According to Reuters, a new report by the Energy Department’s inspector general reveals it has recently been hit by cyber attacks. The report also found the department’s computer systems have a variety of weaknesses, which have in turn made it vulnerable to the attacks.
Who or where these attacks have come from are not known, but according to the report, the department’s computer systems have 60 more weaknesses than it had when the last report of the systems were audited last year.
DOE manages the U.S. nuclear stockpile through its National Nuclear Security Administration. The department defended itself and said the report “failed to recognized the effectiveness of its layered approach to cybersecurity.â€
In a letter to the department’s inspector general, the nuclear agency’s associate administrator for management and budget Kenneth Powers said the department is concerned “that a casual reader of this report might not fully understand that the findings, while important, do not represent demonstrated risks.â€
DOE is currently working to fix the problems the audit found.
