US government fails computer security test

Major federal agencies told to see the teacher after class

Written by Nick Farrell

The US government has failed a test for computer security for the second year in a row.

More than half of 24 major federal agencies flunked the latest 'Computer Security Report Card'.

The Justice, Defense, Energy and Treasury departments earned failing grades, while the Department of Transportation received the lowest score.

The Defense, State and Energy departments, as well as the Federal Emergency Management Agency, actually performed much worse than last year.

Only the Social Security Administration did OK with a 'B minus'.

According to the Washington Post, investigators used the data to determine whether agencies met network security standards, such as limiting access to privileged information and eliminating easily guessed passwords.

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