Chat network used by VA staff was a major security risk, investigation says
by Sam Thielman from Technology | The Guardian on (#J4RG)
A Microsoft product called Yammer was open to anyone who'd ever been a contractor or an employee at the Department of Veterans Affairs
A chat network used by staff at the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) was a major security risk and open to anyone who had ever been a contractor or an employee at the VA, an internal investigation found.
According to the VA's Office of the Inspector General the chat software, a Microsoft product called Yammer, "did not have an administrator or system set in place to ensure removal of former VA or contractor employees". Only an administrator could remove an employee from the system, so everyone who had ever logged maintained access to the service.