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Officials Vote to Keep Colorado IT Audit from Public Release

The Office of the State Auditor found that the Colorado Department of Education needs to improve its information system in four areas, but after a recent vote, the public likely will never know what they were.

(TNS) — The Office of the State Auditor found the Colorado Department of Education needs to improve its information system in four areas, but the public likely will never know what they were.

The Legislative Audit Committee voted Monday morning not to release any part of an audit of the department’s information technology system, though auditors had written their report with the idea that one of their four findings would be made public. Rep. Lori Saine, a Republican from Weld County, was the only committee member who voted in favor of releasing part of the audit.

The Colorado Department of Education handles extensive student data, including demographic information and test scores.

Dana Smith, spokeswoman for the education department, said no student data was exposed, but the department can’t discuss specific findings of the audit. It will present a timeline of the work that still needs to be done in January, she said.

“We take the findings from the audit very seriously, and we will be focusing our resources to address the recommendations,” she said.

Sen. Paul Lundeen, a Republican representing El Paso County, said he was concerned that even the part of the report written for public release could give hackers information that would help them exploit the state’s vulnerabilities.

“You give those who would seek to harm you the upper hand,” he said.

State Auditor Dianne Ray said three of the four findings could have provided a “roadmap” for hackers, and her office wrote them for government use only. One finding was general enough to not present a risk, she said.

“We like to put things out in the public as a way of holding the departments accountable,” she said.

Lundeen said he had received assurances from the department that it had fixed one of the four issues and was working on the others. If the department doesn’t follow through, the committee could vote to release the audit at some later point, he said.

“I don’t think it’s necessary to grab that cudgel,” he said.

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