{"id":17263,"date":"2018-06-12T18:09:52","date_gmt":"2018-06-12T18:09:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/c4isrnet\/uncategorized\/2018\/06\/12\/inspector-general-2-us-dams-at-risk-of-insider-threats\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T04:46:13","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T04:46:13","slug":"inspector-general-2-us-dams-at-risk-of-insider-threats","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/c4isrnet\/cyber\/2018\/06\/12\/inspector-general-2-us-dams-at-risk-of-insider-threats\/","title":{"rendered":"Inspector general: 2 US dams at risk of \u2018insider threats\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

SACRAMENTO, Calif. \u2014 Two dams critical to U.S. national security are at high risk for “insider threats” that could impair operations because of poor computer security practices such as too many employees having access to administrator accounts and failures to routinely change passwords, according to a new inspector general report.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

An evaluation released Monday by the U.S. Department of the Interior doesn’t name the two dams, and spokeswoman Nancy DiPaolo cited national security concerns. But they are among five dams operated by the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation that are considered “critical infrastructure,” meaning their destruction or impairment could hurt national security. Those five dams are Shasta and Folsom Dams in California, Glen Canyon Dam in Arizona, Grand Coulee Dam in Washington and Hoover Dam, which straddles Nevada and Arizona.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The United States and other countries have accused Russian hackers of trying to infiltrate critical infrastructure such as power plants, elevating the sensitivity around making sure U.S. systems are secure.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The inspector general\u2019s report found the two dams are at low-risk of outside cyber infiltration \u2014 but at high risk of threats from within. They\u2019re run remotely through a computer system that controls generators, valves and gates at the dams from a U.S. Bureau of Reclamation operations center. The agency disputed some of the findings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Separately, NextGov reported on June 11 that the Interior Department awarded two companies <\/a>\u2014 Booz Allen Hamilton and Spry Methords \u2014 spots on a $45 million contract to secure dams from cyberattacks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Among the factors cited as security risks in the IG report: Too many people have access to administrative accounts, employees aren\u2019t changing their passwords often enough, account access isn\u2019t always revoked when employees leave, and the agency isn\u2019t conducting robust enough background checks for employees with high-level privileges. For example, the evaluation found nine of 30 administrator accounts hadn\u2019t been used in more than a year.<\/p>\n\n\n\t