Amtrak employees have tried to sell “high-security keys” used to operate rail switches and other “critical sensitive infrastructure,” posing security risks to passengers and crews, according to the government-owned passenger rail system’s Office of Inspector General and court documents.
In a report released Wednesday, the OIG faulted the railroad’s lack of centralized guidance and security systems for the keys, saying it has “limited controls governing the distribution, management, tracking and retrieval of its high-security keys.”
“Senior officials in the Service Delivery and Operations department and Corporate Security acknowledge that they cannot account for the keys the company has issued, and that this broad public availability of high-security keys presents security and safety risks, potentially giving bad actors opportunities to disrupt train operations,” according to the report signed by the National Railroad Passenger Corp.’s assistant inspector general for audits, Jim Morrison.
