To borrow from a very successful American football coach’s mantra of “do your job” a recent matter which took place here at OT highlights the need to remind us to “do your job and don’t pay someone to do it for you.”

A now separated, former OT employee volunteered to take on a project in support of a team. Unfortunately, the ex-employee failed to disclose that they did not have the requisite skills to complete the task for which they volunteered. The ex- employee visited a website where one engages and contracts with technology and IT freelance engineers. They met an engineer based in a sanctioned country, and after agreeing to pay the engineer to complete the task, the ex-employee sent OT proprietary data containing PII from their OT laptop to their personal email account then on to the engineer, who performed the work and was paid by the ex-employee out of their own pocket. 

After submitting the work as their own, the team they were assisting was pleased with the output but required some additional modifications. The ex-employee contracted again with the engineer. The engineer performed the work, but this time the ex-employee reneged on their agreement and failed to pay for the engineer’s services. The understandably upset engineer attempted to seek payment, but the ex-employee did not respond and blocked the engineer from contacting them through the website where they met. The engineer proceeded to contact Kabir and other OT employees, as well as posting disparaging comments about OT on social media since he was unaware that the ex-employee engaged with him without seeking the proper authorizations to engage a third party vendor. In fact, the ex-employee took all of these actions without the knowledge of their OT manager, the team they were supporting or anyone else at OT.

To make matters worse, when confronted with the evidence, the ex-employee was not fully candid with investigators.

The violations of the Code of Trust and various OT policies are numerous: contracting with a third party without authorization; sending OT data with PII to an unapproved recipient; sending that data to a sanctioned country unsecured; and failing to be fully candid during an investigation, just to name a few. The ex-employee’s actions elevated the reputational and financial risk profile for OT.

This incident serves as a sobering reminder of the critical importance of accountability, transparency, and adherence to company policies. Trust and integrity are cornerstones of who we are as a company, and actions like this compromise not only the individual’s standing but also the reputation and security of OT.

Let this be a lesson to all of us: if you commit to a task, ensure you have the skills and resources to complete it properly—or seek appropriate support through approved channels. Cutting corners, bypassing policies, or failing to be transparent creates far-reaching consequences for everyone involved.

At OT, we rely on each team member to "do your job" responsibly and uphold the principles that guide our work. Together, let’s remain vigilant in protecting the trust, data, and reputation we’ve built.