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Tanuki

(14,918 posts) Sat Dec 7, 2019, 06:34 PM Dec 2019

Census plagued by hacking threats, cost overruns

https://www.google.com/amp/s/mobile.reuters.com/article/amp/idUSKBN1Y81H8

(Reuters) - In 2016, the U.S. Census Bureau faced a pivotal choice in its plan to digitize the nation’s once-a-decade population count: build a system for collecting and processing data in-house, or buy one from an outside contractor.

The bureau chose Pegasystems Inc, reasoning that outsourcing would be cheaper and more effective.

Three years later, the project faces serious reliability and security problems, according to Reuters interviews with six technology professionals currently or formerly involved in the census digitization effort. And its projected cost has doubled to $167 million — about $40 million more than the bureau's 2016 cost projection for building the site in-house.

The Pega-built website was hacked from IP addresses in Russia during 2018 testing of census systems, according to two security sources with direct knowledge of the incident. One of the sources said an intruder bypassed a "firewall" and accessed parts of the system that should have been restricted to census developers.

“He got into the network,” one of the sources said. “He got into where the public is not supposed to go.”.....(more)

7 replies

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Highlight:

Census plagued by hacking threats, cost overruns (Original Post) Tanuki Dec 2019 OP

Message auto-removed Name removed Dec 2019 #1

True rockfordfile Dec 2019 #2

Russia will try to manipulate or throw the census results Pachamama Dec 2019 #3

the census is too invasive. its organization should be cut down a lot nt msongs Dec 2019 #4

Census questions are approved by Congress csziggy Dec 2019 #6

Lawsuit:45 deliberately starving census budget to undercount minorities Tanuki Dec 2019 #5

In 2010 they went with a "well-connected" defense contractor ThoughtCriminal Dec 2019 #7

Response to Tanuki (Original post)

Name removed Message auto-removed

rockfordfile

(8,704 posts)

2. True

Reply to Name removed (Reply #1)

Sat Dec 7, 2019, 06:50 PM

Dec 2019

Pachamama

(16,887 posts)

3. Russia will try to manipulate or throw the census results

Reply to Tanuki (Original post)

Sat Dec 7, 2019, 07:14 PM

Dec 2019

Seriously....

What a brilliant plan on top of all the other chaos they have sowed in our country in last 5 years....

msongs

(67,406 posts)

4. the census is too invasive. its organization should be cut down a lot nt

Reply to Tanuki (Original post)

Sat Dec 7, 2019, 07:30 PM

Dec 2019

csziggy

(34,136 posts)

6. Census questions are approved by Congress

Reply to msongs (Reply #4)

Sat Dec 7, 2019, 08:04 PM

Dec 2019

If the questions are too invasive, blame the responsible parties.

Census Bureau Submits Planned Questions for 2020 Census to Congress
March 29, 2018
Release Number CB18-55

MARCH 29, 2018 — Today the U.S. Census Bureau delivered its planned questions for the 2020 Census to Congress, which include age, sex, Hispanic origin, race, relationship, homeownership status, and citizenship status.

By law, the Census Bureau must deliver decennial census questions to Congress two years before Census Day, with the next one occurring April 1, 2020.

“The goal of the census is to count every person living in the United States once, only once and in the right place,” said Ron Jarmin, who is performing the non-exclusive functions and duties of the Director of the U.S. Census Bureau. “The 2020 Census is easy, safe and important. The census asks just a few questions and takes about 10 minutes to respond. For the first time, you can choose to respond online, by phone or by mail.”

Also included in the submission to Congress are the planned questions for the 2020 American Community Survey — an annual survey that provides key socio-economic and housing statistics about the nation’s rapidly changing population every year, rather than once a decade with what used to be known as the “long form.” The American Community Survey, which started in 2005, provides data that helps all levels of government, community organizations and businesses make informed decisions.
https://www.census.gov/newsroom/press-releases/2018/2020-question.html

The Citizenship Question on the 2020 Census

The Commerce Department announced in March 2018 that they will include a question on the 2020 Census asking all respondents whether they are U.S. citizens. The move was almost uniformly opposed by Democrats.

Current Status
The House Committee on Oversight and Reform is investigating the addition of the citizenship question to the 2020 Census.
Next Steps
Having subpoenaed several documents from Commerce and Justice Department officials and received a blanket refusal to respond, the Attorney General and Commerce Secretary have been held in contempt of Congress. Court action may follow.
https://www.govtrack.us/congress/oversight/1-census-2020-citizenship

Tanuki

(14,918 posts)

5. Lawsuit:45 deliberately starving census budget to undercount minorities

Reply to Tanuki (Original post)

Sat Dec 7, 2019, 07:43 PM

Dec 2019

https://www.google.com/amp/s/mobile.reuters.com/article/amp/idUSKBN1Y01RJ

"A new lawsuit in New York accuses the Trump administration of starving the U.S. Census Bureau of funding needed to avert an undercount of racial and ethnic minorities in the 2020 census, and deprive them of crucial federal funds and political representation.

The Brooklyn-based nonprofit Center for Popular Democracy Action and the city of Newburgh, New York accused the government on Tuesday of arbitrarily, capriciously and irrationally slashing resources to count blacks, Hispanics, immigrants, the homeless and other members of "hard-to-count" communities.

They hope to set aside decisions to hire one-third as many enumerators who physically visit homes as in 2010, halve census field offices and reduce community outreach, while ensuring that the government conduct the "actual enumeration" required by the U.S. Constitution."...(more)

ThoughtCriminal

(14,047 posts)

7. In 2010 they went with a "well-connected" defense contractor

Reply to Tanuki (Original post)

Sat Dec 7, 2019, 08:47 PM

Dec 2019

Harris Corporation (these contracts were made during W's administration). The handheld devices they provided were junk and they had to abandon them before actual enumeration began.

On top of that, the network and server infrastructure provided was completely inadequate. I could share some horror stories of what it was like to deal with these malfunctions at the regional and local offices, but they are also long and boring.

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