Congress Is Really Bad At Cybersecurity

[HardOCP News]

Two bipartisan lawmakers decided to do something to help out all the technically illiterate members of congress by sending an email with security tips to help them avoid falling victim to scammers. Something tells me this isn't going to help much but at least someone is trying. This would probably work better if they sent a super scammy "click here for your free subscription" email, at least that way we know they'd at least click on it.

The political capital is constantly facing network attacks and hacks from outside hackers and nation states -- and that's before the CIA wages its own wave of targeting intelligence committee members. Most lawmakers have never heard of PGP or even SSL, let alone used it (and most lawmakers still don't). For some, it's an endemic problem that bleeds into the political world -- which might explain why some of its cybersecurity legislation is so ill-conceived and badly thought-out.

 

[Twisted Kidney]

Technology does not move at the speed of politics.

 

[Skripka]

The only cyber security that Congress knows of its letting the NSA spy on everyone. That to them is cyber security

 

[pothb]

The only cyber security that Congress knows of its letting the NSA spy on everyone. That to them is cyber security

Spy on everyone but themselves you mean.

 

[MongGrel]

It took congress a long time to even figure out what the internet and Twitter was to be honest.

What else is new.

Nice to know these are the guys making major decisions.

 

[EchoWars]

Not even the tip of the iceberg.

 

[Jagger100]

Spy on everyone but themselves you mean.

we're the threat to their careers/power/incomes. But yay, lets give them even more power at every turn.

 

[Mad Maxx]

Congress is really bad at everything... except wasting money... and making things worse.

 

[Methadras]

Even snails are faster than government.

 

[Skripka]

Even snails are faster than government.

Try any large bureaucratic enterprise. Until there's a crisis at a company, especially one with fiscal reverberations, things tend to move at tectonic pace...and if something "works", it stays in use. Even if that something is 1980s tech that has long since ceased being supported in any way. It "works".

Corporate America tends to be hilariously bad at computer security as well. Just looks at the last 3 years of massive digital break ins at Target, Niemann, and so on (a few dozen other major ones that we even know of). We're still using the latest in 1970s credit card tech because banks and merchants alike can't be bothered.