Compliance Management, Threat Intelligence, Incident Response, Government Regulations, TDR

House Oversight Committee gives failing grades on cybersecurity progress

The initial results measuring federal agencies on their implementation of the Federal IT Acquisition Reform Act (FITARA) are in, and they don't look good. The Government Accountability Office (GAO) reviewed 24 government agencies' progress on federal IT reforms.

The scorecards focused on four critical IT reforms: data center consolidation, IT portfolio review savings, incremental development and risk assessment transparency. FITARA, enacted February 2014, was an attempt to make the government procurement process more accountable.

Most federal agencies received D ratings overall. The only agencies to receive passing grades in all four categories were the U.S. Department of Commerce and General Services Administration. The U.S. Department of Education, Department of Energy, and NASA all received failing grades.

“The Federal Government continues to spend billions of dollars on failed and poorly performing IT investments while ineffective management and oversight of IT portfolios has resulted in duplication and waste,” committee Chairman Jason Chaffetz, IT subcommittee Chairman Will Hurd and ranking member Robin Kelly, and government operations subcommittee Chairman Mark Meadows and ranking member Gerry Connolly, said in a statement. “Federal agencies must act now.”

The current presidential candidates show little promise of leading a national effort toward improved cyber progress. Last month, InfoSec Institute released a study measuring the cybersecurity of 16 presidential candidates. Out of the 16 of the candidates' studied in the report, only two candidates – Jim Webb and Donald Trump – received a grade above a C.

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