Tag Archive for: Auditors

Sask. school systems vulnerable to cybersecurity threats, auditor’s report says


Saskatchewan’s provincial auditor says 13 school divisions are vulnerable to cybersecurity threats.

A report released Tuesday by Tara Clemett found 13 of 27 school divisions in Saskatchewan “use a key financial IT system — managed by a third-party service provider — with identified system vulnerabilities that expose them to increased cybersecurity risks.”

The report said a key IT system used in those school divisions had outdated software as of August 2021.

It said while a third party manages the IT system, school divisions are responsible “for managing risks associated with their IT systems and data.”

The audit recommended “the Ministry of Education work with impacted school divisions to establish a process to monitor the key financial IT system and the IT service provider.”

“Cybersecurity remains a real threat highlighted by the recent breach to the Regina Public Schools IT system,” Clemett said Tuesday.

The Regina Public School Division recently had to shut down its internet-based systems, including email and educational tools, because of a cyber attack.

Last month, CBC News reviewed a copy of a note from an organization called BlackCat/ALPHV, which experts say is well known for employing ransomware attacks.

The note alleges that 500 gigabytes of files belonging to Regina Public Schools have been encrypted and that the group now possesses copies of data ranging from tax reports and health information to passports and social insurance numbers.

Clemett said agencies need to be proactive in planning for the scenario they are victims of a ransomware or cyber attack.

“I encourage agencies to always focus on that disaster recovery plan now with IT risks evolving as fast as they do,” Clemett said.

“You are not going to ever be 100 per cent ready or secure. It’s a matter of, ‘I probably have the potential to be breached and when I am breached, how quickly can I recover?'”

Ministry response to auditor findings

In a statement to CBC, the province said it “takes the recommendations of the provincial auditor seriously and will continue efforts to improve processes to safeguard public resources.”

Saskatchewan’s Ministry of Education said it expects divisions will work with IT partners…

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Election security experts say giving Maricopa County routers to Arizona Senate’s election auditors would be concerning


Routers serve as the mail carrier of a computer network: They deliver messages using maps of networks and computer addresses.

Senate liaison Ken Bennett on the latest with the Arizona Senate audit of ballots

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Think of it like a mail carrier who relies on maps and addresses to get mail to the right place.

Given access to the mail carriers’ or routers’ information, it would be easier for a bad actor to get access to a person’s mail, or to target the information inside the network.

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That’s an analogy one tech expert – Matt Bernhard, a research engineer at Voting Works, a nonpartisan nonprofit that advocates for open source election technology — gave while explaining the importance of keeping Maricopa County’s routers secure.

Arizona Senate Republicans are trying to get access to the county’s routers and administrative passwords to the county’s voting machines, and to provide that to private contractors they’ve hired to audit the county’s 2020 election results, which began April 23.



a group of people sitting in chairs: Maricopa County ballots from the 2020 general election are examined and recounted by contractors hired by the Arizona Senate in an audit at the Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Phoenix on May 11, 2021.


© David Wallace/The Republic
Maricopa County ballots from the 2020 general election are examined and recounted by contractors hired by the Arizona Senate in an audit at the Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Phoenix on May 11, 2021.

Bernhard said providing access to the routers is a “pretty specific risk” to the county. Also, he and other election security consultants across the country are unsure why exactly the auditors would need the routers to audit the election results.

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Senate liaison Ken Bennett has said they are needed to check whether the county’s voting machines were connected to the internet during the election. But a county spokesperson said that the auditors already have the information and machines to perform that check, and a previous independent audit commissioned by the county proved they were not.

County Attorney Allister Adel has said that giving…

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Nearly all new US weapons systems have ‘critical’ cybersecurity problems, auditors say

  1. Nearly all new US weapons systems have ‘critical’ cybersecurity problems, auditors say  Washington Post
  2. Nearly all new US weapons systems have ‘critical’ cyber-security problems, auditors say  SFGate
  3. Cyber Tests Showed ‘Nearly All’ New Pentagon Weapons Vulnerable To Attack, GAO Says  NPR
  4. OPEN/CLOSED: Cyber Operational Readiness of … – Hearing | Hearings | United States Commitee on Armed Services  Hearing | Hearings | United States Commitee on Armed Services
  5. Weapon Systems Cybersecurity:  Government Accountability Office
  6. Full coverage

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State of Nevada computer security issues raised by auditors; no … – Nevada Appeal


Las Vegas Review-Journal

State of Nevada computer security issues raised by auditors; no …
Nevada Appeal
Lawmakers were told on Tuesday auditors reviewing the state's Human Resources Division discovered the personal information of current and former state …
State agency audit withheld to protect sensitive data after security …Las Vegas Review-Journal

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