The most common applications included social media sites, video streaming sites, gambling/sports betting and shopping. Image: Koshiro K/Shutterstock.com
In the latest in a line of reports involving many agencies, the inspector general’s office at the GPO has identified numerous downloads of non-GPO software onto GPO-issued mobile devices, most of which did not appear to serve any official government function.”
“These unauthorized applications pose potential security risks, increase the agency’s exposure to malware and data breaches, and contravene established IT policies. Our findings suggest a need for strengthened oversight, enhanced mobile device management protocols, and increased user awareness to ensure compliance with agency cybersecurity standards,” says a report.
The most common applications included social media sites, video streaming sites, gambling/sports betting and shopping. The report did not say how many phones were involved, but said that instances by those four categories were, respectively, 148, 110, 9 and 84.
The IG recommended that the agency update its IT policies to more clearly define the scope of acceptable and prohibited uses; strengthen the emphasis in employee security training on policies against downloading unapproved services; and either install a device management system capable of blocking them or conduct regular audits if that is not possible. Because the report was in the nature of an alert, there was no response to management.
In recent years IGs of agencies including DoD, FDIC, ICE, USPS, IRS and EPA have made similar findings that despite security protocols employees had installed applications not related to business purposes and/or that cause security related concerns.
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