unfair, and... more
Network admin Terry Childs gets 4-year sentence
Childs was convicted of criminal charges after refusing to hand over administrative passwords to... more
Terry Childs is denied motion for retrial
The former network administrator is expected to be sentenced Aug. 6 after several postponements... more
Judge postpones sentencing of Terry Childs
Former San Francisco administrator who shut down the city's network for 10 days faces up to... more
Terry Childs juror explains why he voted to convict
Though Juror No. 4 had sympathy for Terry Childs, he says holding San Francisco's network... more
Rough justice for Terry Childs
After two years, the curious case of Terry Childs concludes with a guilty verdict. But the ripples... more
Update: Terry Childs found guilty
The admin who kept San Francisco network passwords now faces a maximum of five years in prison... more
Waiting for the Terry Childs verdict
It’s been almost two years since Terry Childs' odyssey began. Will justice be served?... more
Fate of network admin Terry Childs now in jury's hands
Closing arguments conclude in the trial of the San Francisco network admin who was charged in July... more
Slouching toward justice for Terry Childs
Gavin Newsom testifies as the Terry Childs trial enters its second agonizing month... more
Terry Childs: Another Christmas in jail
As we head into the last few weeks of the decade, Terry Childs heads to trial -- and prepares to... more
Terry Childs: 15 months and counting
Believe it or not, the "rogue" network admin hasn't even gone to trial yet.... more
How the Terry Childs case could harm password security
Judge McCarthy may be redefining the term "user" -- and that could make it harder for IT... more
Terry Childs still faces one charge -- one he shouldn't face
After 14 months in jail, Childs now stands accused of a single charge of violating a 'denial... more
A year after the Terry Childs case, privileged user problem grows
Figuring out how to manage those who manage the network keys is crucial for security... more
Terry Childs back in court
Former network admin for city of San Francisco appeared for another hearing last week, after months... more
Terry Childs: State of the case
The wheels of justice are indeed turning slowly... more
Quick update on the Terry Childs case
The next hearing is delayed for another two weeks... more
Accused rogue admin Terry Childs makes his case
Former San Francisco network administrator insists he'll keep fighting to prove his innocence... more
Terry Childs: The jailhouse interview
Thirty minutes with San Francisco's most famous network administrator... more
Laid-off IT workers, Terry Childs, and unexpected consequences
In a time of corporate strife, keep a close eye on potential new threats... more
Terry Childs motion for reduced bail denied -- again
Childs had another bail reduction hearing; his motion was denied, and he remains in jail on $5... more
Terry Childs' attorney withdraws from the case
Terry Child's attorney has withdrawn from the case, citing a conflict of interest... more
Some observations on the next round of motions in the Terry Childs case
The latest filing by the City of San Francisco in the Terry Childs matter features more technical... more
No power outage in the Terry Childs case?
An insider claims that the power outage that Terry Childs was accused of using to sabotage the San... more
Quick update on the Terry Childs case
It seems that the prosecution has requested more time to prepare their motion... more
The Terry Childs case on pause, and an apparent new security issue for the city of San Francisco
The city and Childs' lawyer are in their respective corners, preparing for the upcoming trial... more
Top 10: Security, Midori, and Terry Childs
This week's roundup of the top tech news stories includes patching the DNS flaw, the rogue SF... more
Some reflections and a reader's observations on the Terry Childs case
My main concern on the Childs matter is that the case against Childs may be built around a profound... more
A primer on the Terry Childs case for the non-technical
Since I continue to read, see, and hear news stories on the Childs case that depart from reality, I... more
Sorting out fact from fiction in the Terry Childs case
San Francisco's network-abuse claims raise more questions than answers... more
The Terry Childs case in its own words
Some documents from the public record of the Terry Childs v City of San Francisco case... more
The Terry Childs case cacophony
I've been reading some reports on the Childs' case in the mainstream and IT media today,... more
Terry Childs as a symbol
Has the gap widened between what is asked of IT and what is humanly possible? Or is crossing that... more
Terry Childs: Admin gone rogue
San Francisco hunts for mystery device on city networkThe SF rogue admin Terry Childs installed a... more
Another dissection of reports on the Terry Childs case
In another San Francisco Chronicle article today, there are some quotes and summarizations from... more