Feds stress-testing HealthCare.gov

The government has been vigorously hacking Healthcare.gov to test it ahead of Nov. 15, when the site’s next enrollment period begins.

During last year’s first open enrollment, the ObamaCare site experienced numerous technical and security glitches.

A January analysis from Security Headers, a website that tests basic security, said HeathCare.gov performed worse than half of all websites. However, an updated analysis on Friday reported HealthCare.gov was now more secure than 98 percent.

This week, officials from the president on down have been touting the government’s extensive efforts to secure and stabilize the site ahead of its next big test.

“We’re really making sure that that website works super well before the next open enrollment period,” said President Obama on Wednesday. “We’re double- and triple-checking it.”

Part of that effort includes bolstered cybersecurity, Andy Slavitt, second in command at the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services, told The Associated Press.

The HealthCare.gov team has paired with the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to enhance its cyber threat detection and mitigation capabilities. “White-hat” hackers are stress-testing those capabilities with weekly cyber offensives.

The facility hosting HealthCare.gov has also been vetted for compliance with the government’s cloud computing standards.

Lawmakers and security experts have maligned the site since its troubled launch, but the White House says the improved version could help increase enrollment.

“I think there are a number of people who, the first time around, sat on the sidelines, in part because of our screw-ups on HealthCare.gov,” Obama said.

In the wake of the botched launch, security experts began to pick apart the site’s flaws.

David Kennedy, founder of security firm TrustedSec, told Congress his company found at least 70,000 records with personally identifying information simply through sophisticated Google searching.

The site was also hit by a data breach in July, but federal officials said no personal data was taken.

In August, the administration named Kevin Counihan as HealthCare.gov’s first CEO, the fifth person overall to run the site. On Nov. 15, the site’s security, and overall functionality, will all fall to him.

“My job is to make it work, and that’s exactly what I plan on doing,” Counihan told The Wall Street Journal on Friday.