IG: The SBA “unknowingly allowed personally owned devices ... to access, store, and transmit agency data with only a username and password." Image: DCStockPhotography/Shutterstock.com
By: FEDweek StaffAn inspector general audit has called for tighter controls over personal devices that SBA employees use for official purposes, saying they have left the agency’s network “exposed to unauthorized access.
The SBA “unknowingly allowed personally owned devices, such as smartphones, laptops, or tablet computers, to access, store, and transmit agency data with only a username and password from national and international locations,” a report said. That can leave the agency vulnerable to security threats such as “malware that evades security systems, undetected unauthorized access to a network, or more can occur through un-permitted access from foreign countries to harm the agency and its mission.”
The IG noted that in 2022 it reported that the SBA has been targeted by international cyber criminals—for example, seeking fraudulent Economic Injury Disaster Loans during the pandemic—and in 2023 and 2024 it raised concerns about the lack of multifactor authentication requirements for users accessing the agency’s network.
“Without multifactor authentication, every personally owned device that connects to the network is a potential cyber threat . . . Further, sensitive data should not be downloaded, stored, or printed on personally owned devices,” it said.
The report said that after being notified of the findings, the SBA has taken actions sufficient for the IG to consider four of its recommendations directed toward those issues to be closed and is taking actions the IG considers responsive to the other two.
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