In 2014, the Office of the Inspector General Advised the OPM to Shut Down All Systems Operating Without Proper Security, Or Else Face National Security "Implications"

So what did OPM do?

Hint: This is the same Fun Bunch who brought you Obamacare, and didn't bother complicating that system with any security, either.

John Sexton writing at Breitbart:

In 2014, the Office of the Inspector General (OIG) urged the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) to shut down computer systems which were operating without a current security authorization. OIG specifically warned the breach of some of the systems could have “national security implications.”

In the audit report published November 12, 2014, OIG found that 11 out of 47 computer systems operated by OPM did not have current security authorizations. Furthermore, the affected systems were "amongst the most critical and sensitive applications owned by the agency."

Two of the unauthorized systems are described in the report as "general support systems" which contained over 65 percent of all OPM computer applications. Two other unauthorized systems were owned by Federal Investigative Services, the organization which handles background investigations in connection with government security clearances. OIG warned bluntly, "any weaknesses in the information systems supporting this program office could potentially have national security implications."

You can read OPM Director David Achuleta's defense at the link. Basically it boils down to: our incompetence is our shield, because these problems were so obvious the Chinese were already hacking the shit out of us when this report came down.

This, of course, raises the question as to why the OPM needed an OIG report to be told that they should have some security in the personnel files of the nation's diplomats, spymasters, and armed forces personnel.

posted by Ace at 12:50 PM

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