What is wrong with our government that they can’t simply put filtering software on their computers that prevent government employees from accessing pornographic websites?  Is this too much to ask?  Furthermore, is this not an indication of just how vulnerable government computers are to malware?  Yet, they tell us that they know best when it comes to cybersecurity.  The latest news comes by way of an October 17 report from the Office of Inspector General (OIG) in which a US Geological Survey (USGS) employee’s obsession with pornography resulted in Russian malware infecting the entire network.

According to the report, the employee, whose name was redacted, used a government-issued computer to access over 9,000 pornographic sites, which led to a malware infection that exploited the entire USGS network, Earth Resources Observation and Science (EROS) Center satellite imaging facility in Sioux Falls, South Dakota.

The employee’s cell phone was also infected with malware.

According to OIG External Affairs Director Nancy DiPaolo, the employee no longer works at the agency.

The OIG then discovered “suspicious internet traffic” during an IT audit of the network.

The report states:

We found that __ knowingly used U.S. Government computer systems to access unauthorized internet web pages. We also found that those unauthorized pages hosted malware. The malware was downloaded to __ Government laptop, which then exploited the USGS network. Our digital forensic examination revealed that __ had an extensive history of visiting adult pornography websites. Many of the 9,000 web pages ___ visited routed through websites that originated in Russia and contained malware. Our analysis confirmed that many of the pornographic images were subsequently saved to an unauthorized USB device and personal Android cell phone connected to __Government-issued computer. We found that __ personal cell phone was also infected with malware.

It was only then that the OIG determined that there were two vulnerabilities, and these should have been among the first to have been secured: website access and open USB ports.  That’s right, simple parental controls and securing USB ports would have made it virtually impossible for any employee to access unauthorized websites.

Though the OIG report indicates that there are supposed to be a combination of employee training (Rules of behavior) and access controls (hardware and software technologies) that are to be used to prevent “malware incidents,” the bigger question is why are government employees accessing porn on government computers?

However, the employee not only admitted he received said training, but had received it seven years prior.  That didn’t stop him from doing what he did.

Nextgov.com reports:

The employee no longer works at the agency, OIG External Affairs Director Nancy DiPaolo told Nextgov.

Over the last 15 years, similar scandals have enveloped the Environmental Protection Agency, Securities and Exchange Commission and IRS. Last year, a D.C.-area news network uncovered “egregious on-the-job pornography viewing” at a dozen federal agencies and national security officials have reportedly found an “unbelievable” amount of child pornography on government devices.

The problem is so prevalent that Rep. Mark Meadows, R-N.C., has introduced legislation banning pornography at federal agencies three different times.

The issue is not a technological one thought that became a result.  This is a moral issue, isn’t it?  Of course, it is, but the OIG did not recommend posting the Ten Commandments as a desktop theme, nor Bible studies that would confront this behavior.

Nope, the OIG believes they have everything in hand by recommending the following:

• We recommend that the USGS enforce a strong blacklist policy of known rogue Uniform Resource Locators (more commonly known as a web addresses) or domains and regularly monitor employee web usage history. Since this incident, the EROS Center has deployed enhanced intrusion detection systems and firewall technology to assist in the prevention and detection of rogue websites trying to communicate with Government systems. An ongoing effort to detect and block known pornographic web sites, and web sites with suspicious origins, will likely enhance preventative countermeasures.
• We further recommend that USGS employ an IT security policy that would prevent the use of unauthorized USB devices on all employee computers. Best practices for malware incident protection include restricting the use of removable media and personally owned mobile devices.

Fine, but again, this is a moral issue, and the technological aspects of this are merely a result of the moral issue.

Our first president, George Washington, rightly warned us about religion (the Christian religion) and morality being indispensable pillars in our Republic.  He was right.

Here’s the thing, with the history of employees in the federal government accessing pornography, including child pornography, why wasn’t every possible measure put in place in the first place?  Would it be to demoralize the employees?  Would it be to blackmail them and control them?  More than likely, yes.

And lest you think it fake news, consider that fake news outlet CNN, with practicing sodomite Anderson Cooper reported on the fact that top officials in the Pentagon and the NSA are linked to child porn.  Take a look.

As the Boston Globe reported:

The Pentagon’s investigation of defense and intelligence employees who downloaded child pornography is being criticized in Congress after the Department of Defense acknowledged that its investigators failed to check thoroughly whether its employees were on a list of suspected porn viewers.

In 2006, the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency, which conducts Internet pornography investigations, produced a list of 5,200 Pentagon employees suspected of viewing child pornography and asked the Pentagon to review it. But the Pentagon checked only about two-thirds of the names, unearthing roughly 300 defense and intelligence employees who allegedly had viewed child pornography on their work or home computers. The defense investigators failed to check an additional 1,700 names on the list…

Members of Congress and other officials say it raises additional concerns when such materials are accessed by employees with high-level security classifications, because it leaves them vulnerable to blackmail.

Don’t forget, an affidavit indicates that the FBI runs at least 23 child porn sites!  In the past, they have taken over child porn sites in order to “catch pedophiles.”  What does that make those in the FBI who engage in this activity?  Are they not also lawbreakers for storing and disseminating child porn, somehow justifying their jobs by exploiting children?  It sure does!

At times, the FBI has even let child pornographers go in order to keep their hacking tools.

Sadly, this report is too little too late.  I question whether this is Russia malware and not malware concocted by our own government due to documents released by Edward Snowden that exposed the corrupt and unlawful methods our government uses against its own people.

In either case, don’t think we’ve heard the last of government employees accessing pornography because of this report.

Article posted with permission from Sons Of Liberty Media