Security flaw and Underdress at Hope Club is the story of how the General Manager endangered the private data of the membership.
The Hope Club Security Flaw and Underdress
The Hope Club is an historical edifice located in Providence, Rhode Island, at Benefit and Benevolent Streets. Unlike more well known clubs like The National Arts Club in New York, formerly the home of Samuel J. Tilden, the Hope Club started as a private members only club for gentlemen.
In 2022, we were looking for a new club, having migrated further up north from New York City. A visit to the Hope Club was less than impressive, from the underdressed membership personnel to the security flaw we discovered on their website. It was not to be.1
First Impressions
We were looking forward to our visit to the Hope Club on a rather chilly morning in April 2022. Parking was available in the lot adjacent to the club. The building was quite impressive, Scottish Baronial. My associate had studied architecture and knew the design scheme. As for me, I had to research the building prior to my visit. As an ardent researcher, I do my due diligence to get it right the first time. Sometimes, there is no room for error, especially during a garden party hosted by the Queen!
As we entered the foyer, there was no one to greet us. We took a seat and waited. We were slightly early, but not too early for our appointment. A neatly attired mature woman asked if we needed any assistance. We mentioned the name of the person we were there to meet. She offered to let the person know we had arrived for the appointment.
Security Flaw & Underdress
A well dressed man sat across from us. We thought he was a member. He wore a jacket, dress shirt, tie and matching pants. Shortly thereafter, the General Manager, Mr. Mitchell Frania arrived to greet him. They walked off to an adjacent room for a job interview. Mr. Frania appeared rather underdressed. He wore an appropriate dress shirt, tie and pants, sans a jacket. Whilst the man he was interviewing made the effort, Mr. Frania did not. First impressions are all it takes to set the mood.
Next a younger woman arrived in yoga pants. Did the Hope Club provide yoga classes? Not at all. She was the membership personnel we were there to meet. The horror! It wasn’t enough she wore what looked like a sweatshirt on the club’s website photo, she now appeared and greeted us in yoga pants. If this was the quality of personnel, what would the service look like, exactly?
Whilst the dollar amount to join the Hope Club was marginal, as a consumer you have to weigh what you are actually receiving for that dollar amount. If expecting to pay an initiation fee, plus an annual or monthly dues, what do we receive in exchange? For one, an appropriately and professionally attired membership personnel who doesn’t remind us of a sorority student who just rolled out of bed and forgot to dress. We would expect a General Manager to always be in a jacket, unless he was writing correspondences at his desk.
Later we discovered that the Hope Club had a serious security flaw on their website. Moreover their website wasn’t secure. Instead of being receptive, the General Manager Mr Fania rejected our concerns. Apparently they were all right with their security flaw and underdress at Hope Club.
Manners Maketh, Etiquette Taketh
As we have noted at The Social Diary Organisation, standards of attire and appropriate manners have been slipping for some time. For this reason, we decided to launch The Social Diary website. Although etiquette and manners may be mentioned from time to time, we are not focused purely on those things.
There are more qualified experts including William Hanson. Of course there are nuances in Western etiquette, such as in France and Italy, but understanding etiquette and manners, in general, will provide a good base in many social circles.
By all means skip the Lizzie Post and Daniel Post Senning versions. They may be the great-great grandchildren of Emily Post, but their podcast is one misstep after another. Additionally, there is a sense they are trying to figure it out as they muddle along. Does Mr. Senning know the difference between a peak lapel and a notch lapel? This based on observation on his “dinner jacket” selection.
Iceberg Warning & Leadership Failure
A more pressing matter at the Hope Club was their lack of a security certificate for their website. The hint was the exclamation triangle warning that the site was “not secure.” Mr. Frania was notified by email. His haughty arrogance shined through in response. This is how he responded.
“As for our website, it is PCI compliant and according to the website management company (that manages hundreds of clubs’ websites nationwide) all of our membership information is secure. As for the timetable (Thursday), Club personnel did reach out to our website management company to confirm that our information for both the Club and its membership is secure.”
It is highly doubtful that the Hope Club website was secure. Moreover, the security standard for websites have migrated over https. Previous web surfers also saw a lock icon to the left of the website address. What you don’t see is http, which indicates to any hacker that the website is ripe for an attack. Here we provide three examples of the Hope Club’s lack of website security measures.
Breach in Time
- In this image dated April 10, 2022, note the website address as http.NOT SECURE!
- In this image dated October 4, 2022, note the website address as http. NOT SECURE!
- In this image dated March 8, 2023, note the website address as http. NOT SECURE!
- In this image dated March 18, 2023, note the website address as https. SECURE! Moreover, we added the validated certificate, which the Hope Club only obtained almost one year after we brought attention to this matter, which Mr. Frania denied.
We notified Mr Frania on April 10, 2022, after we searched the Hope Club’s security profile. His dismissive and curt response did not serve him well as General Manager of such an illustrious club. Rather his boorish, ‘I know better’ attitude could have jeapordised the club accounts of its membership. The credit card might be secure, but all payments are initiated on the club’s website. The payment process would not be secure without the appropriate SSL/TLS certificate. Likewise, passwords and credit card information of members could have been compromised.
Perhaps a thought reached a reasonable person to ask this very same question. Because finally in March 2023, the club’s website had the appropriate certificate in place.
- This story was updated to include relevant information and formatting. ↩︎