[dghlsakjg]

The author is not acting in a professional role here.

He, in his own time, discovered a pretty serious exposure of information and politely informed them. They decided to not be polite in return. He responded in the same tone as them.

There was never any professional obligation, nor any obligation for the author to inform them of their breach at all, nor was there any obligation to give them time to notify clients before publication. Those are all courtesies.

This man didn't choose team troll, he responded to team troll in kind.

[vorpalhex]

To double down here, the author did the correct thing by using their snarkiness.

If someone who in theory is a professional (the company that left all of this in the open) responds in an unprofessional way from the start - you are done using professional tone. That tool isn't producing results. Stop using that tool.

The goal is not to model perfect manners - it is to bring attention to a breach so it can be remedied. The author understands this and has acted so to achieve this result.

[theschmed]

Exactly. The stakes of the conversation are quite high. Innocent people could suffer real harms.

Professional norms exist to support people in taking responsibility for the power they have. The CEO is manifestly failing in his responsibilities.