QUOTE ("InformationWeek")
GAO Bashes Fed's Sloppy E-mail Management
The agency has criticized the digital-records and cyber-security policies at five government agencies including the National Archives and Record Administration and the Dept. of Homeland Security.
By Richard Martin
InformationWeek
July 16, 2008 01:20 PM
Saying that there's "little assurance that [federal] agencies are effectively managing records, including e-mail records, throughout their life cycle," the U.S. Government Accountability Office has released a lengthy audit that criticizes the digital-records and cyber-security policies at five government agencies including the National Archives and Record Administration and the Dept. of Homeland Security.
Entitled "Federal Records: National Archives and Selected Agencies Need to Strengthen E-Mail Management (PDF)," the new report comes in the wake of the long battle over thousands of missing e-mails from White House officials that the Bush Administration has been unable or unwilling to locate. Many of those e-mails were sent and received during the run-up to the invasion of Iraq in March 2003.
Among the report's findings is the revelation that employees at the Dept. of Homeland Security have access to Web-based e-mail services, such as Gmail and Hotmail, from government computers. Such e-mail systems are often the conduit for various forms of malware including viruses, phishing scams, and the like.
"Although employees can currently access Web-based and Internet-accessible private e-mail systems," the report states, "the department is taking steps to restrict or remove this access."
Read More in InformationWeek
The agency has criticized the digital-records and cyber-security policies at five government agencies including the National Archives and Record Administration and the Dept. of Homeland Security.
By Richard Martin
InformationWeek
July 16, 2008 01:20 PM
Saying that there's "little assurance that [federal] agencies are effectively managing records, including e-mail records, throughout their life cycle," the U.S. Government Accountability Office has released a lengthy audit that criticizes the digital-records and cyber-security policies at five government agencies including the National Archives and Record Administration and the Dept. of Homeland Security.
Entitled "Federal Records: National Archives and Selected Agencies Need to Strengthen E-Mail Management (PDF)," the new report comes in the wake of the long battle over thousands of missing e-mails from White House officials that the Bush Administration has been unable or unwilling to locate. Many of those e-mails were sent and received during the run-up to the invasion of Iraq in March 2003.
Among the report's findings is the revelation that employees at the Dept. of Homeland Security have access to Web-based e-mail services, such as Gmail and Hotmail, from government computers. Such e-mail systems are often the conduit for various forms of malware including viruses, phishing scams, and the like.
"Although employees can currently access Web-based and Internet-accessible private e-mail systems," the report states, "the department is taking steps to restrict or remove this access."
Read More in InformationWeek