Information Security Weaknesses, Says GAO

A new report has been issued by the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) examining federal agencies security. Since our area has professed an expertise in cybersecurity and information assurance, a look at the state of federal preparedness is warranted.

The full report: Persistent Weaknesses Highlight Need for Further Improvement, cites 21 of 24 agencies as having significant weaknesses in information security controls. The reason - agencies have not yet fully implemented agencywide security programs.

The Congress passed the Federal Information Security Management Act of 2002 (FISMA) which permanently authorized the security program, evaluation and reporting requirements. In the report, GAO discusses the continued weaknesses and efforts by Homeland Security (DHS) to develop a cyberthreat analysis and warning capability.