On March 1 of this year, the Office of Inspector General (OIG) released its 2017 report on information security at the DHS (Department of Homeland Security.) The report investigates cybersecurity at the DHS and how effectively they secure highly sensitive US Government information. Their findings are disturbing at best. The clear lack of secure systems at DHS are exposed, often involving outdated software and their inability to update security patches. Remember, a big part of the DHS is the responsibility to protect the U.S. from cybersecurity threats. Just how does that protection happen with the DHS failing to implement even the most basic of cybersecurity procedures? Apparently, it doesn’t.
The report highlights four major areas of security concerns found at the DHS. The first is that 64 systems lacked valid authority to operate. Second, the DHS continued using unsupported operating systems and failed to update security patches. Next, they failed to monitor software licenses and relied on data calls to monitor national security systems. Finally, the report finds “DHS cannot ensure its systems adequately protect the sensitive data they store and process.” Ouch!
This very serious stuff, especially considering Russia’s successful cyber meddling in US affairs. The OIG offers suggestions for the DHS to combat the lack cybersecurity, which are Cybersecurity 101 for any business. They recommend:
- Ongoing employee training
- Hiring a sufficient quantity of qualified personnel
- Provide adequate funding for cybersecurity defense
In this case, it doesn’t appear to be a lack of funding or an absence of the ability to be on the cutting edge of security technology. For the DHS, maybe their lack of commitment to their own security should be addressed first. The country is waiting…
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