For a month before the recent Republican National Convention, Deke George, Seth Peter and a gang of cohorts schemed to break into the IT systems of the St. Paul police and other critical city agencies.
Not only that, but a couple of their accomplices, posing as delivery men, attempted to talk their way into off-limits areas of the city's Water Department.
Although city officials knew about these forays, no one was arrested. In fact, George and Peter collected a tidy payoff for their efforts.
The two gents, friends since grade school, are the founders of NetSPI, a Minneapolis company that specializes in trying to breach the IT and infrastructure security systems employed by corporate and government clients and recommends changes needed to plug any holes they find.
It's a business that grossed $3 million last year and is headed for a $5 million total this year, never mind the faltering economy. Indeed, despite flat revenue in 2006, NetSPI has generated a compound annual growth rate of 50 percent since its first full year of operation in 2002.
Better yet, "it's also a really fun business," said George, 37, NetSPI's CEO. He was referring to the delivery man disguises, phony credentials and magnetic signs attached to the side of company vehicles that NetSPI consultants occasionally use to talk their way past a client's security guards.
Oh, yes, there's one more item that's critical to such undercover operations, he said: "The key is, you gotta be carrying a clipboard."
So, what kind of weaknesses did NetSPI uncover in St. Paul's preparations for the Republican convention? The partners remain tight-lipped on that topic, although Peter said that "some adjustments in technology and procedural controls" were suggested. He declined to be specific.