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Commentary :: Civil & Human Rights

Negligence at DHS hurts the people they are supposed to serve

Negligence and incompetence at the Illinois Department of Human Services (DHS) places the private data of thousands of Illinois residents and state employees at risk. Instead of using even remotely modern information systems, DHS maintains data in a large number of Microsoft Access databases. Microsoft Access does not provide all of the security controls necessary to protect data in an enterprise environment. Some DHS computer systems are still running Windows 98. Even when it was first released, Windows 98 was considered a consumer product which did not include security features which are necessary to protect data in a business environment. Systems that run Windows 98 are not able to provide a reasonable level of protection for private data. Microsoft stopped providing support for Windows 98 several years ago, this means that newly discovered security flaws affecting Windows 98 will no longer be addressed by Microsoft. It is grossly irresponsible for DHS to continue using an unsupported operating system on any of its computers so long after vendor support ended. This irresponsible conduct places private data on the DHS network at serious risk. If you are an Illinois resident who does business with DHS (for example, a Medicare recipient), or a state employee whose payroll information is handled by DHS, you should be very concerned about these problems. DHS is playing fast and loose with YOUR private information. While it is not clear whether DHS thought they could save a few bucks by NOT maintaining their information systems or if they are just lazy (or stupid), the end result is that their negligence and incompetence could hurt thousands of the people they are allegedly supposed to serve. It seems as if instead of working to prevent data loss and identity theft, DHS is doing all it can to assist data thieves.

Illinois residents must demand better of their state government.
 
 

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