So who鈥檚 on healthcare.gov? Turns out it鈥檚 not just people searching for health care. The site is also attracting hackers 鈥� a Department of Homeland Security official told lawmakers there鈥檚 been 鈥渁 handful鈥� of attempts so far. National cyber security expert , who鈥檚 now a professor at SMU in Dallas, has been called to examine concerns about lack of privacy of users of the website.
Cyber security expert Fred Chang warned the congressional committee not to underestimate the motivation, and creativity of today鈥檚 cyber adversaries.
鈥淭hey will find seams in the system, he said. 鈥淭hey will change the rules, they will attack you in ways you won鈥檛 expect. And importantly they will be patient.鈥�
Considering the volume of sensitive data associated with healthcare.gov, Chang outlined several security threats for healthcare.gov.
Risk: Bogus Websites
鈥淏ecause there is not one single websites for people to use there will be confusion and adversaries will take advantage of this confusion.鈥�
Chang points out there are hundreds of fake websites made to look like the federal, or state health marketplaces. Just last week authorities in California took ten such sites down last week.
Risk: Complexity Of Website
Another concern for Chang is the risk associated with complexity of healthcare.gov.
鈥淐omplexity is the enemy of security. As we ask for more and more functionality and capability from our software applications, the technologists and software developers are only happy to oblige,鈥� Chang says.
鈥淭he result is more complexity including more defects and seams and the attackers will try to exploit these.鈥�
Concerns Overstated?
There have already been more than 40 hearings in the House on the Affordable Care Act, and several members of congress expressed their concern that this was merely another attempt to derail the President鈥檚 signature health care legislation.
California congressman Mark Takano admitted the federal rollout has been complicated, and that we must ensure American鈥檚 personal information is secure, but insisted 鈥淭he law is about more than the website, it is about peace of mind for millions of Americans who need and deserve affordable coverage.鈥�
For the six million uninsured in Texas, the search for affordable health care 鈥� and personal data security 鈥� goes on.
Watch the full hearing at the .
