http://www.gcn.com/print/26_13/44394-1.html
By Joab Jackson
GCN
06/04/07 issue
The Energy Department has launched a new effort to keep tighter control
of its mobile computing units, following the recent disclosure that the
department has lost 1,415 laptop PCs during the past six years, agency
officials said.
DOE Secretary Samuel Bodman expects to take immediate actions to correct
this, department spokeswoman Megan Barnett said. Were moving in a
serious and deliberative manner.
DOE notified Congress of the lost laptops late last month.
The figure represents approximately 2 percent of its current inventory
of laptop computers; about 71,874 units are used either by agency
personnel or contractors. Since his appointment in 2005, Bodman has
recognized that management deficiencies have been an issue throughout
the history of the department, Barnett said. He has been working to
fully identify weaknesses and correct them at their source in regard to
computer inventory control.
Barnett added that the laptop issue is is something that has been
developing over many years.
As a result of the findings, which track missing units up until June
2006, Bodman ordered a full inventory of laptops, which subsequently
recovered 100 of the units. The agency has already been taking a number
of other steps to minimize future losses, Barnett said.
For instance, the agency has implemented a rule that requires employees
to report missing property within 24 hours of noticing the loss. The
agency plans to beef up its reporting capabilities to better detail the
circumstances of the loss. Senior managers will have to verify that
their offices are in compliance with these policies.
In addition, the agency has been stressing that employees take better
care of the property that is checked out. Those who get laptops must now
sign a statement acknowledging their responsibility for the equipment.
And closer scrutiny will be in place to ensure employees return all
equipment that has been checked out when they leave DOE.
During the next 120 days, DOE will take additional steps. For instance,
contractor performance plans are being revised to spell out the
responsibility for keeping track of equipment. Contractors must do
inventories and make sure the equipment is updated. Property management
performance will be part of business management performance, Barnett
said.
None of the individuals to whom the missing laptops were issued were
disciplined. DOE said none of the stolen or lost laptops carried
classified information. Two possibly held personal information one had a
resume and the other carried a performance evaluation and one possibly
contained an internal Office Use Only document.
The reported loss of personal computers is the latest in a long line of
disclosure by government agencies. Earlier last month, the
Transportation Security Administration alerted the FBI and Secret
Service of a lost hard drive containing information on 100,000 current
and former workers. In February, the Justice Departments inspector
general found that 160 FBI laptop PCs had been lost or stolen during a
44-month period. And last November, the Armys Accessions Command in Fort
Monroe, Va., reported that a laptop PC with personal information on
4,600 scholarship applicants for the Reserve Officer Training Corps had
gone missing.
In May 2006, the Veterans Affairs Department had one of the most notable
losses, when a laptop with information on as many as 26 million veterans
was stolen from a VA employees home. The laptop was recovered, and its
information had not been accessed. In August 2006, VA instituted a
policy of encrypting all its laptop PCs.
Last September, Rep. Tom Davis (R-Va.), then chairman of the Government
Reform Committee (now ranking member), introduced the Federal Agency
Data Breach Protection Act, which calls for stronger rules about
agencies disclosing data loss. The act never made it out of committee,
however.
Why cant anyone take this more seriously? Usually, heads roll when
something like this happens in the private sector. But in the public
sector, the consequences seem minimal, said Adam Thierer, a senior
fellow at the Progress and Freedom Foundation, a Washington think tank
covering technology issues. These machines should be bolted to the desk.
And there should be some straightforward rules that are in place, he
said.
GCN senior writer Patience Wait contributed to this story.
Received on Fri Jun 8 09:06:34 2007