According to the Deputy Inspector General, the U.S. Department of the Interior has nearly 15,000 laptops being used by employees and they don’t have the proper security systems in place to prevent them from being hacked.
A memo issued by Deputy Inspector General Mary L. Kendall and released Wednesday said the laptops — some likely in Utah — are at “high risk of compromise” should they be lost or stolen because the agency did not require pre-boot authentication.
By sidestepping this authentication requirement, Kendall said not only are employees’ personal information, such as usernames, passwords, Social Security numbers and other data, at risk, but the agency’s entire network and systems are vulnerable to unauthorized access. Kendall also said that once inside the department’s computer network, the cyberattacker could potentially disrupt bureau operations and steal sensitive information.
Read More: Deseret News