Auditors Question Internet’s Safety

The Internet is a dangerous place to put private Social Security records, government auditors told lawmakers reconsidering a new online public access service that was suspended last month. “The Internet is not a secure environment,” said Joel Willemssen, a federal auditor who reviews computer security for the General Accounting Office. Willemssen spoke to the House Ways and Means subcommittee that oversees the Social Security Administration. The agency in April suspended a month-old program to offer people instant online access to their individual earnings and retirement benefit records after lawmakers raised privacy concerns.