United States Government Accountability Office Testimony before the Subcommittees on Government Operations and Information Technology Committee on Oversight and Government Reform House of Representatives For Release on Delivery Expected at 10 00 a m ET Wednesday December 12 2018 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY Implementation of Recommendations Is Needed to Strengthen Acquisitions Operations and Cybersecurity Statement of Carol C Harris Director Information Technology Management Issues GAO-19-275T December 12 2018 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY Highlights of GAO-19-275T a testimony before the Subcommittees on Government Operations and Information Technology Committee on Oversight and Government Reform House of Representatives Implementation of Recommendations Is Needed to Strengthen Acquisitions Operations and Cybersecurity Why GAO Did This Study What GAO Found The federal government planned to invest more than $96 billion in IT in fiscal year 2018 However IT investments have often failed or contributed little to mission-related outcomes Further increasingly sophisticated threats and frequent cyber incidents underscore the need for effective information security As a result GAO added two areas to its high-risk list cybersecurity in 1997 and the management of IT acquisitions and operations in 2015 The Office of Management and Budget OMB and federal agencies have taken steps to improve the management of information technology IT acquisitions and operations and ensure federal cybersecurity through a series of initiatives As of November 2018 agencies had fully implemented about 59 percent of the 1 242 IT management-related recommendations that GAO has made since fiscal year 2010 Likewise agencies had implemented about 73 percent of the approximately 3 000 security-related recommendations that GAO has made since 2010 Even with this progress significant actions remain to be completed This statement summarizes federal agencies’ progress in improving the management and ensuring the security of federal IT It is primarily based on GAO’s reports issued between February 1997 and August 2018 and an ongoing review on 1 CIO responsibilities 2 agency CIOs’ involvement in approving IT contracts 3 data center consolidation efforts 4 the management of software licenses and 5 compliance with cybersecurity requirements What GAO Recommends Since fiscal year 2010 GAO has made 1 242 recommendations to OMB and agencies to address shortcomings in IT acquisitions and operations Since fiscal year 2010 GAO also has made over 3 000 recommendations to federal agencies to improve the security of federal systems These recommendations include those to improve the implementation of CIO responsibilities the oversight of the data center consolidation initiative software license management efforts and the strength of security programs and technical controls Most agencies agreed with the recommendations and GAO will continue to monitor their implementation View GAO-19-275T For more information contact Carol C Harris at 202 512-4456 or harriscc@gao gov • • • • • Chief Information Officer CIO responsibilities Laws such as the Federal Information Technology Acquisition Reform Act FITARA and related guidance assigned 35 key IT management responsibilities to CIOs to help address longstanding challenges However in August 2018 GAO reported that none of the 24 selected agencies had policies that fully addressed the role of their CIO as called for by laws and guidance GAO recommended that OMB and each of the 24 agencies take actions to improve the effectiveness of CIOs’ implementation of their responsibilities As of November 2018 none of the 27 recommendations had been implemented IT contract approval According to FITARA covered agencies’ CIOs are required to review and approve IT contracts Nevertheless in January 2018 GAO reported that most of the CIOs at 22 covered agencies were not adequately involved in reviewing billions of dollars of IT acquisitions Consequently GAO made 39 recommendations to improve CIO oversight over these acquisitions As of November 2018 27 of the recommendations had not been addressed Consolidating data centers OMB launched an initiative in 2010 to reduce data centers According to agencies data center consolidation and optimization efforts have resulted in approximately $4 5 billion in cost savings through 2018 Even so additional work remains GAO has made 160 recommendations to OMB and agencies to improve the reporting of related cost savings and to achieve optimization targets However as of November 2018 47 of the recommendations had not been fully addressed Managing software licenses Effective management of software licenses can help avoid purchasing too many licenses that result in unused software In May 2014 GAO reported that better management of licenses was needed to achieve savings and made 135 recommendations to improve such management As of December 2018 27 of the recommendations had not been implemented Improving the security of federal IT systems While the government has acted to protect federal information systems agencies need to improve security programs cyber capabilities and the protection of personally identifiable information The approximately 3 000 recommendations that GAO has made to agencies since 2010 were aimed at improving the security of federal systems and information Specifically these recommendations identified actions for agencies to take to strengthen their information security programs and technical controls over their computer networks and systems As of November 2018 688 of the security-related recommendations had not been implemented United States Government Accountability Office Chairmen Meadows and Hurd Ranking Members Connolly and Kelly and Members of the Subcommittees I am pleased to be here today to provide an update on federal agencies’ efforts to address our high-risk areas on improving the management of information technology IT acquisitions and operations as well as ensuring the security of federal information and IT The federal government has spent billions of dollars on failed and poorly performing IT investments which often suffered from ineffective management Consequently we added improving the management of IT acquisitions and operations to our high-risk areas for the federal government in February 2015 1 In February 2017 we noted that while progress had been made in addressing the high-risk area of IT acquisitions and operations significant work remained to be completed 2 With regard to cybersecurity the increasingly sophisticated threats and frequent cyber incidents underscore the continuing and urgent need for effective information security We first identified federal information security as a