A recent report called the Department of Veterans Affairs' use of social network Yammer improper, but that's not stopping the Department of Health and Human Services from using the tool.
A review of the VA's use of Yammer published earlier this month by the agency's Office of Inspector General found that the open chat forum, meant for collaboration to increase productivity, was not approved for employee use and had vulnerable security features.
However, HHS says it won't drop Yammer because it is implemented differently in the department. While the VA uses a free version of the tool, HHS pays for an enterprise version, a spokesperson tells MedCity News, which is more secure and has tighter administration controls.
"From the outset, we have taken several steps to help ensure this tool is used properly and continue to evaluate how we use Yammer," the HHS spokesperson said. "We have enabled an active HHS-wide identity and access management system to ensure only current HHS employees with proper network credentials can use the site."
At the VA, the OIG found the tools gave users the ability to create private groups, which managers could not screen. FierceHealthIT previously reported. In addition, Yammer users violated VA policy when they shared files, videos and images from the site, risking introducing malware or viruses that could quickly spread.
"We found numerous user posts that were non-VA related, unprofessional, or had disparaging content that reflected a broad misuse of time and resources," the report said.
The agency said it would implement recommendations made by the OIG to evaluate use of the tool and determine if it meets all VA requirements, according to MedCity.
However, HHS is not without security concerns. Problems found in a May audit of the Health Resources and Services Administration also exist at the Information Technology Infrastructure and Operations office. Both are part of HHS.
To learn more:
- here's the MedCity News article