Trap Doors

A trap door or back door is an undocumented way of gaining access to a system that is built into the system by its designer(s). It can also be a program that has been altered to allow someone to gain privileged access to a system or process.

There have been numerous stories of vendors utilizing trap doors in disputes with customers. One example is the story of a consultant who was contracted to build a system for a company. The consultant designed a trap door into the delivered system. When the consultant and the company got into a dispute over payment, the consultant used the trap door to gain access to the system and disable the system. The company was forced to pay the consultant to get its system turned back on again.