government-wide high-risk area in 1997 3 Subsequently in 2003 4 we expanded this area to include computerized systems supporting the nation’s critical infrastructure and in 2015 5 we further expanded this area to include protecting the privacy of personally identifiable information 6 We continued to identify federal information 1 GAO High-Risk Series An Update GAO-15-290 Washington D C Feb 11 2015 GAO maintains a high-risk program to focus attention on government operations that it identifies as high risk due to their greater vulnerabilities to fraud waste abuse and mismanagement or the need for transformation to address economy efficiency or effectiveness challenges 2 GAO High-Risk Series Progress on Many High-Risk Areas While Substantial Efforts Needed on Others GAO-17-317 Washington D C Feb 15 2017 3 GAO High-Risk Series Information Management and Technology GAO-HR-97-9 Washington D C February 1997 4 See GAO High-Risk Series An Overview GAO-HR-97-1 Washington D C February 1997 and High-Risk Series An Update GAO-03-119 Washington D C January 2003 5 GAO-15-290 6 Personally identifiable information is any information that can be used to distinguish or trace an individual’s identity such as name date and place of birth Social Security number or other types of personal information that can be linked to an individual such as medical educational financial and employment information Page 1 GAO-19-275T Information Technology security as a government-wide high-risk area in our February 2017 highrisk update report 7 My statement today provides an update on agencies’ progress in improving the management of IT acquisitions and operations and the security of federal IT The statement is based on our prior reports issued between February 1997 and August 2018 that discuss federal agencies’ 1 implementation of Chief Information Officer CIO responsibilities 2 fulfillment of CIO IT acquisition review requirements 3 data center consolidation efforts 4 management of software licenses and 5 compliance with federal cybersecurity requirements A more detailed discussion of the objectives scope and methodology for this work is included in each of the reports that are cited throughout this statement In addition we have included preliminary results from our ongoing work reviewing the progress being made by federal agencies on data center optimization The draft report related to this work is currently being reviewed by the agencies and we expect to issue it in early 2019 We conducted the work upon which this statement is based in accordance with generally accepted government auditing standards Those standards require that we plan and perform the audit to obtain sufficient appropriate evidence to provide a reasonable basis for our findings and conclusions based on our audit objectives We believe that the evidence obtained provides a reasonable basis for our findings and conclusions based on our audit objectives According to the President’s budget the federal government planned to invest more than $96 billion for IT in fiscal year 2018—the largest amount ever budgeted Despite such large IT expenditures we have previously reported that investments in federal IT too often resulted in failed projects that incurred cost overruns and schedule slippages while contributing little to the desired mission-related outcomes For example Background • The tri-agency 8 National Polar-orbiting Operational Environmental Satellite System was disbanded in February 2010 at the direction of the 7 GAO-17-317 8 The weather satellite program was jointly managed by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration the Department of Defense and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration Page 2 GAO-19-275T Information Technology White House’s Office of Science and Technology Policy after the program spent 16 years and almost $5 billion 9 • The Department of Homeland Security’s DHS Secure Border Initiative Network program was ended in January 2011 after the department obligated more than $1 billion for the program 10 • The Department of Veterans Affairs’ Financial and Logistics Integrated Technology Enterprise program was intended to be delivered by 2014 at a total estimated cost of $609 million but was terminated in October 2011 11 • The Department of Defense’s Expeditionary Combat Support System was canceled in December 2012 after spending more than a billion dollars and failing to deploy within 5 years of initially obligating funds 12 • The United States Coast Guard Coast Guard decided to terminate its Integrated Health Information System project in 2015 As reported by the agency in August 2017 the Coast Guard spent approximately $60 million over 7 years on this project which resulted in no equipment or software that could be used for future efforts 13 9 See for example GAO Polar-Orbiting Environmental Satellites With Costs Increasing and Data Continuity at Risk Improvements Needed in Tri-agency Decision Making GAO-09-564 Washington D C June 17 2009 and Environmental Satellites PolarOrbiting Satellite Acquisition Faces Delays Decisions Needed on Whether and How to Ensure Climate Data Continuity GAO-08-518 Washington D C May 16 2008 10 See for example GAO Secure Border Initiative DHS Needs to Strengthen Management and Oversight of Its Prime Contractor GAO-11-6 Washington D C Oct 18 2010 Secure Border Initiative DHS Needs to Reconsider Its Proposed Investment in Key Technology Program GAO-10-340 Washington D C May 5 2010 and Secure Border Initiative DHS Needs to Address Testing and Performance Limitations That Place Key Technology Program at Risk GAO-10-158 Washington D C Jan 29 2010 11 GAO Information Technology Actions Needed to Fully Establish Program Management Capability for VA’s Financial and Logistics Initiative GAO-10-40 Washington D C Oct 26 2009 12 GAO DOD Financial Management Implementation Weaknesses in Army and Air Force Business Systems Could Jeopardize DOD’s Auditability Goals GAO-12-134 Washington D C Feb 28 2012 and DOD Business Transformation Improved Management Oversight of Business System Modernization Efforts Needed GAO-11-53 Washington D C Oct 7 2010 13 GAO Coast Guard Health Records Timely Acquisition of New System Is Critical to Overcoming Challenges with Paper Process GAO-18-59 Washington D C Jan 24 2018 Page 3 GAO-19-275T Information Technology Our past work has found that these and other failed IT projects often suffered from a lack of disciplined and effective management such as project planning requirements definition and program oversight and governance In many instances agencies had not consistently applied best practices that are critical to successfully acquiring IT Such projects have also failed due to a lack of oversight and governance Executive-level governance and oversight