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Homeland Security Suffers Hacks
David Utter
Staff Writer
2007-06-22
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Scores of attacks against Department of Homeland Security machines led lawmakers on Capitol Hill to lambaste the Department's CIO.
 | | Homeland Security Suffers Hacks |  |
Scott Charbo likely didn't enjoy his recent visit to the US House of Representatives. Angry lawmakers pointed out how 844 computer security-related incidents have taken place over the past two fiscal years under his watch as DHS chief information officer.
He may not have that title for long. Federal Computer Week said Representatives accused Charbo of wasting his budget, and generally not doing his job.
"I am not convinced that [Charbo] is serious about fixing the vulnerabilities in our systems," said Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.) at the recent hearing.
Trojan infections, firewall misconfigurations, and poor control of secure system access rankled the House Homeland Security Committee's Emerging Threats, Cybersecurity and Science and Technology Subcommittee. The last federal audit of DHS on computer security scored the agency a D.
A General Accounting Office investigation into DHS shortcomings may have prompted DHS to start working on fulfilling recommendations from the security audit. The DHS CIO would not address that directly, saying, "I'm not prepared to say that I already knew about those vulnerabilities and weaknesses."
When DHS was created in the wake of the 9/11 attacks, some wondered why a new bureaucracy at the federal level was needed in addition to the Defense and Justice Departments. The ongoing spate of security incidents may make people rethink the DHS rationale again.
If it can't secure itself, how can DHS protect anyone else?
Tags: DHS, Computer, Security
About the Author:
David Utter is a business and technology writer for SecurityProNews and WebProNews.
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