Shekarchi Fires Back at Diossa Over IT Security Staffing Vulnerabilities

Shekarchi Fires Back at Diossa Over IT Security Staffing Vulnerabilities

Speaker of the House Joe Shekarchi is firing back at claims by General Treasurer James Diossa that the General Assembly failed to approve critical IT security staffing.

According to a Rhode Island General Auditor’s report, the Rhode Island Treasury has a significant vulnerability in its technology security structure.

The most recent Auditor's report for the fiscal year ending on June 30, 2023, states:

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“The Treasury lacks dedicated internal audit and information system (IS) security functions common in most state Treasury operations to ensure that financial and IS security controls are in place and operating effectively.”

On Wednesday, Diossa’s office placed the blame on the General Assembly.

“The report also referenced information systems security functions and controls. Treasury has, for the past several budget cycles, requested an additional FTE to address IS and cyber security matters. We have included this request in this year's budget proposal as well. In the meantime, we have contracted with outside cyber security providers and adhered to all standard security protocols,” added Diossa’s office.

 

Shekarchi Fires Back

Shekarchi said, “The General Treasurer advocated for a number of new spending priorities in his budget.  The General Assembly funded 91 positions within the Treasurer’s budget, including a new position he requested to handle cash management, while approving several other of the Treasurer’s requests for new programs.

“The Governor did not include the Treasurer’s additional request for a cybersecurity position in the budget that the Governor submitted to the General Assembly.  The Treasurer has wide latitude in his budget to repurpose vacancies for high-priority items.  He could also redeploy funding from his extensive travel expenditures,” said Shekarchi.

Before being elected General Treasurer, Diossa served as Mayor of Central Falls, and a GoLocal investigation uncovered dozens of trips and a significant cover-up on the costs.

In addition, GoLocal has learned that during the budget process, Diossa was asked what his priorities were for additional staff, and he chose other positions. Presently, Diossa’s office has 91 full-time employees.    

Shekarchi also pointed out that “as an arm of the General Assembly, the Auditor General notified the Administration of these concerns in the 2023 Audit Report. You [GoLocal] need to address your question about security vulnerabilities to the Administration.”