Published Monday, November 5, 2007
Facing charges regarding the mismanagement of a federal laboratory, the University of California has opted to contest a $3 million fine from the Dept. of Energy.
The proposed fine stems from an October 2006 incident in which police discovered over 1,000 pages of unauthorized documents on a former Los Alamos National Laboratory subcontracted employee’s computer. LANL, which conducts nuclear weapons research and other studies, is managed by the Los Alamos National Security, LLC -a joint venture between the UC, Bechtel National Inc., BWX Technologies Inc. and the Washington Group International Inc. The UC solely managed and operated the laboratories from 1943 to May 2006.
According to a D.O.E. letter, the UC could either pay the $3 million fine or contest the violations by providing refutations of the accusations including evidence of extenuating circumstances or any relevant court rulings supporting the UC’s arguments.
In an e-mail, UC spokesman Chris Harrington said the University has chosen to pursue judicial review.
“Consistent with federal law and regulations the University has filed a protective notice of its intent to obtain judicial review which preserves the University’s right to continue ongoing discussions with the department regarding the notice of violation,” Harrington wrote.
The D.O.E.’s National Nuclear Security Administration alleges that it found security deficiencies during its investigations of the UC’s original term as the sole manager of the labs. In particular, D.O.E. alleges that the UC was not quick in complying with its request to remove portable media such as USB thumb drives from the labs prior to the incident.
Jessica Quintana, the former subcontracted employee, claimed she had removed the documents with a portable drive to catch up with work, which included scanning classified materials. She pled guilty to a misdemeanor.
The D.O.E. detailed five violations of classified material protection requirements. The alleged negligence leading to the breach included a failure to protect vulnerable data ports, deficiencies in establishing the roles and responsibilities of the oversight of the project, not instituting security requirements for the scanning project and providing poor oversight of subcontracted employees such as Quintana.
The U.S. Dept. of Energy officially served the charge on Sept. 28 after the UC received a preliminary notice of the alleged violation in July 2007. The University had 30 days to submit a written response of appeal or pay the D.O.E. fine, which is the largest the department has ever assessed. The UC receives $512 million for its contract with LANL.
21 comments:
Gussie,
A fair bet on this one.
I will bet $1 of mine against $73,000 of yours. You get to bet that UC will not pay a fine. I get to bet that they will.
Were all the USB ports on classified computers over at the DOE and NNSA also plugged with JB Weld? I don't think so.
UC actually has a good case to make on this one. Go for it!
Man, you really like the color of my money, don't you 11:25.
No bet -- knowing DOE as well as I do I fully expect UC to skate on this one.
-Gus
Who gave JQ her clearance? Was it UC? Was it LANL? Or, was it DOE?
Who let her stick a thumb drive in a classified system and use it to take classified material home with her.
Was it UC? Was it LANL? Or, was it DOE?
-Gus
Come on Gussie. You should know that you don't need a thumb drive to take classified material home. There is this grey mass enclosed in some bones that has a little bit more storing capacity than thumb drives. You want reliable people around classified information which may require some intelligence. And apparently assessing this quality in JQ failed. Furthermore, if all the USB ports were glued shut, I would bet JQ would have printed all the classified material to take it home. So not much improvement with JB Weld there.
"According to a D.O.E. letter, the UC could either pay the $3 million fine or contest the violations"
Surprise, surprise...UC is going to contest. Why the hell not? the DOE. will probably pay UCs legal costs as well. What a farce. The DOE should be shut down and UC should be banned from ever running a national lab again, begining with LANL. Itks time to clense Los Alamos of UCs vile. presence once and for all!
Jessica the Q has certainly left her mark on history, eh?
4:27 pm: Kudos! Gus needs a little comeuppance now and again. High-capacity grey matter indeed. Security is all about clearances, not about what people are "allowed" to do.
Lots of people in government could tell you stories of classified breaches at other places that would curl your toes. However, in most of these cases, what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas. All these other places don't have a dysfunctional agency like DOE at the ready to spread the news of the security breaches throughout the land.
When security breaches happen they are suppose to be kept under wraps to help minimize damage. Instead, DOE likes to slip news of any mistakes made at the contract sites to the news media to maximize the security damage. DOE is one very twisted and sick government operation.
10:40 PM stated:
"DOE likes to slip news of any mistakes made at the contract sites to the news media to maximize the security damage."
