Behind The Mic With Joe Mathieu: Report Finds Gov't. Computers At Risk

BOSTON (CBS) – The threat of hack attacks and data theft is so great that it will likely to be addressed on a national level.

That's the take from the Federal Trade Commission, which is calling on Congress to act in the wake of the Target data breach.

Pretty amazing to think that no federal standard exists to notify people of a such a security breach. And there are no civil penalties either.

This stuff is handled on the state level, which is why the FTC is pushing for uniform standards to be set through legislation.

But the government doesn't have a very good record on this. In fact, the feds could probably learn a few things from corporate America.

I say that after reading a report prepared by the Republican staff of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee. The Washington Post obtained a copy.

The report, which also uses info from the Government Accountability Office, shows repeated failures by federal officials to perform even the most simple tasks. Things like installing security patches, updating anti-virus software and strengthening passwords.

In fact, one of the most common passwords on government computers is "password."

This is basic stuff. And it's not getting done.

Follow Joe on Twitter @joemathieuwbz