Albertas Auditor General flags network security issues in 3 government departments [Video]

A report from Alberta’s Auditor General flags loose network controls in three Government of Alberta departments as potential risks for unauthorized access to government data and Albertans’ personal information.

In its audit of the province’s consolidated financial statements, the auditor general made recommendations to the Ministries of Technology and Innovation, Children and Family Services (CFS), and Seniors, Community and Social Services (SCSS) to improve network security procedures after finding the departments failed to promptly remove ex-employees access privileges.

For both CFS and SCSS, the auditor found that terminated employees retained access to IT applications.

Previous reports in 2014 and 2020 made the same recommendation to tighten controls for department information systems, and the auditor said it is repeating that direction because it continues to find “user access exceptions.”

“Unauthorized individuals may access the department’s systems and be able to use or change critical personal, business, and financial information. This could …