US federal agencies – an open door for hackers

US federal agencies – an open door for hackers

Washington, 8/15/2021

Of the eight U.S. federal cybersecurity programs, only the Department of Homeland Security made improvements in 2020.

A report by the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee found that seven of the eight agencies studied still use legacy systems whose vendors no longer offer updates. So it stands to reason to assume that these agencies are easy pickings for hackers.

The report also shows that the State Department was unable to produce records for 60% of the employees it investigated who had access to its classified networks.

In one test, the Education Department’s inspector general managed to steal hundreds of files containing personal information from the agency, including credit card numbers.

FYI: In May, President Biden signed an executive order setting out goals for improving cybersecurity at the federal level.