Who Knows the Admin. Passwords in your IT Dept.?

I saw a post about this somewhere and felt I had to bring it here...The question was

"Who Knows the Admin. Passwords in your IT Dept.?"

I have worked in many IT departments... being a consultant I travel alot and get to see alot of different IT practices... one thing is fairly consistent, it is normal for a handful of IT people to have the passwords. The number will vary depending on the size of the company but it should NEVER be limited to one person. One reason is so that if someone is out sick.. you don't have to worry about contacting them. But also, you don't want one person running about logging in for other IT people when they need logged in.

You need to keep in mind, when you hire an IT person, you are also hiring a person you want to TRUST. If you can't trust them... don't hire them. Part of an IT person's job REQUIRES them to get into places that need a password.

• Would you hire a payroll person and not give him/her the confidential salary files he needs to do his/her job?
  
• Would you hire a security guard and not give him keys?
  

Same deal. These are necessary tools for an IT person. Think about it.