[ISN] Gmail, Hotmail Pose Government Security Risk

From: InfoSec News <alerts_at_private>
Date: Fri, 25 Mar 2011 00:22:10 -0600 (CST)
http://www.informationweek.com/news/security/vulnerabilities/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=229400231

By Mathew J. Schwartz 
InformationWeek
March 24, 2011

Government use of Webmail is under fire in Australia, with one 
government oversight group calling for it to be blocked inside 
government agencies.

That recommendation comes from the Australian National Audit Office 
(ANAO), which recently audited four Australian government agencies to 
assess the effectiveness of their information security framework, 
network security management, access management, and equipment security.

The audit examined four groups inside the Australian government: the 
Office of Financial Management, ComSuper (which handles government 
pensions), Medicare Australia, and the Department of the Prime Minister 
and Cabinet. They served as a representative cross-sample of agencies 
and their approach to IT, or ICT (information and communication 
technologies), as it is often known abroad.

Interestingly, auditors found that government employees were actively 
using Webmail accounts such as Gmail and Hotmail. According to the 
ANAO's report, "Webmail accounts were accessible in one of the audited 
agencies, and logs showed that some staff were using these accounts on a 
regular basis."

[...]


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Received on Thu Mar 24 2011 - 23:22:10 PDT

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