SkiUtah
09-20-2006, 04:58 AM
Below is an article on new TSP features coming. Does anybody know if this $88M for FY07 will allow us to perhaps make interfund transfers after the market closes?
TSP plans more security features to protect accounts
By TIM KAUFFMAN (tkauffm@federaltimes.com?subject=Question from FederalTimes.com reader)
September 18, 2006
Managers of the Thrift Savings Plan will spend $3 million on security upgrades next year to guard against computer hackers and other threats to privacy.
The Federal Retirement Thrift Investment Board, which oversees TSP, approved an $88 million budget Sept. 18 for the fiscal year that begins Oct. 1. The budget represents a 5 percent increase beyond the $83 million spent on TSP operations this year.
The budget includes $23 million for system support and software, including $3 million for security upgrades. Enhancements being considered include requiring additional verification for TSP participants to access their accounts online, encrypting personal data contained on mainframe computers, and actively monitoring Web site usage to identify potential hackers, said Mark Hagerty, chief information officer at the thrift board.
In June, the board announced it would soon begin requiring the 3.6 million TSP participants to use randomly generated account numbers instead of Social Security numbers to access their retirement accounts. Part of the $3 million in upgrades also will go toward that effort, Hagerty said.
TSP’s efforts to enhance security come amid a series of high-profile security breaches affecting federal employees, most notably the theft in May of a laptop containing the Social Security numbers and birth dates of up to 26.5 million veterans and 2 million active-duty service members. The laptop was later recovered. Other breaches have been reported in recent months at the Agriculture Department, National Nuclear Security Administration, IRS and Social Security Administration. In March, some TSP participants gave up their Social Security numbers and other personal information in response to an e-mail scam that targeted plan participants
TSP plans more security features to protect accounts
By TIM KAUFFMAN (tkauffm@federaltimes.com?subject=Question from FederalTimes.com reader)
September 18, 2006
Managers of the Thrift Savings Plan will spend $3 million on security upgrades next year to guard against computer hackers and other threats to privacy.
The Federal Retirement Thrift Investment Board, which oversees TSP, approved an $88 million budget Sept. 18 for the fiscal year that begins Oct. 1. The budget represents a 5 percent increase beyond the $83 million spent on TSP operations this year.
The budget includes $23 million for system support and software, including $3 million for security upgrades. Enhancements being considered include requiring additional verification for TSP participants to access their accounts online, encrypting personal data contained on mainframe computers, and actively monitoring Web site usage to identify potential hackers, said Mark Hagerty, chief information officer at the thrift board.
In June, the board announced it would soon begin requiring the 3.6 million TSP participants to use randomly generated account numbers instead of Social Security numbers to access their retirement accounts. Part of the $3 million in upgrades also will go toward that effort, Hagerty said.
TSP’s efforts to enhance security come amid a series of high-profile security breaches affecting federal employees, most notably the theft in May of a laptop containing the Social Security numbers and birth dates of up to 26.5 million veterans and 2 million active-duty service members. The laptop was later recovered. Other breaches have been reported in recent months at the Agriculture Department, National Nuclear Security Administration, IRS and Social Security Administration. In March, some TSP participants gave up their Social Security numbers and other personal information in response to an e-mail scam that targeted plan participants