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A lack of centralized leadership, especially at the White House level, is hindering the federal government s ability to address numerous cybersecurity issues, such as the SolarWinds supply chain attack that affected federal agencies and others, according to a new report from the Government Accountability Office.
Since 2010, the GAO has made over 3,300 recommendations to improve cybersecurity standards and practices across the federal government, and as of December 2020, about 750 - including 100 that are considered priority recommendations - have not been implemented, according to the report published Tuesday.
The GAO says the 2018 National Cyber Strategy and the National Security Council s 2019 Implementation Plan, issued during the Trump administration, lacked important characteristics of a national strategy, which made these plans less effective in addressing pressing cybersecurity issues. The nation s cybersecurity stance has regressed over the last two years
GAO Report Highlights Need for Centralized Cyber Leadership govinfosecurity.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from govinfosecurity.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
By Natalie Alms
Federal agencies are under orders to rethink workspaces and employee and visitor activity to curb the spread of COVID-19.
The Office of Management and Budget issued new safety principles Jan. 24 in a memo that implements an executive order requiring masks and physical distancing on federal land and by federal employees and contractors.
OMB is instructing agencies to continue to maximize the use of telework and to take other measures to implement safety measures like enhanced cleaning procedures for federal buildings, symptom screening for feds and contractors entering the workplace and the distribution of hand sanitizer pumps in offices.
By Natalie Alms
The quadrennial book containing lists of jobs filled by appointment in the executive and legislative branches known as the Plum Book came out last week, offering some details, but not a full picture, of senior level positions in the last year of the Trump administration.
Officially known as the United States Government Policy and Supporting Positions, the Plum Book lists both filled and vacant positions that may be subject to non-competitive appointments. For job seekers, it offers insight into what jobs might be up for grabs in an incoming administration. It contains details about positions like what agency they re in, the previous person in the position and their salary level.
GAO: Agencies must ramp up supply chain risk management practices acquisition (Getty Images) Dec 16, 2020 | FEDSCOOP
The report compares whether or not 23 civilian Chief Financial Officers Act agencies have implemented seven foundational practices for risk management policies from developing an agencywide information and communications SCRM policy to creating SCRM standards for potential suppliers.
Six agencies have established a process to conduct an SCRM review of a potential supplier, the highest adoption rate of any of the seven practices. On the flip side, none of the agencies has established a process to conduct an agency-wide assessment of their information and communications technology supply chain risks, and 14 agencies hadn’t established any of the suggested practices.