U.S. Immigration Database Security
In September, the Inspector General of the Department of Homeland Security published a report on the security of the USCIS (United States Citizenship and Immigration Services) databases. It’s called: “Security Weaknesses Increase Risks to Critical United States Citizenship and Immigration Services Database,” and a redacted version (.pdf) is on the DHS website.
This is from the Executive Summary:
Although USCIS has not established adequate or effective database security controls for the Central Index System, it has implemented many essential security controls such as procedures for controlling temporary or emergency system access, a configuration management plan, and procedures for implementing routine and emergency changes. Further, we did not identify any significant configuration weaknesses during our technical tests of the Central Index System. However, additional work remains to implement the access controls, configuration management procedures, and continuity of operations safeguards necessary to protect sensitive Central Index System data effectively. Specifically, USCIS has not: 1) implemented effective user administration procedures; 2) reviewed and retained [REDACTED] effectively, 3) ensured that system changes are properly controlled; 4) developed and tested an adequate Information technology (IT) contingency plan; 5) implemented [REDACTED]; or 6) monitored system security functions sufficiently. These database security exposures increase the risk that unauthorized individuals could gain access to critical USCIS database resources and compromise the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of sensitive Central Index System data. [REDACTED]
Phillip • December 8, 2005 9:20 AM
Hopefully this document is redacted better than past government PDFs have been.