Increasingly sophisticated threats underscore the need to bolster the cybersecurity of the nation—a topic on our High Risk List. We and others have noted an urgent need to clearly define a central leadership role to coordinate government efforts. Despite the issuance of a National Cyber Strategy in 2018, it is still unclear which executive branch official is ultimately responsible for not only c...

Terrorists and others may pose a cyber-threat to high-risk chemical facilities. Control systems, for example, could be manipulated to release hazardous chemicals. The Department of Homeland Security started a program more than a decade ago to help address these security risks. We reviewed the program. DHS guidance designed to help about 3,300 facilities comply with cybersecurity and other standar...

In 2018, the administration released its government-wide reform plan aimed at making the federal government more efficient and effective. The Office of Management and Budget oversees the proposals with support from other lead agencies. We reviewed 5 reform proposals, including addressing the cybersecurity workforce shortage and establishing a Government Effectiveness Advanced Research Center. Pla...

Q: How does the government help keep banks, water systems, and other critical infrastructure from getting hacked? A: A federal agency that issues standards and procedures—NIST—has a cybersecurity framework that critical infrastructure organizations can adopt. All 12 organizations in our review were voluntarily using the framework, and told us they’ve seen benefits. For example, one organiz...

The Department of Homeland Security’s Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) has helped state and local election officials secure online voter registration systems, voting machines, and other election infrastructure since 2017. Elections officials we interviewed in 7 of 8 states said they were very satisfied with CISA’s support. Election primaries begin in February. However,...

The Department of Homeland Security issues mandatory cybersecurity directives for most federal agencies. For example, one directive requires agencies to better secure their websites and email systems. If the actions specified in these directives are not addressed, agency systems can remain at risk. We found that these directives have often been effective in strengthening federal cybersecurity. Ho...

Federal agencies are increasingly using cloud computing services. Cloud computing offers benefits but also poses cybersecurity risks. OMB requires agencies to use the Federal Risk and Authorization Management Program to authorize their use of cloud services. Although agencies increased their program use—authorizations were up 137% from 2017 to 2019—15 of the 24 agencies we surveyed reported t...

To protect against cyber threats, federal agencies should incorporate key practices in their cybersecurity risk management programs. These key practices include: Designating a cybersecurity risk executive Developing a risk management strategy and policies Assessing cyber risks Coordinating between cybersecurity and enterprise-wide risk management functions All but one of the 23 agencies we r...

In recent years, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has acted to improve and promote the cybersecurity of federal and private-sector computer systems and networks, but further improvements are needed. Specifically, consistent with its statutory authorities, DHS has made important progress in implementing programs and activities that are intended to mitigate cybersecurity risks on the comput...

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has taken actions to identify, categorize, and assign employment codes to its cybersecurity positions, as required by the Homeland Security Cybersecurity Workforce Assessment Act of 2014 ; however, its actions have not been timely and complete. For example, DHS did not establish timely and complete procedures to identify, categorize, and code its cyberse...