Who Controls Passport Machine?
Bol disputed the Auditor General’s assertion that inactive users were not removed from the system under his tenure. He pointed out that he and his successor as Systems Administrator, Georgia Bowen, held sole power to change the passwords and user roles of fellow Department employees, but in practice they only changed passwords and occasionally user roles following transfers, but never deleted users because the system does not allow it.
Rodolfo Bol, Former Systems Administrator, Immigration Department
“In any case, the updating of a role does not affect what that user has done prior to – whatever has been done by that user remains on the system.”
Mark Lizarraga, Senator, Business Community
“But you said you had the ability to remove user roles (Interruption) by changing their [passwords]; in other words, you could stop me from using the system or you could change my role, you had the ability?”
Rodolfo Bol
Rodolfo Bol
“Changing the password doesn’t mean changing your role…”
Mark Lizarraga
“But you had the ability to change the role of those persons as well – in other words, you could say whether they would be data entry, print operator, quality assurance, system admin, data/print – you had the ability, singly, as I understand…”
Rodolfo Bol
“Two of us: Miss Bowen and myself – Georgia Bowen; she’s our current systems administrator right now.”
Mark Lizarraga
“So both of you had the ability to change passwords, to change roles, to add users and to deny users access?”
Rodolfo Bol
“Yes, that’s right.”
Mark Lizarraga
“But you are saying you cannot delete users from the system?”
Rodolfo Bol
“No, we cannot delete users, that’s right.”
Mark Lizarraga
“But what does the Auditor General mean, you think, when she says inactive users were not removed from the systems.”
Rodolfo Bol
“Maybe she assumes that we need to delete the users but we cannot delete the users, maybe that’s what she’s referring [to] there.”
We’ll have more on today’s Senate Hearing later in the newscast.
