HealthCare.gov: Data Breach Waiting To Happen?

[emerglines]

Defending President Barack Obama's much-maligned health care law in Congress, Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius was confronted Wednesday with a government memo that raised security concerns about the Web site consumers are using to enroll.

The document, obtained by The Associated Press, shows that administration officials at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services were concerned that a lack of testing posed a potentially "high" security risk for the HealthCare.gov Web site serving 36 states.

Security issues are a new concern for the troubled HealthCare.gov Web site. If they cannot be resolved, they could prove to be more serious than the long list of technical problems the administration is trying to address.

"You accepted a risk on behalf of every user that put their personal financial information at risk," Rep. Mike Rogers, R-Mich., told Sebelius during questioning before the powerful House Energy and Commerce Committee.

Sebelius countered that the system is secure, although the site has a temporary security certificate, known in government parlance as an "authority to operate." Sebelius said a permanent certificate will only be issued once all security issues are addressed.

Earlier, the secretary said she's responsible for the "debacle" of cascading problems that overwhelmed the government Web site intended to make shopping for health insurance clear and simple.

"Hold me accountable for the debacle," Sebelius said during a contentious hearing before the powerful House Energy and Commerce Committee. "I'm responsible."

Sebelius is promising to have the problems fixed by Nov. 30, even as Republicans opposed to Obama's health care law are calling in chorus for her resignation. She told the committee that the technical issues that led to frozen screens and error messages are being cleared up on a daily basis.

Addressing consumers, Sebelius added, "So let me say directly to these Americans, you deserve better. I apologize."

But even as she started her testimony, some consumers trying to log into the federal Web site that serves 36 states were getting this message: "The system is down at the moment. We are experiencing technical difficulties and hope to have them resolved soon. Please try again later."

The Sept. 27 memo to Medicare chief Marylin Tavenner said a Web site contractor wasn't able to test all the security controls in one complete version of the system.

"From a security perspective, the aspects of the system that were not tested due to the ongoing development, exposed a level of uncertainty that can be deemed as a high risk for the (Web site)," the memo said.


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