In 2002, Unisys won a deal valued at $1bn to build, secure and manage the IT infrastructure of the DHS headquarters and those of its affiliate, the Transportation Security Administration. The company then won a follow-on contract in early 2006, valued at $750m over three years.
As part of its work on these deals, Unisys was to install network-intrusion detection devices on the unclassified computer systems at the DHS and TSA offices, as well as monitoring these networks. According to data gathered by the House of Representatives Homeland Security Committee, Unisys failed to carry out these tasks successfully, meaning that the DHS was unaware of intrusions, beginning in 2006 and originating from Chinese web sites, for at least three months.
The committee claims that, while Unisys bought seven devices designed to flag suspicious or unauthorized network activity in 2004, only three had actually been installed by June 2006, the month when the security breaches began, and they were incapable of providing real-time alerts. The intrusions are thought to have continued until October 1, affecting approximately 150 desktops.
The Washington Post story, quoting a committee aide, claims that the FBI is investigating Unisys for criminal fraud, while the internal affairs division of the DHS itself is conducting its own study.
Unisys vigorously denies all the allegations, saying that were it not for federal security regulations, it could produce documentation which would prove its innocence. We can state generally that the allegation that Unisys did not properly install essential security systems is incorrect, the company said. In addition, we routinely follow prescribed security protocols and have properly reported incidents to the customer in accordance with these protocols.
