Government shutdown threatens US cyber security

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Credits: Telegraph

The US government shutdown is threatening the security of dozens of US government websites as no staff are around to maintain or update them, a report has found.

The shutdown under President Donald Trump, which today became the longest in US history, has left around 80 US government websites broken or at risk.

With no staff being paid to update them, the websites, including links for NASA, the Department of Justice and the Court of Appeals, are all vulnerable or not working properly, according to a report by UK internet services firm Netcraft.

Because some websites have failed to update their security certificates they have stopped working entirely. Digital certificates ensure that communications on the internet are sent in a secure manner, and need updating after a certain period of time.

The certificate for the US Department of Justice has not been updated since 17 December, while a website for NASA had its certificates expire on 5 January.

US government employees have not worked for 22 days due to a failure to pass a new budget by Congress.

President Trump is calling for $5.7bn to build a border wall with Mexico, which Democrats in the US legislative body are refusing to pass.

The government shut down has affected nine government departments and various agencies, leaving around 800,000 workers without pay.

“As more and more certificates used by government websites inevitably expire over the following days, weeks — or maybe even months — there could be some realistic opportunities to undermine the security of all US citizens,” Netcraft said.