across the government has often been ineffective specifically from CIOs For example we have reported that some CIOs’ roles were limited because they did not have the authority to review and approve the entire agency IT portfolio 14 In addition to failures when acquiring IT security deficiencies can threaten systems As we previously reported in order to counter security threats the 23 civilian Chief Financial Officers CFO Act agencies spent a combined total of approximately $4 billion on IT security-related activities in fiscal year 2016 15 Even so our cybersecurity work at federal agencies continues to highlight information security deficiencies The following examples describe the types of risks we have found at federal agencies • In September 2018 we reported that the Department of Education’s Office of Federal Student Aid exercises minimal oversight of lenders’ protection of student data and lacks assurance that appropriate riskbased safeguards are being effectively implemented tested and monitored 16 14 GAO Federal Chief Information Officers Opportunities Exist to Improve Role in Information Technology Management GAO-11-634 Washington D C Sept 15 2011 15 The agencies included were the others covered by the CFO Act of 1990 31 U S C § 901 b the Departments of Agriculture Commerce Education Energy Health and Human Services Homeland Security Housing and Urban Development the Interior Justice Labor State Transportation the Treasury and Veterans Affairs the Environmental Protection Agency General Services Administration National Aeronautics and Space Administration National Science Foundation Nuclear Regulatory Commission Office of Personnel Management Small Business Administration Social Security Administration and the U S Agency for International Development See GAO Federal Information Security Weaknesses Continue to Indicate Need for Effective Implementation of Policies and Practices GAO-17-549 Washington D C Sept 28 2017 According to the Department of Defense at the time of our review the department had not submitted its FISMA report nor was it required to issue a financial report for fiscal year 2016 16 GAO Cybersecurity Office of Federal Student Aid Should Take Additional Steps to Oversee Non-School Partners’ Protection of Borrower Information GAO-18-518 Washington D C Sept 17 2018 Page 4 GAO-19-275T Information Technology • In August 2017 we reported that since the 2015 data breaches the Office of Personnel Management OPM had taken actions to prevent mitigate and respond to data breaches involving sensitive personal and background investigation information 17 However we noted that the agency had not fully implemented recommendations made to OPM by DHS’s United States Computer Emergency Readiness Team to help the agency improve its overall security posture and improve its ability to protect its systems and information from security breaches • In July 2017 we reported that information security at the Internal Revenue Service had weaknesses that limited its effectiveness in protecting the confidentiality integrity and availability of financial and sensitive taxpayer data An underlying reason for these weaknesses was that the Internal Revenue Service had not effectively implemented elements of its information security program 18 • In May 2016 we reported that the National Aeronautics and Space Administration the Nuclear Regulatory Commission OPM and the Department of Veteran Affairs did not always control access to selected high-impact systems patch known software vulnerabilities and plan for contingencies An underlying reason for these weaknesses was that the agencies had not fully implemented key elements of their information security programs 19 • In August 2016 we reported that the information security of the Food and Drug Administration had significant weaknesses that jeopardized the confidentiality integrity and availability of its information systems and industry and public health data 20 17 GAO Information Security OPM Has Improved Controls but Further Efforts Are Needed GAO-17-614 Washington D C Aug 3 2017 18 GAO Information Security Control Deficiencies Continue to Limit IRS’s Effectiveness in Protecting Sensitive Financial and Taxpayer Data GAO-17-395 Washington D C July 26 2017 19 GAO Information Security Agencies Need to Improve Controls over Selected HighImpact Systems GAO-16-501 Washington D C May 18 2016 20 GAO Information Security FDA Needs to Rectify Control Weaknesses That Place Industry and Public Health Data at Risk GAO-16-513 Washington D C Aug 30 2016 Page 5 GAO-19-275T Information Technology FITARA Increases CIO Authorities and Responsibilities for Managing IT Congress and the President have enacted various key pieces of reform legislation to address IT management issues These include the federal IT acquisition reform legislation commonly referred to as the Federal Information Technology Acquisition Reform Act FITARA 21 This legislation was intended to improve covered agencies’ acquisitions of IT and enable Congress to monitor agencies’ progress and hold them accountable for reducing duplication and achieving cost savings 22 The law includes specific requirements related to seven areas • Agency CIO authority enhancements CIOs at covered agencies have the authority to among other things 1 approve the IT budget requests of their respective agencies and 2 review and approve IT contracts • Federal data center consolidation initiative FDCCI Agencies covered by FITARA are required among other things to provide a strategy for consolidating and optimizing their data centers and issue quarterly updates on the progress made • Enhanced transparency and improved risk management The Office of Management and Budget OMB and covered agencies are to make detailed information on federal IT investments publicly available and agency CIOs are to categorize their investments by level of risk • Portfolio review Covered agencies are to annually review IT investment portfolios in order to among other things increase efficiency and effectiveness and identify potential waste and duplication • Expansion of training and use of IT acquisition cadres Covered agencies are to update their acquisition human capital plans to support timely and effective IT acquisitions In doing so the law calls for agencies to consider among other things establishing IT acquisition cadres i e multi-functional groups of professionals to acquire and manage complex 21 Carl Levin and Howard P ‘Buck’ McKeon National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2015 Pub L No 113-291 div A title VIII subtitle D 128 Stat 3292 3438-3450 Dec 19 2014 22 The provisions apply to the agencies covered by the CFO Act of 1990 31 U S C § 901 b These agencies are the Departments of Agriculture Commerce Defense