GAO warns of security risks in HealthCare.gov

Despite improvements, the federal health insurance website has continuing security holes that put consumers' personal information at risk, the nonpartisan watchdog agency said in a report Tuesday.

The Wall Street Journal: Federal Health Care Website Faces Security Risks, Watchdog Finds
HealthCare.gov has continuing security frailties that put users' sensitive personal information at risk, a government watchdog is set to tell Congress this week. Despite the federal government's efforts to protect the website from breaches, "weaknesses remained in the security and privacy protections applied to HealthCare.gov and its supporting systems," said the Government Accountability Office. The agency released a report Tuesday on the security of the site, through which millions of Americans bought coverage under the health law last year and which millions more will be urged to use (Radnofsky and Armour, 9/16).

The Associated Press: Probe: HealthCare.gov Website Must Boost Security
HealthCare.gov, the health insurance website serving more than 5 million Americans, has significant security flaws that put users' personal information at risk, nonpartisan congressional investigators have concluded. The Government Accountability Office said the Obama administration must resolve more than 20 specific security issues related to who can get into the system, who can make changes in it and what to do in case the complex network fails (9/16).

Reuters: GAO Report Warns Of Security Risks In U.S. Health Care Website
HealthCare.gov, President Barack Obama's health insurance exchange, has security and privacy protection vulnerabilities, a U.S. government watchdog reported on Tuesday, nearly a year after the website's troubled rollout. The General Accounting Office (GAO) said that despite steps taken by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) for security and privacy protection, weaknesses remain in the processes used for managing information security and privacy. The GAO also identified issues regarding the technical implementation of IT security controls (9/16).

Politico Pro: GAO Lashes Security Of HealthCare.Gov
HealthCare.gov has weaknesses that have put sensitive personal information at risk, according to a Government Accountability Office report expected to be released Wednesday. With the second year of enrollment just two months away, the website and its information still "remain at increased risk of unauthorized use," according to the report obtained by POLITICO. The 78-page critique is the latest sign that CMS and its website were under-prepared for the rollout of HealthCare.gov last fall, during which 8 million people chose insurance policies (Haberkorn, 9/16).

Fox News: Watchdog Report: HealthCare.Gov Still Has Security Issues
Despite efforts to protect patient information on the HealthCare.gov website, a new government watchdog report scheduled to be released Thursday says security issues are still a concern. According to the Government Accountability Office report, "weaknesses remained in the security and privacy protections applied to HealthCare.gov and its supporting systems." The agency will present its findings to the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee on Thursday (9/16).

Fiscal Times: Obamacare Websites Still A Mess, And Costing Millions
It's been nearly one year since Obamacare's nightmarish debut. The federal website was plagued with technical glitches that crippled HealthCare.gov and a number of state exchange websites suffered an even worse fate. Just as health officials are preparing for Obamacare round two, auditors are warning that both the federal and some state websites are still not ready for prime time. The Government Accountability Office released a new report Tuesday night concluding that while the federal exchange website has improved, it's not fully secure-;with two months to go before its second launch. In the report, auditors detailed an array of issues that left unaddressed pose security risks to user information and the entire website itself (Ehley, 9/17).