When did the Inspector General testify that U.S. Department of Education data is not safe? While testifying at a November 17, 2015 hearing of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform
Why is federal education data vulnerable to hackers?
- lax controls over who can access student data
- outdated technology
- inadequate data security
What type of student data does USED keep?
- 139 million Social Security numbers
- sensitive financial aid borrower information about students and families
- 97,000 account/users with access to this information
- Less than 20% have had a background check to receive a security clearance.
- Chairman Rep. Jason Chaffetz (R-UT) summed up the problem: “[A]most half of the population of the United States of America has their personal information sitting in this database, which is not secure.”
Breitbart | U.S. Department of Education Data System Riddled With Vulnerabilities For Students