Government auditors say the Internet is a dangerous place for private Social Security records.
"The Internet is not a secure environment," said Joel Willemssen, a federal auditor who reviews computer security for the General Accounting Office.Willemssen spoke Tuesday 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.
Social Security is conducting a 60-day review of the program, with public forums in six cities that started in Hartford, Conn., this week. The House panel is conducting its own review.