The Department of Energy was set to fine Sandia National Laboratories more than $200,000 for allowing unauthorized electronic equipment into secure areas of the lab’s main campus in Albuquerque, N.M., two years ago, the agency said Friday.
The agency’s Office of Enterprise Assessments hit lab prime National Engineering and Technology Solutions of Sandia (NTESS) with the fine in a Dec. 21 notice published online Friday. The office gave the Honeywell-owned team credit for prompt corrective actions, resulting in a 50% reduction of what could have been a $410,000 fine.
“As a result of the 2020 event, NTESS implemented timely and effective process change regarding the introduction of controlled articles into security areas,” the Office of Enterprise Assessments wrote in the notice.
In February of 2020, according to the office, Sandia discovered that someone had been bringing pan-tilt-zoom cameras manufactured by Panasonic into secure areas of the lab for more than two years.