Education Energy Health and Human Services Homeland Security Housing and Urban Development Justice Labor State the Interior the Treasury Transportation and Veterans Affairs the Environmental Protection Agency General Services Administration National Aeronautics and Space Administration National Science Foundation Nuclear Regulatory Commission Office of Personnel Management Small Business Administration Social Security Administration and U S Agency for International Development However parts of FITARA do not apply to the Department of Defense Page 6 GAO-19-275T Information Technology programs or developing agreements with other agencies that have such cadres • Government-wide software purchasing program The General Services Administration is to develop a strategic sourcing initiative to enhance government-wide acquisition and management of software In doing so the law requires that to the maximum extent practicable the General Services Administration should allow for the purchase of a software license agreement that is available for use by all executive branch agencies as a single user 23 • Maximizing the benefit of the Federal Strategic Sourcing Initiative 24 Federal agencies are required to compare their purchases of services and supplies to what is offered under the Federal Strategic Sourcing Initiative In June 2015 OMB released guidance describing how agencies are to implement FITARA 25 This guidance is intended to among other things • assist agencies in aligning their IT resources with statutory requirements • establish government-wide IT management controls to meet the law’s requirements while providing agencies with flexibility to adapt to unique agency processes and requirements • strengthen the relationship between agency CIOs and bureau CIOs and • strengthen CIO accountability for IT costs schedules performance and security The guidance identifies a number of actions that agencies are to take to establish a basic set of roles and responsibilities referred to as the common baseline for CIOs and other senior agency officials and thus to 23 The Making Electronic Government Accountable by Yielding Tangible Efficiencies Act of 2016 or the “MEGABYTE Act” further enhances CIOs’ management of software licenses by requiring agency CIOs to establish an agency software licensing policy and a comprehensive software license inventory to track and maintain licenses among other requirements Pub L No 114-210 130 Stat 824 2016 24 The Federal Strategic Sourcing Initiative is a program established by the General Services Administration and the Department of the Treasury to address government-wide opportunities to strategically source commonly purchased goods and services and eliminate duplication of efforts across agencies 25 OMB Management and Oversight of Federal Information Technology Memorandum M15-14 Washington D C June 10 2015 Page 7 GAO-19-275T Information Technology implement the authorities described in the law For example agencies are to conduct a self-assessment and submit a plan describing the changes they intend to make to ensure that common baseline responsibilities are implemented In addition in August 2016 OMB released guidance intended to among other things define a framework for achieving the data center consolidation and optimization requirements of FITARA 26 The guidance directed agencies to develop a data center consolidation and optimization strategic plan that defined the agency’s data center strategy for fiscal years 2016 2017 and 2018 This strategy was to include among other things a statement from the agency CIO indicating whether the agency had complied with all data center reporting requirements in FITARA Further the guidance states that OMB is to maintain a public dashboard to display consolidation-related costs savings and optimization performance information for the agencies Congress Has Undertaken Efforts to Continue Selected FITARA Provisions and Modernize Federal IT • Congress has recognized the importance of agencies’ continued implementation of FITARA provisions and has taken legislative action to extend selected provisions beyond their original dates of expiration Specifically Congress and the President enacted laws to remove the expiration dates for the enhanced transparency and improved risk management provisions which were set to expire in 2019 • remove the expiration date for portfolio review which was set to expire in 2019 and • extend the expiration date for FDCCI from 2018 to 2020 27 In addition Congress and the President enacted a law to authorize the availability of funding mechanisms to help further agencies’ efforts to modernize IT The law known as the Modernizing Government Technology MGT Act authorizes agencies to establish working capital funds for use in transitioning from legacy IT systems as well as for addressing evolving threats to information security 28 The law also creates 26 OMB Data Center Optimization Initiative DCOI Memorandum M-16-19 Washington D C Aug 1 2016 27 FITARA Enhancement Act of 2017 Pub L No 115-88 131 Stat 1278 2017 28 National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2018 Pub L No 115-91 Div A Title X Subtitle G 2017 Page 8 GAO-19-275T Information Technology the Technology Modernization Fund within the Department of the Treasury from which agencies can “borrow” money to retire and replace legacy systems as well as acquire or develop systems Further in February 2018 OMB issued guidance for agencies on implementing the MGT Act 29 The guidance was intended to provide agencies additional information regarding the Technology Modernization Fund and the administration and funding of the related IT working capital funds Specifically the guidance encouraged agencies to begin submitting initial project proposals for modernization on February 27 2018 In addition in accordance with the MGT Act the guidance provides details regarding a Technology Modernization Board which is to consist of 1 the Federal CIO 2 a senior IT official from the General Services Administration 3 a member of DHS’s National Protection and Program Directorate 30 and 4 four federal employees with technical expertise in IT development financial management cybersecurity and privacy and acquisition appointed by the Director of OMB FISMA Establishes Responsibilities for Agencies to Address Federal Cybersecurity Congress and the President enacted the Federal Information Security Modernization Act of 2014 FISMA to improve federal cybersecurity and clarify government-wide responsibilities 31 The act addresses the increasing sophistication of cybersecurity attacks promotes the use of automated security tools with the ability to continuously monitor and diagnose the security posture of federal agencies and provides for improved oversight of federal