The agency’s inspector full general traced the malicious software to a unmarried unnamed USGS employee, who reportedly used a government-issued estimator to see around 9,000 adult video sites, according to a study published on Oct 17.
Many of the prohibited pages were linked to Russian websites containing malware, which was ultimately downloaded to the employee’s estimator in addition to used to infiltrate USGS networks, auditors found. The investigation institute the employee saved much of the pornographic cloth on an unauthorized USB get in addition to personal Android cellphone, both of which were connected to their estimator against means protocols. The employee’s jail electrochemical cell band was too infected amongst malware.
“Our digital forensic seek revealed that [the employee] had an extensive history of visiting adult pornography websites” that hosted malware, the IG wrote. “The malware was downloaded to [the employee’s] authorities laptop, which in addition to then exploited the USGS’ network.”
The department’s rules of deportment explicitly prohibit employees from using authorities networks for viewing pornography in addition to other inappropriate activities, in addition to the IG institute the employee had agreed to these rules “several years prior to detection.” The employee no longer industrial plant at the agency, OIG External Affairs Director Nancy DiPaolo told Nextgov.
Auditors recommended USGS to a greater extent than closely monitor employees’ spider web browsing in addition to enforce blacklists of prohibited websites. They said proactively identifying in addition to blocking adult websites “will probable heighten preventative countermeasures.”
They too advised the means to strengthen its information technology safety policies to halt employees from connecting personal devices to authorities computers, which could propagate malware on federal networks. USGS guidelines currently prohibit employees from doing so, simply the means hasn’t disabled such connections on government-issued devices.
