Federal government gets 'D' in cyber security.The House Government Reform Committee gave the federal government a "D" for its efforts to implement cyber security measures. Although the members issued a grade of "barely passing," it was an improvement from last year's failing grade. Of the 24 agencies examined in 2003, 14 received grades below a "C," while eight others, including the Department of Homeland Security Noun 1. Department of Homeland Security - the federal department that administers all matters relating to homeland security Homeland Security executive department - a federal department in the executive branch of the government of the United States , failed. The Social Security Administration and the Department of Labor received a "B+" and "B" respectively; the National Science Foundation received an "A-" and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), an independent U.S. government commission, created by the Energy Reorganization Act of 1974 and charged with licensing and regulating civilian use of nuclear energy to protect the public and the environment. earned an "A," according to Rep. Adam Putnam, R-Fla., chairman of the committee. Besides the DHS DHS Department of Homeland Security (USA) DHS Department of Human Services DHS Department of Health Services DHS Demographic and Health Surveys DHS Dirhams (Morocco national currency) , the Departments of Health and Human Services Noun 1. Health and Human Services - the United States federal department that administers all federal programs dealing with health and welfare; created in 1979 Department of Health and Human Services, HHS , Interior, State, Justice, Energy, Agriculture, and Housing and Urban Development also received a failing grade. For the Agriculture, Interior and Justice Departments, this marks the third year in a row they have received a failing grade in computer security. NASA NASA: see National Aeronautics and Space Administration. NASA in full National Aeronautics and Space Administration Independent U.S. and the Office of Personnel Management both received a "D-." The Defense Department, the General Services Administration The General Services Administration (GSA) was established by section 101 of the Federal Property and Administrative Services Act of 1949 (40 U.S.C.A. § 751). The GSA sets policy for and manages government property and records. and the Treasury Dept. all received "Ds." The Dept. of Tansportation received a "D+." This is the fourth year that the Committee has graded the government on its cyber security initiatives. In 2001, 15 agencies received failing grades. Last year, 13 failed. No agencies received an "A" in either 2001 or 2002. This year; only five agencies completed reliable inventories of their information technology assets, leaving 19 without such data, said Putnam. Agencies that received better grades identified critical infrastructure and mission critical systems. They also had a strong incident-identification mad reporting procedures, tight controls over contractors, and strong plans of actions and milestones that served as guides for finding and eliminating security weaknesses, said Putnam. Putnam expects to hold a hearing on the federal government's response to cyber security after the Office of Management and Budget The Office of Management and Budget (OMB), formerly the Bureau of the Budget, is an agency of the federal government that evaluates, formulates, and coordinates management procedures and program objectives within and among departments and agencies of the Executive Branch. releases its own report next month. |
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