agencies’ information security programs Toward this end the act clarifies and assigns specific responsibilities to entities such as OMB DHS and the federal agencies Table 1 describes a selection of the OMB DHS and agency responsibilities 29 OMB Implementation of the Modernizing Government Technology Act M-18-12 Washington D C Feb 27 2018 30 The National Protection and Program Directorate NPPD was the Department of Homeland Security component responsible for addressing physical and cyber infrastructure protection The recently enacted Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency Act of 2018 renames NPPD the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency and establishes a Director and responsibilities for the agency 31 The Federal Information Security Modernization Act of 2014 FISMA 2014 Pub L No 113-283 Dec 18 2014 largely superseded the Federal Information Security Management Act of 2002 FISMA 2002 enacted as Title III E-Government Act of 2002 Pub L No 107-347 116 Stat 2899 2946 Dec 17 2002 As used in this testimony FISMA refers both to FISMA 2014 and to those provisions of FISMA 2002 that were either incorporated into FISMA 2014 or were unchanged and continue in full force and effect Page 9 GAO-19-275T Information Technology Table 1 Selected Federal Information Security Modernization Act of 2014 FISMA Responsibilities Responsible agency or agencies FISMA responsibilities Office of Management and Budget OMB • • • • • Develop and oversee the implementation of policies principles standards and guidelines on information security in federal agencies except with regard to national security systems Require agencies to identify and provide information security protections commensurate with assessments of risk to their information and information systems Report annually in consultation with the Department of Homeland Security DHS on the effectiveness of information security policies and practices Ensure that data breach notification policies and guidelines are periodically updated and require notification to congressional committees and affected individuals Ensure development of guidance for evaluating the effectiveness of an information security program and practices in consultation with DHS the Chief Information Officers Council the Council of the Inspectors General on Integrity and Efficiency and other interested parties as appropriate DHS • Consult with OMB to administer the implementation of agency information security policies and practices for non-national security information systems Executive branch agencies covered by FISMA • Develop document and implement an agency-wide information security program that includes among other things periodic risk assessments policies and procedures plans for providing adequate information security security awareness training and periodic testing and evaluation Ensure that senior officials carry out assigned responsibilities and that all personnel are held accountable for complying with the agency’s information security program Submit an annual report on the adequacy and effectiveness of information security policies procedures and practices as well as compliance with the act to OMB certain congressional committees and the Comptroller General of the United States The annual report is to include descriptions of major security incidents Assess the effectiveness of the agency’s information security policies procedures and practices • • Executive branch agencies’ Office of the Inspector General or independent auditor • Source GAO analysis GAO-19-275T The Administration Has Undertaken Efforts to Improve Modernize and Strengthen the Security of Federal IT Beyond the implementation of FITARA FISMA and related actions the administration has also initiated other efforts intended to improve federal IT Specifically in March 2017 the administration established the Office of American Innovation which has a mission to among other things make recommendations to the President on policies and plans aimed at improving federal government operations and services In doing so the office is to consult with both OMB and the Office of Science and Technology Policy on policies and plans intended to improve government Page 10 GAO-19-275T Information Technology operations and services improve the quality of life for Americans and spur job creation 32 In May 2017 the Administration also established the American Technology Council which has a goal of helping to transform and modernize federal agency IT and how the federal government uses and delivers digital services 33 The President is the chairman of this council and the Federal CIO and the United States Digital Service Administrator are among the members 34 In addition on May 11 2017 the President signed Executive Order 13800 Strengthening the Cybersecurity of Federal Networks and Critical Infrastructure 35 This executive order outlined actions to enhance cybersecurity across federal agencies and critical infrastructure to improve the nation’s cyber posture and capabilities against cybersecurity threats Among other things the order tasked the Director of the American Technology Council 36 to coordinate a report to the President from the Secretary of DHS the Director of OMB and the Administrator of the General Services Administration in consultation with the Secretary of Commerce regarding the modernization of federal IT As a result the Report to the President on Federal IT Modernization was issued on December 13 2017 and outlined the current and envisioned state of federal IT The report focused on modernization efforts to improve the security posture of federal IT and recognized that agencies have attempted to modernize systems but have been stymied by a variety of factors including resource prioritization ability to procure services quickly and technical issues The report provided multiple 32 The White House Office of Science and Technology Policy provides the President and others within the Executive Office of the President with advice on the scientific engineering and technological aspects of the economy national security homeland security health foreign relations the environment and the technological recovery and use of resources among other topics 33 Exec Order No 13794 Establishment of the American Technology Council 82 Fed Reg 20811 May 3 2017 34 The United States Digital Service is an office within OMB which aims to improve the most important public-facing federal digital services 35 Exec Order No 13800 82 Fed Reg 22391 May 16 2017 36 This position is held by an employee of the Executive Office of the President as designated by the President Page 11 GAO-19-275T Information Technology recommendations intended to address these issues through the modernization and consolidation of networks and the