Ask HN: Update about the Consulting company illegally uploading bank software
Why: To bypass the waiting period of background checks of the bank consultants. Any consultant joining the bank would have to wait 2-8 weeks to get the background checked and cannot access the intranet which means they cannot work but they are already billing.
How: The company runs parallel 4G networks inside the bank and all its consultants access the github to sync their code.
I emailed my manager for written permission to sync bank code to/from internet. I was requested to leave my work laptop at the bank and return to the consulting company. There, I was informed that I was unassigned from the task and I was not allowed to collect any personal belongings left at the bank and was sent a Cease-And-Desist order from their lawyer asking me to neither speak to the bank nor anyone else.
I spoke to the ombudsman who said that since I am contractor, the consultant is not legally obliged to respond. Next, I emailed Human Rights and got similar response. I then spoke to the bank HR who "would look into it" but not follow-up as I was not an employee of the bank.
I spoke to few lawyers who agreed there was something wrong but legally I cant do anything; it's up to the bank. Why am I pissed? I wanted to know if it's safe for me to push the bank code to the internet. I signed the bank compliance which stated that the bank software may never leave the intranet Beyond all that is a discrimination case that truly devastated me.
Outcome: I gave up. There is nothing you can do except resign and move on.