Feds Fight to Plug Security Holes - Page 2

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Do you know where your computers are?

The problems at Los Alamos National Laboratory are more troubling because the lab, which bills itself as the premier national security science laboratory, deals with highly classified projects including safeguarding the U.S. nuclear deterrent and offering mission-critical support for NASA.

In January, three computers were stolen from the home of a LANL scientist in Santa Fe, New Mexico, earning the lab a rebuke from its client, the Department of Energy's National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA), according to the Web site of the Project on Government Oversight (POGO). POGO is an independent nonprofit that says its mission is to investigate and expose corruption and other misconduct in the federal government.

The NNSA letter, signed by contracting officer Robert Poole, said that, although LANL has improved the robustness of its cybersecurity implementation, the theft revealed concerns in various areas. It also said that LANL later reported that 13 computers had been lost or stolen in the past 12 months and 67 others were missing. "The magnitude of exposure and risk to the laboratory is at best unclear as little data on these losses has been collected or pursued given their treatment as property management issues as well."

Poole directed LANL to treat any loss of computer equipment as a cybersecurity concern and to tighten security measures.

LANL spokesperson Jeff Berger told InternetNews.com the computers stolen from the scientist's home in New Mexico did not contain classified data. Neither did the computers reported missing or stolen last year.

Another 11 computers, which could have gone missing or been stolen before 2008, were recovered last year, Berger said. Pointing out that LANL has accounted for 99.5 percent or more of its computers and computer related equipment, exceeding the 98.7 percent bar set by NNSA, Berger said the laboratory has tightened up its security measures since the theft.

"We've just initiated an inventory process calling in all computers," he said. "We're also reviewing policies that govern the home use of our computers."