USCIS telework may add to privacy risks, IG says

The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) agency might be putting data with personally identifiable information at a high risk of exposure by allowing its employees to telework, according to a report issued June 13 by the Homeland Security Department’s Office of Inspector General.

The IG analyzed whether teleworking contributed to higher rates of lost files at the four USCIS service centers. The centers together lose an average of 27,000 alien registration files each month, the IG said. The missing files typically contain personally identifiable information such as Social Security numbers, fingerprints and photographs, the report states.