News
Comment: Tech Exec abuses White House computers for dirt on Trump
February 2022 by Joseph Carson, Chief Security Scientist at Delinea
Following the recent news that a Tech Exec exploited the White House computer systems for derogatory information on trump, according to special counsel, please see comment below:
Joseph Carson, Chief Security Scientist at Delinea:
“The recent news that a tech executive abused their access freedom to identify which internet servers Trump’s White House computers had been communicating with is an extreme abuse of authorised access that raises the importance of insider risks.
Governments must ensure appropriate security controls are in place to reduce the risks of insider threats, as well as ensure that employees understand that when access is abused, they will not be able to hide their tracks.
A way of reducing insider risks is to ensure that employees are fully aware privileged access auditing is in place. This would act as a deterrent, so that employees will not even attempt to risk their career or legal actions.
The critical importance of privileged access to such data such as DNS records should be protected, and all access should be audited so that non-repudiation is maintained. This is kind of ironic, as the government know very well that metadata is extremely powerful: having a map of which internet servers and websites are being accessed can reveal sensitive information about what could be discussed, what is being planned and top government priorities, even without knowing the content of the communication itself.”
