U.S. Representative Randy Hultgren (IL-14), along with 21 members of the House Science, Space, and Technology Committee, sent a letter to President Obama raising concerns over the security and privacy risks surrounding Healthcare.gov, the online Obamacare portal.
The data passing through the Healthcare.gov website is one of the largest collections of personal information ever assembled, linking information from seven different federal agencies along with state agencies and government contractors. Americans who use the site must input personal contact information, birth dates and social security numbers, as well as income, tax and other financial information.
The letter reads: "Though we appreciate the Administration's efforts to address the flaws with the site's capacity, we are concerned that the larger security and privacy issues remain unaddressed. While more people may be able to access the site, without much-needed security enhancements, this simply means that more Americans are vulnerable to online criminals and identity theft."
Find out what's happening in Genevawith free, real-time updates from Patch.
“Unfortunately, in its haste to launch the Healthcare.gov website, it appears that your Administration has cut corners that have left the website open to hackers and other online criminals,” the letter continues. “If the security flaws go unaddressed, the more people who use the site will simply mean more Americans vulnerable to identity theft.”
The full letter is available here: http://science.house.gov/sites/republicans.science.house.gov/files/documents/2013%2012%2011%20-%20SST%20-%20President%20Obama.pdf
Find out what's happening in Genevawith free, real-time updates from Patch.
###
