Coast Guard's IT passwords compromised by too-chatty workers on telephones

A federal watchdog found 14 “significant deficiencies and material weaknesses” in the U.S. Coast Guard’s internal controls, including multiple workspaces with unsecured computer system passwords, materials requiring physical protection that were left unguarded and employees who divulged sensitive information over the telephone.

Seven of the 14 problems identified by the Department of Homeland Security inspector general were also discussed in a 2013 report. The inspector general said, for example, that auditors again found that “materials designated by DHS policy as requiring physical security from unauthorized access were left unattended.”