The lessons I learned in Kindergarten helped shape the IT worker I became–but hardly any of that was intentional.

Rules don’t keep things secure.

DeeDee, a pig-tailed blond who wore airy dresses, needed a pair of green-handled, “lefty” scissors and refused to be denied by Christian, confidently blocking her way through the aisle of desks.  She stepped up, onto her chair.  Then to her sturdy desk’s wooden top.  She proceeded to walk gingerly but without hesitation from desk to desk, around Christian’s blockade.

While others gaped at her reckless audacity I recognized an opportunity to answer a most pressing question, “What’s under there?”

To my defense, I can say with fair certainty that no school rule distinctly forbade the “lifting or circumventing of a classmate’s dress.”  But I probably inspired the principal to craft such rules–and apply them retroactively.  I was paddled for peeking under DeeDee’s dress.  Yes, I’m old enough to remember the sting of corporal punishment.

My curiosity got the better of me.  I honestly had no idea why I was in so much trouble.  I saw an opportunity to satisfy my curiosity and was oblivious of the rules or consequences regarding those actions.  DeeDee, on the other hand, reasoned that the rules no longer applied to her under the pressures of a bully.

When planning your SharePoint sites, remember that rules like “don’t touch the configuration” or “don’t look at this hidden list” are no substitute for security.  People may get curious, see an opportunity, disregard rules under duress, or venture into restricted areas ignorant of the damage they can cause.  To keep your site safe, learn how to assign permissions that make it impossible for people to “do the wrong thing.”

Paul Grenier