GAO: Public records mishandled by National Archives

By The Post's Lisa Rein:

As the federal government shifts its records from paper to computers, the National Archives, the nation's recordkeeper, has left itself vulnerable to significant security breaches by failing to properly safeguard reams of sensitive information, government auditors said Wednesday.

Four out of five federal agencies are at risk of illegally destroying public records, and the Archives has a huge backlog of documents that need to be preserved, the Government Accountability Office also found.

The two reports by Congress's watchdog arm say that many agencies do not follow proper procedures for disposing of public records as they assess whether to keep or destroy them. And the Archives, as it preserves records electronically, has left itself open to hackers.

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