use of shared services to enable future network architectures Further in March 2018 the Administration issued the President’s Management Agenda which lays out a long-term vision for modernizing the federal government 37 The agenda identifies three related drivers of transformation—IT modernization data accountability and transparency and the workforce of the future—that are intended to push change across the federal government The Administration also established 14 related Cross-Agency Priority goals many of which have elements that involve IT 38 In particular the Cross-Agency Priority goal on IT modernization states that modern IT must function as the backbone of how government serves the public in the digital age This goal establishes three priorities that are to guide the Administration’s efforts to modernize federal IT 1 enhancing mission effectiveness by improving the quality and efficiency of critical services including the increased utilization of cloud-based solutions 2 reducing cybersecurity risks to the federal mission by leveraging current commercial capabilities and implementing cutting edge cybersecurity capabilities and 3 building a modern IT workforce by recruiting reskilling and retaining professionals able to help drive modernization with up-to-date technology More recently on May 15 2018 the President signed Executive Order 13833 Enhancing the Effectiveness of Agency Chief Information Officers Among other things this executive order is intended to better position agencies to modernize their IT systems execute IT programs more efficiently and reduce cybersecurity risks 39 The order pertains to 22 of the 24 CFO Act agencies the Department of Defense and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission are exempt 37 President’s Management Council and Executive Office of the President President’s Management Agenda Washington D C Mar 20 2018 38 Cross-Agency Priority goals were established in response to the Government Performance and Results Act Modernization Act of 2010 Sec 5 Pub L No 111-352 Jan 4 2011 124 Stat 3866 3873 31 U S C § 1120 a 1 B 39 Exec Order No 13833 Enhancing the Effectiveness of Agency Chief Information Officers May 15 2018 Page 12 GAO-19-275T Information Technology For the covered agencies the executive order strengthens the role of agency CIOs by among other things requiring them to report directly to their agency head serve as their agency head’s primary IT strategic advisor and have a significant role in all management governance and oversight processes related to IT In addition one of the cybersecurity requirements directs agencies to ensure that the CIO works closely with an integrated team of senior executives including those with expertise in IT security and privacy to implement appropriate risk management measures Agencies Have Not Fully Addressed the IT Acquisitions and Operations High-Risk Area In the February 2017 update to our high-risk series we reported that agencies still needed to complete significant work related to the management of IT acquisitions and operations 40 We stressed that OMB and federal agencies should continue to expeditiously implement FITARA and OMB’s related guidance which includes enhancing CIO authority consolidating data centers and acquiring and managing software licenses Our update to this high-risk area also stressed that OMB and agencies needed to continue to implement our prior recommendations in order to improve their ability to effectively and efficiently invest in IT Specifically since fiscal year 2010 we have made 1 242 recommendations to OMB and federal agencies to address shortcomings in IT acquisitions and operations As stated in the update OMB and agencies should demonstrate government-wide progress in the management of IT investments by among other things implementing at least 80 percent of our recommendations related to managing IT acquisitions and operations As of November 2018 OMB and agencies had fully implemented 732 or about 59 percent of the 1 242 recommendations Figure 1 summarizes the progress that OMB and agencies have made in addressing our recommendations compared to the 80 percent target 40 GAO-17-317 Page 13 GAO-19-275T Information Technology Figure 1 Summary of the Office of Management and Budget’s and Federal Agencies’ Progress in Addressing GAO’s Information Technology Acquisitions and Operations Recommendations as of November 2018 Overall federal agencies would be better positioned to realize billions in cost savings and additional management improvements if they address these recommendations including those aimed at implementing CIO responsibilities reviewing IT acquisitions improving data center consolidation and managing software licenses Agencies Need to Address Shortcomings and Challenges in Implementing CIO Responsibilities In all the various laws such as FITARA 41 and related guidance assign 35 IT management responsibilities to CIOs in six key areas These areas are leadership and accountability budgeting information security investment management workforce and strategic planning In August 2018 we reported that none of the 24 agencies we reviewed had policies that fully addressed the role of their CIO as called for by federal laws and guidance 42 In this regard a majority of the agencies had fully or substantially addressed the role of their CIOs for the area of leadership and accountability In addition a majority of the agencies had substantially or partially addressed the role of their CIOs for two areas information security and IT budgeting However most agencies partially or minimally addressed the role of their CIOs for two areas investment management and strategic planning Further the majority of the agencies minimally addressed or did not address the role of their CIOs for the remaining area IT workforce Figure 41 In addition to FITARA these laws include FISMA 44 U S C § 3554 the Paperwork Reduction Act 44 U S C § 3506 and the Clinger-Cohen Act 40 U S C §§ 11312 and 11313 42 GAO Federal Chief Information Officers Critical Actions Needed to Address Shortcomings and Challenges in Implementing Responsibilities GAO-18-93 Washington D C Aug 2 2018 Page 14 GAO-19-275T Information Technology 2 depicts the extent to which the 24 agencies addressed the role of their CIOs for the six areas Figure 2 Extent to Which 24 Selected Agencies’ Policies Addressed the Role of Their Chief Information Officers CIO Presented from Most Addressed to Least Addressed Area Despite the shortfalls in agencies’ policies addressing the roles of their CIOs most agency officials stated that their CIOs are implementing the responsibilities even if the agencies do not have policies requiring implementation Nevertheless the CIOs of the 24 selected agencies acknowledged in responses to a