In theory, upgrading a federal website should mean enhanced security, accessibility, and user experience. Unfortunately, the recent “upgrades” to GovLoans.gov have taken a disastrous turn—so much so that what was once a helpful resource has become a security nightmare.
On August 25, 2024, I visited GovLoans.gov, hoping to see the results of the much-touted update announced on the site earlier this month:
“Website change in progress. Thank you for your continued support and use of GovLoans.gov throughout the years. Stay tuned for updates in August 2024.”
Instead, I encountered an alarming alert from my antivirus software, Avast, which read: “Threat secured. We’ve safely aborted connection on www.govloans.gov because it was infected with HTML:Script-Inf [Susp].” The alert went on to clarify that the threat type was “Miscellaneous – This is malicious software that could harm your data, computer, or network.”
Even if the alert is a false positive, to say this is unacceptable would be an understatement. The United States Federal Government, which holds vast amounts of sensitive data and should serve as a beacon of digital security, has somehow managed to roll out updates to a critical public service site laced with potential malware. This isn’t just a minor glitch but a severe security failure. Citizens looking for federal loan information should never be at risk of compromising their devices just by visiting an official government website.
How did this even happen in an era when digital threats are at an all-time high? Was there no quality assurance? No thorough testing before deployment? It’s beyond baffling—and frankly, embarrassing—that a website claiming to be a reliable hub for federal loan information could go live with such blatant security risks.
The government is responsible for deploying new digital assets using secure and non-malicious mechanisms. Instead, we’ve gotten a half-baked “upgrade” that could compromise users’ data and security.
To those in charge of this so-called improvement at GovLoans.gov, here’s a piece of advice: If you’re going to revamp a site, do it with the professionalism, scrutiny, and security your citizens expect. Until that happens, stay tuned—for updates and more users sounding the alarm about this glaring oversight.