Officials of customer agencies whom auditors interviewed said that the lack of compliance created a greater risk of fraud against their programs and left them vulnerable to being held responsible for allowing improper access. Image: Gunnar Pippel/Shutterstock.com
By: FEDweek StaffThe GSA “misled” other agencies about the user authentication capabilities on its Login.gov portal and “knowingly” billed them as if the site met standards that it did not meet, an inspector general audit has said.
The report said that GSA represented to other agencies that the site, which is being touted as a one-stop portal for agencies to use as an access point to their services, met identity proofing and authentication standards from the National Institute of Standards and Technology. Over a three-year period through mid 2021, for example, 18 of the 22 contracts with other agencies stated that the services met and/or were consistent with those standards.
However, the system “has never met” physical or biometric comparison standards for checking the identity of the user or for detecting the “liveness” of a user and that during that time multiple senior leaders learned of that. “They did not, however, notify customer agencies of the noncompliance and the GSA “continued to mislead customer agencies” even after it stopped trying to meet the standards.
Officials of customer agencies whom auditors interviewed said that the lack of compliance created a greater risk of fraud against their programs and left them vulnerable to being held responsible for allowing improper access.
“Furthermore, GSA used misleading language to secure additional funds for Login.gov” from the Technology Modernization Fund, it said, by representing that the portal met the standards.
The report said that the GSA began notifying users in early 2022, by which time it was able to meet some of the standards at issue although not all of them.
In response, GSA management said that “we have already taken a number of actions to ensure that the issue does not recur” including stronger internal oversight and transparency. Also, “Disciplinary actions are proceeding in accordance with GSA protocols and appropriate due process.”
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