FBI data open to 'insider attacks'

[babylonsister]

http://www.newscientisttech.com/article/mg19426066.300-fbi-data-open-to-insider-attacks.html

FBI data open to 'insider attacks'

The irony of it. America's leading law enforcement agency is wide open to criminals wanting to steal its secrets. That's the conclusion of a damning report into the internal network security of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

According to the Government Accountability Office in Washington DC, the FBI fails to consistently apply such standard authentication measures as passwords and biometrics to guard against unauthorised access to its computer files. All a potential data thief need do is get a job there, and so gain physical access to a computer. This lets them reach sensitive data, regardless of their security status.

The FBI also fails to log the retrieval of critical data, and sensitive information is stored unencrypted in plain text files, says the GAO in its public report here:
http://www.gao.gov/new.items/d07368.pdf

From issue 2606 of New Scientist magazine, 04 June 2007, page 29