Porn-watching employee infects U.S. gov’t network with malware – report

MANILA, Philippines – Tech news site TechCrunch reports that a U.S. government network was infected with malware because of one employee’s “extensive history” of watching porn. 

The unnamed employee watched porn on their work computer, visiting thousands of porn pages that contained malware. The malware wasn’t identified in the report by the U.S. Department of the Interior inspector general, with a spokesperson from the agency only saying that it aided with data exfiltration and is associated with ransomware attacks. Exfiltration is the act of transferring data from the victim’s network to that of the attacker’s computer. (READ: Porn as bait: Over 1.2 million people hit by malware, lured by adult content)

Investigators also found that the employee downloaded the pornographic files onto an unauthorized USB device and into their government-issued Android device. The Android device was also found to have malware. 

The infected network was a U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) network at a satellite imaging facility called the EROS Center. 

Investigators recommend that the government agency be strict in blacklisting websites, to monitor employee web usage on work devices, and to prohibit employees from using removable media like USB drives on government devices. (READ: 160 attempts daily to access online porn in UK parliament – data)

Employees need to be aware that they can often be the weak link in cybersecurity matters, can be targeted by attackers’ social engineering tactics, and in this case, can expose entire networks by careless digital habits and the lack of digital hygiene. 

TechCrunch also noted that the silver lining in the incident is that the infected network doesn’t deal with any classified material, and only archives images of the planet’s land surface. – Rappler.com