US govt staffers use personal gear on work networks, handle biz docs on the reg – study Employees of US government agencies are largely ignoring basic security measures. This is according to a study published this month by security biz Lookout, which suggests Uncle Sam's staffers may be putting confidential information at risk. According to a survey of 200 IT and security admins at US federal agencies, 67.5 per …
It all depends on the individual user. I am sure that many readers of el Reg could set up a private computer to be MUCH more secure than systems set up for government agencies by outsourced IT departments whose only interest is keeping shareholders happy.
I'm betting that Edward Snowden's personal laptop was tons more secure than CIA network systems he was working on.
Been there, seen that. Did it? Your honor, I plead the fifth.
These people- by and large - are not stupid. They know the policies and risks. But their gear is crap, support is worse, and they are still expected to accomplish their mission - whatever it takes.
You want it done real bad? It will probably get done real bad.
Bet you any other hellhole of compliance-based mentality and mind numbing bureaucracy will be the same. Sad, really.
Lets be honest, keeping a machine secure at work or at home is generally inconvenient as the requirements will make simple tasks less so (or occasionally impossible). As a result many people will cut corners as they really don't understand the risks.
I've never used my own equipment in the workplace - if my employer wants me to use a computer he can pay for it - and I am sufficiently paranoid never to have picked up a nasty at home. But this is made easier as I don't frequent social media or pornographic websites (is there a difference?) so I am less at risk than some. Also, I very rarely use public wi-fi hotspots and when I do it is from very tightly locked down linux device.
Amusingly, the only time I ever had a problem was at work inside a pretty solid corporate firewall. I had been issued a new laptop and I had to plug it into the office network to pick up the mandated firewall & a/v packages (no pre-installed corporate setup at the time). During that process the thing picked up no less than 6 viruses. IT support tracked them down to a guy who had taken his laptop home and let his kids install games on it ...
I'm not employed by the government, but last year's security incident audit identified this issue as one of our site's biggest vulnerabilities. Good! The Specific Vulnerability is an extremely high up Important Person's personal laptop that keeps getting viruses and keeps getting connected to the network. Not Good!
Actually, people are fundamental to insecurity.
The more people you have, the less secure you are. Eliminate all the people and your security improves a lot.
IBM are aiming to be the most secure company in the world. And they're not far off getting there.
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