survey that we administered that they were not always very effective in implementing the six IT management areas Specifically at least 10 of the CIOs indicated that they were less than very effective for each of the six areas of responsibility We believe that until agencies fully Page 15 GAO-19-275T Information Technology address the role of CIOs in their policies agencies will be limited in addressing longstanding IT management challenges Figure 3 depicts the extent to which the CIOs reported their effectiveness in implementing the six areas of responsibility Figure 3 Extent to Which Agency Chief Information Officers CIO Reported Effective Implementation of Six Responsibility Areas Presented from Most Effective to Least Effective Area as of August 2018 Beyond the actions of the agencies however shortcomings in agencies’ policies also are partially attributable to two weaknesses in OMB’s guidance First the guidance does not comprehensively address all CIO responsibilities such as those related to assessing the extent to which personnel meet IT management knowledge and skill requirements and ensuring that personnel are held accountable for complying with the information security program Correspondingly the majority of the Page 16 GAO-19-275T Information Technology agencies’ policies did not fully address nearly all of the responsibilities that were not included in OMB’s guidance Second OMB’s guidance does not ensure that CIOs have a significant role in 1 IT planning programming and budgeting decisions and 2 execution decisions and the management governance and oversight processes related to IT as required by federal law and guidance In the absence of comprehensive guidance CIOs will not be positioned to effectively acquire maintain and secure their IT systems In response to the survey conducted for our August 2018 report the 24 agency CIOs also identified a number of factors that enabled and challenged their ability to effectively manage IT Specifically most agency CIOs cited five factors as being enablers to effectively carry out their responsibilities 1 NIST guidance 2 the CIO’s position in the agency hierarchy 3 OMB guidance 4 coordination with the Chief Acquisition Officer CAO and 5 legal authority Further three factors were cited by CIOs as major factors that have challenged their ability to effectively carry out responsibilities 1 processes for hiring recruiting and retaining IT personnel 2 financial resources and 3 the availability of personnel staff resources As shown in figure 4 the five enabling factors were identified by at least half of the 24 CIOs and the three factors cited as major challenges were identified by at least half of the CIOs Page 17 GAO-19-275T Information Technology Figure 4 Factors Commonly Identified as Enabling and Challenging Chief Information Officers CIO to Effectively Manage Information Technology IT Presented from Most Enabling to Least Enabling Factor Although OMB has issued guidance aimed at addressing the three factors that were identified by at least half of the CIOs as major challenges the guidance does not fully address those challenges Further regarding the financial resources challenge OMB recently required agencies to provide data on CIO authority over IT spending however its guidance does not provide a complete definition of the authority In the absence of such guidance agencies have created varying definitions of CIO authority Until OMB updates its guidance to include a complete definition of the authority that CIOs are to have over IT spending it will be difficult for OMB to identify any deficiencies in this area and to help agencies make any needed improvements In order to address challenges in implementing CIO responsibilities we made three recommendations to OMB and one recommendation to each of the selected 24 federal agencies to improve the effectiveness of CIOs’ implementation of their responsibilities for each of the six IT management areas Most agencies agreed with or had no comments on the recommendations As of November 2018 all 27 of the recommendations Page 18 GAO-19-275T Information Technology had not been implemented We will continue to monitor the implementation of these recommendations Agencies Need to Ensure That IT Acquisitions Are Reviewed and Approved by CIOs FITARA includes a provision to enhance covered agency CIOs’ authority through among other things requiring agency heads to ensure that CIOs review and approve IT contracts OMB’s FITARA implementation guidance expanded upon this aspect of the legislation in a number of ways 43 Specifically according to the guidance • CIOs may review and approve IT acquisition strategies and plans rather than individual IT contracts 44 • CIOs can designate other agency officials to act as their representatives but the CIOs must retain accountability 45 • CAOs are responsible for ensuring that all IT contract actions are consistent with CIO-approved acquisition strategies and plans and • CAOs are to indicate to the CIOs when planned acquisition strategies and acquisition plans include IT In January 2018 we reported 46 that most of the CIOs at 22 selected agencies 47 were not adequately involved in reviewing billions of dollars of IT acquisitions For instance most of the 22 agencies did not identify all of their IT contracts In this regard the agencies identified 78 249 ITrelated contracts to which they obligated $14 7 billion in fiscal year 2016 43 OMB Management and Oversight of Federal Information Technology M-15-14 Washington D C June 10 2015 44 OMB’s guidance states that CIOs should only review and approve individual IT contract actions if they are not part of an approved acquisition strategy or plan 45 OMB has interpreted FITARA’s “governance process” provision to permit such delegation That provision allows covered agencies to use the governance processes of the agency to approve a contract or other agreement for IT if the CIO of the agency is included as a full participant in the governance process 46 GAO Information Technology Agencies Need to Involve Chief Information Officers in Reviewing Billions of Dollars in Acquisitions GAO-18-42 Washington D C Jan 10 2018 47 The 22 agencies are the Departments of Agriculture Commerce Education Energy Health and Human Services Housing and Urban Development Justice Labor State the Interior the Treasury Transportation and Veterans Affairs the Environmental Protection Agency General Services Administration National Aeronautics and Space Administration National Science Foundation Nuclear Regulatory Commission Office of Personnel Management Small Business Administration Social Security Administration and U S Agency for International Development Page 19 GAO-19-275T Information Technology However we identified 31 493 additional contracts