trrrs is a wild thing to want as the universal connector... They are bad for any actively powered connection since the tip/rings hit EVERYTHING on the way out and shorting. Split keyboard users know that pain.
Honestly many companies would do well to use these services. I think we get too much into the idea our apps need the same guarantees as the large products out there. Define your SLAs and then choose the platform.
I agree, it's a ui/ux problem. It would seem that using the open file dialog should also request access but I'm guessing that was too intrusive and the user action is seen as implicit authorization. Security is one of those things that should aways be explicit though.
We can get stuck in our minds and lean too much on prior skills instead of fully assessing the problem at hand. More likely than not, given he was a contractor, building a trench and walls seemed like a simple solution to something he has probably dealt with many time and didn't think twice about it.
Next step, doctors shouldn't was thier instruments or hands. That extra bacteria will be no problem if you have a good immune system! Added benifit of culling the heard of the weak.