As Federal Workers Telecommute, Risks of Data Breaches Increase

Hundreds of thousands of federal workers and congressional staff may soon be asked to work remotely full time as the coronavirus spreads, putting reams of sensitive government data at higher risk of hacking and threatening to overwhelm outdated government computer systems. The surge in telework will mark a first-of-its-kind test for the government, which has struggled to update and secure its arcane technology systems after a string of damaging data breaches during the Obama administration.