Image: Lexmark
US Department of Defense (DoD) employees have bought electronics worth over $32.8 million in fiscal year 2018 that have been known to contain security vulnerabilities, a report by the Pentagon’s inspector general said last week.
These acquisitions were made by Army and Air Force employees using payment cards issued by the government for micro-purchases of under $10,000.
As a result of these purchases, the DOD’s Inspector General believes the Army and Air Force are introducing vulnerable equipment into their networks that may be exploited by US adversaries.
The report specifically listed Lexmark printers, GoPro cameras, and Lenovo computers as problematic products, as examples.
The Lexmark purchases
“Army and Air Force GPC [government purchase card] holders purchased over 8,000 Lexmark printers, totaling more than $30 million, for use on Army and Air Force networks,” the DOD Inspector General (DODIG) report said.
Purchasing printers from Lexmark was a big…