I don't think they are trying to maximize damage, I think they are doing the immediate blame game. As a Government Owned, Contractor Operated (GOCO) DOE has refined the art of pointing the finger at the contractor and saying it's his fault, not mine. And when things get hot, create a sub-agency - NNSA and put them in the hot seat. And last (but most importantly) remember that shit rolls down hill and if you look at the political topographic map, you will find the labs at the lowest elevation.
The article states: "The UC receives $512 million for its contract with LANL."
This is quite misleading. It would have been more correct to state the annual management fee (~$8M) that UC received during the time that UC had the contract.
Regardless of the idiots in the DOE and the drive-by media, those USB ports on the classified computers were supposed to have been disabled in 2003!
"Regardless of the idiots in the DOE and the drive-by media, those USB ports on the classified computers were supposed to have been disabled in 2003!" ( 9:27 AM )
Yeah, and with the new policy directives that both LANS and NNSA are issuing, our whole computer infrastructure should be completely disabled by about 2009. Heckavajob!
11/5/07 11:33 AM
"UC actually has a good case to make on this one."
Unfortunately, I think you're right. The DOE/NNSA/Congress as usual, is a day late and a dollar short when it comes to forcing UC to do anything. UC should have had its ass kicked years ago, and for plenty of good reasons. This latest fiasco unfortunately, isn't likely to hold up. What a shame though. It's like trying to pin the death penalty on Al Capone for spitting on the sidewalk, after letting him off the hook repeatedly for murder. A day late, and a dollar short.
The article states: "The UC receives $512 million for its contract with LANL."
That's about $512 million too much. UC should have paid the taxpayer instead, considering the mess it's made of the national lab system. The Supranos could have done better.
On its worst day ever, UC is better than DOE/NNSA on it's best day ever.
NNSA's best weapon is a self-defeating cluster fuck.
The spirit of Lawrence
4:24 pm: "UC should have had its ass kicked years ago, and for plenty of good reasons."
No one who worked for UC at LANL for the past 60+ years, many of whom are receiving a very generous pension, feels that way. You are obviously a DOE/NNSA stoodge, or a disgruntled LANL employee who didn't get to, or neglected to, take advantage of UC's generosity. Too bad. I worked for UC for 30+ years, and am very happy with how they treated (and are treating) me.
Guess where you stand depends on where you sit. Feeling jealous?
"I worked for UC for 30+ years, and am very happy with how they treated (and are treating) me."
Of course you feel great, you double-dipping dip-s*&t! You milked the system for all its worth and see nothing wrong with doing so. That's obvious. In fact you probably were one of the UC-hacks that helped screw things up so bad that our UCRS pension got pulled out from underneath us last year. As a non Lab employed taxpayer, the view may be a little different. Of course who cares about the taxpayer, right? We're Los Alamos after all. But let's say, for a second, that we did care. Taxpayers have paid through the nose to keep us fat and sassy, and for what? For the messes that continue to surface, get covered up, then resurface again months or years later, except even worse? Where are the big breakthroughs in science and research that this world-class facility presumably has produced with the billions in taxpayer dollars it received each year? The fact that the Lab has produced more millionaires per capita than anywhere else on the planet is indisputable. I give you that. But where are the nobel prizing winning results? Maybe that's the best kept secret around these parts. Then again, maybe the fact that this world-class facility has just been milking the government teet for all this time with little, if anything to show for it...maybe that's the best kept secret. Maybe that's why taxpayers are now so pissed with us. They've been hoodwinked for so long. No, I don't think they're jealous. They're mad as hell, and who can blame them?
10:04 am: "Of course you feel great, you double-dipping dip-s*&t! You milked the system for all its worth and see nothing wrong with doing so."
So, if you were in a position to "milk the system" entirely legitimately and in accordance with the rules and the policies, you would choose to accept less money than you (and your family) are entitled to?? Give me a break! Yep, the poster was right, you are jealous.
"Where are the big breakthroughs in science and research that this world-class facility presumably has produced with the billions in taxpayer dollars it received each year?"
Uh - winning the Cold War? Avoiding nuclear holocaust? Destroying the Soviet Union? Oh, right, you don't believe those things were important or really even happened. You sound like you are just now realizing you aren't going to win the Nobel, either, and it's really pissing you off.
"winning the Cold War? Avoiding nuclear holocaust? Destroying the Soviet Union?"
Ok, but what have you done for the country lately?
PS May kiss your feet, please? While you kiss my rear, that is.
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