The findings comes amid recent revelations that Chinese hackers breached State Department email accounts.
The State Department is running outdated software at many of its embassies and missions — making them easy prey for hackers — and lacks the cybersecurity personnel to secure critical networks, according to a report from a government watchdog.
Two people familiar with the report — which is still being finalized — shared details with POLITICO. They were granted anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the reportThe two people said that GAO found that many U.S. embassies and missions use vulnerable legacy systems, including WindowsXP, an operating system. That means that Microsoft is not developing patches or fixes for any security holes that emerge that hackers could exploit to gain access to those networks.
The report is likely to add to the pressure on the State Department to step up its cybersecurity following the recent breach of agency emails. Those perpetrators of that hack also accessed emails of Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo. Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle are now looking into the incident,The State Department’s Bureau of Cyberspace and Digital Policy has been working in recent months to increase the number of diplomats that go through cybersecurity training.
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