Many California government departments and agencies have major flaws in their data security procedures, a report has found. The state auditor, Elaine Howle, surveyed 33 government entities, such as the judiciary and offices of elected officials, that are not mandated to reach the standards for information security of a cabinet-level department. “While we do expect our public sector entities to meet or exceed federal standards, it is important to note that many of these organizations still fall short on some key metrics,” she wrote. The report discovered basic vulnerabilities, such as not changing the default password of systems. It called for the state government to resolve these issues more quickly, and for entities to have a data security assessment at least every three years.
Many California government departments and agencies have major flaws in their data security procedures, a report has found. The state auditor, Elaine Howle, surveyed 33 government entities, such as the judiciary and offices of elected officials, that are not mandated to reach the standards for information security of a cabinet-level department. Of those entities, 21 had “high risk deficiencies”. The report discovered basic vulnerabilities, such as not changing the default password of systems. It called for the state government to resolve these issues more quickly, and for entities to have a data security assessment at least every three years.