D.C. officials flagged a “suspicious” attempt to log on to the city’s lottery system, and District officials are worried that, two years after the network was gamed by hackers, the system may still be vulnerable, The Examiner has learned.
According to “incident reports” generated by the D.C. lottery board, Lottery Technology Enterprises told the city that someone made several attempts to log on to a lottery machine that was already in use.
LTE has told the city that the March 5 incident was an isolated glitch, but city finance officials are still classifying the high-priority investigation as “active,” documents obtained by The Examiner show. It was one of 17 problems in the lottery system in March and April, records show. LTE is fighting a furious lobbying battle against the finance office and Mayor Adrian Fenty to keep its 25-year-old contract.
The finance office has recommended dropping LTE in favor of a partnership between a nine-month-old startup company and an international lottery conglomerate. The new contract would reportedly cost up to $8 million less than LTE and provide better service at a time when D.C. — facing a nearly $131 million budget shortfall — is desperate to maximize all revenue streams. City finance officials are still worried about the security of the lottery system, sources told The Examiner. Nearly $80,000 in phony tickets were printed after hackers worked their way into the lottery system in 2006.
No one was charged in the case, but several employees were fired. A fiscal 2007 audit by independent firm Deloitte US raised questions about whether LTE could “provide reasonable assurance” that only approved users could access the system.
LTE spokeswoman Ann Walker Marchant told The Examiner that the city’s suggestions of a wide-open system “are untrue.” She acknowledged the company’s technology has had problems, but said that in 1999, the company was told not to upgrade its technology so that the city could run Keno games.
“This campaign of misinformation is totally ridiculous,” she said. “We feel we have the best experience and the best knowledge in how to run a successful [lottery system].”
Walker Marchant said her company has been victimized by “a shoddy bid process.” It has the provisional support of District Council members Jim Graham, D-Ward 1, and Kwame Brown, D-at large. The new contract could come up for a vote on May 15, but council Chair Vincent Gray has not said publicly whether he’ll allow a vote to be called.
Gray did not respond to requests for comment.
