Federal cybersecurity defenses not strong enough to protect American data, Senate report warns

Federal agencies responsible for safeguarding the security and personal data of millions of Americans have failed to implement basic defenses against cyberattacks, according to a report from Senate investigators released Tuesday. The agencies earned a C- report card for falling short of federally-mandated standards in the 47-page report by the Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations of the Senate Homeland Security Committee.

The report also concluded that Americans' personal information remains at risk in the wake of a slew of high-profile cyber attacks and evaluated two years of inspector general reports. The audit accuses eight critical agencies, including the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), the State Department and the Social Security Administration (SSA) of relying on outdated systems, ignoring mandatory security patches and failing to protect sensitive data such as names, date of birth, income, social security numbers and credit card numbers.