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Federal Agencies Left Private Data Open to Cyberattacks for a Decade, Says Senate Report

Eight agencies—including State, HHS, Social Security—failed to adequately protect highly sensitive personal info, according to an astonishing new report.

Multiple federal agencies kept up an outdated security system over the past decade that left Americans' personal information vulnerable to theft, according to a damning new Senate report out Tuesday. The Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations found the failures came from the Departments of State, Homeland Security, Health and Human Services, Transportation, Education, Agriculture, Housing and Urban Development, and the Social Security Administration. The Hill reports all eight agencies used outdated “legacy systems,” with six failing to install system patches when they should have, and seven failing to provide adequate protections. One of the most significant failings came from the Social Security Administration, which risked leaking the personal information of more than 60 million Americans. Subcommittee Chairman Rob Portman (R-OH) said the agencies “failed at implementing basic cybersecurity practices, leaving classified, personal, and sensitive information unsafe and vulnerable to theft.”