ObamaCare Website Security Getting Worse
The man who appeared before Congress last week to explain the security pitfalls of HealthCare.gov took to Fox News on Sunday to explain just how easy it was to penetrate the website.
Hacking expert David Kennedy told Fox’s Chris Wallace that gaining access to 70,000 personal records of ObamaCare enrollees via HealthCare.gov took about 4 minutes and required nothing more than a standard browser, the Daily Caller reported.
“And 70,000 was just one of the numbers that I was able to go up to and I stopped after that,” he said. “You know, I’m sure it’s hundreds of thousands, if not more, and it was done within about a 4 minute timeframe. So, it’s just wide open.”
Mr. Kennedy testified before Congress Thursday that HealthCare.gov was “100 percent” insecure, Washington Free Beacon reported. (Washington Times)
Fascinating interview:
This goes against my rights as an individual. If the government requires me to have all of my records in a government website, they, at the very least, should protect them. To make things even worse, the government doesn’t have to inform the user if its data has been stolen.
This “hacker’s dream” makes America scream.
Our government has the most perverse incentives of all.
As if the ACA and coverage being offered didn’t feel insecure enough, now information can be readily access from their website. There has to be some sort of standard of security that needed to be met before they launched the marketplace.
They got too excited to rollout the marketplace instead of taking necessary precautions to make sure it will run smoothly.
Takes several hours to complete the registration, and the hacker a few minutes to steal it? The government has whose back? Every day it seems as if the government is helping illegality spread.
This is correct. The government is no longer for the people, it is for itself. The administration cares more about proving that ACA is the right move rather than the safety of its citizens.
What is the government doing to prevent this? If it is widely known that information is not safe, what steps the government is taking to solve this issue?
Most people will take the gamble of not having insurance over having their identity stolen. Look no further than this if you want to find disincentives to sign up.
“Gaining access to 70,000 personal records of Obamacare enrollees via HealthCare.gov took about 4 minutes and required nothing more than a standard browser”
And why does it take an hour to get someone on the phone for customer support when you call the healthcare.gov hotline?
The funny thing is that afterwards officials wonder why young individuals don’t buy insurance. People in their late twenties and early thirties are conscious of the risks of identity theft. They will resist enrollment if by doing so their personal data is threatened. The security risks disincentives the population to use healthcare.gov to get insurance.
Without the young individuals signing up, this just creates the ObamaCare death spiral.
100 percent insecure… That is what you want to hear from a government agency that handles sensitive information…
When hackers stole sensitive information from Target (mainly credit card information) the population broke in an uproar. Target had to publicly apologize (in addition to the apology offered discounts to every costumer), the banks went in high alert to try to prevent fraud (some banks even decided to change the cards of the users involved in the scandal). Prompt action by the parties allowed the problems to be minimized.
Sadly this is not happening with the US Government. Personal data containing sensitive information (basically everything a thief needs to steal your identity) is at risk, and the Government knows it. Yet, they haven’t decided to act. In fact, they not forced to inform the users that their data is at risk, something that private companies must inform its users once the security breach is identified.
The government is playing under a different set of rules, and that works to the disadvantage of the American people.
If the media would cause such an outcry about healthcare.gov as it did for the Target debacle, maybe the problems would be fixed ASAP. However you are correct, the government is playing by a different set of rules.
So whose fault is it? The government for not having a safe webpage, the media for not making it a big deal as it should be, or the consumers for not stepping up for their rights? Everybody is guilty, but the blame is on the government. It is them providing the faulty system, it is them who must be held liable for their incompetency.
It is the government’s problem and should take the blame. However, the mass media can be swayed not to report on some issues and to report on others. The government won’t face as much heat because their mistakes won’t be publicized. How will the consumers know when to step up? They knew about the Target hacking because it was all over the news. If you only have one news outlet reporting the negligence of healthcare.gov, everyone will not be paying attention. The common denominator to all of these issues is big government.