with $4 5 billion obligated raising the total amount obligated to IT contracts by these agencies in fiscal year 2016 to at least $19 2 billion Figure 5 reflects the obligations that the 22 selected agencies reported to us relative to the obligations we identified Figure 5 Agency- and GAO-Identified Approximate Dollars Obligated to Fiscal Year 2016 IT Contracts at 22 Selected Agencies The percentage of additional IT contract obligations we identified varied among the selected agencies For example the Department of State did not identify 1 percent of its IT contract obligations Conversely eight agencies did not identify over 40 percent of their IT contract obligations Many of the selected agencies that did not identify these IT contract obligations also did not follow OMB guidance Specifically 14 of the 22 agencies did not involve the acquisition office in their process to identify IT acquisitions for CIO review as required by OMB In addition 7 agencies did not establish guidance to aid officials in recognizing IT We concluded that until these agencies involve the acquisitions office in their IT acquisition identification processes and establish supporting guidance Page 20 GAO-19-275T Information Technology they cannot ensure that they will identify all such acquisitions Without proper identification of IT acquisitions these agencies and CIOs cannot effectively provide oversight of these acquisitions In addition to not identifying all IT contracts 14 of the 22 selected agencies did not fully satisfy OMB’s requirement that the CIO review and approve IT acquisition plans or strategies Further only 11 of 96 randomly selected IT contracts at 10 agencies that we evaluated were CIOreviewed and approved as required by OMB’s guidance The 85 contracts not reviewed had a total possible value of approximately $23 8 billion Until agencies ensure that CIOs are able to review and approve all IT acquisitions CIOs will continue to have limited visibility and input into their agencies’ planned IT expenditures and will not be able to effectively use the increased authority that FITARA’s contract approval provision is intended to provide Further agencies will likely miss an opportunity to strengthen their CIOs’ authority and the oversight of acquisitions As a result agencies may award IT contracts that are duplicative wasteful or poorly conceived As a result of these findings we made 39 recommendations in our January 2018 report Among these we recommended that agencies ensure that their acquisition offices are involved in identifying IT acquisitions and issuing related guidance and that IT acquisitions are reviewed in accordance with OMB guidance OMB and the majority of the agencies generally agreed with or did not comment on the recommendations As of November 2018 27 of the recommendations had not been implemented Agencies Have Made Progress in Consolidating Data Centers but Need to Take Action to Achieve Planned Cost Savings In our February 2017 high-risk update we stressed that OMB and agencies needed to demonstrate additional progress on achieving data center consolidation savings in order to improve the management of IT acquisitions and operations Further data center consolidation efforts are key to implementing FITARA Specifically OMB established the FDCCI in February 2010 to improve the efficiency performance and environmental footprint of federal data center activities The enactment of FITARA in 2014 codified and expanded the initiative In addition in August 2016 OMB issued a memorandum which established the Data Center Optimization Initiative DCOI and included guidance on how to implement the data center consolidation and Page 21 GAO-19-275T Information Technology optimization provisions of FITARA 48 Among other things the guidance required agencies to consolidate inefficient infrastructure optimize existing facilities improve their security posture and achieve cost savings According to agencies data center consolidation and optimization efforts have resulted in approximately $4 5 billion in cost savings through 2018 However additional work remains to fully carry out the initiative Specifically in a series of reports that we issued from July 2011 through May 2018 we noted that while data center consolidation could potentially save the federal government billions of dollars weaknesses existed in several areas including agencies’ data center consolidation plans data center optimization and OMB’s tracking and reporting on related cost savings 49 In these reports we made a total of 160 recommendations to OMB and 24 agencies to improve the execution and oversight of the initiative Most agencies and OMB agreed with our recommendations or had no comments As of November 2018 47 of these 160 recommendations remained unimplemented In addition in a draft report on data center optimization that we have provided to the agencies for comment and plan to issue in early 2019 our preliminary results indicate that agencies continued to report mixed progress toward achieving OMB’s goals for closing data centers and realizing the associated savings by September 2018 Specifically as of August 2018 over half of the agencies reported that they had met or planned to meet all of their OMB-assigned closure goals for tiered data 48 OMB Memorandum M-16-19 49 GAO Data Center Optimization Continued Agency Actions Needed to Meet Goals and Address Prior Recommendations GAO-18-264 Washington D C May 23 2018 Data Center Optimization Agencies Need to Address Challenges and Improve Progress to Achieve Cost Savings Goal GAO-17-448 Washington D C Aug 15 2017 Data Center Optimization Agencies Need to Complete Plans to Address Inconsistencies in Reported Savings GAO-17-388 Washington D C May 18 2017 Data Center Consolidation Agencies Making Progress but Planned Savings Goals Need to Be Established Reissued on March 4 2016 GAO-16-323 Washington D C Mar 3 2016 Data Center Consolidation Reporting Can Be Improved to Reflect Substantial Planned Savings GAO-14-713 Washington D C Sept 25 2014 Data Center Consolidation Strengthened Oversight Needed to Achieve Cost Savings Goal GAO-13-378 Washington D C Apr 23 2013 Data Center Consolidation Agencies Making Progress on Efforts but Inventories and Plans Need to Be Completed GAO-12-742 Washington D C July 19 2012 and Data Center Consolidation Agencies Need to Complete Inventories and Plans to Achieve Expected Savings GAO-11-565 Washington D C July 19 2011 Page 22 GAO-19-275T Information Technology centers by the deadline 50 However 6 agencies reported that they did not plan to meet their goals for tiered data centers In addition as of August 2018 11 agencies reported that they had already met the goal for closing 60 percent of their non-tiered centers 3 agencies reported that they planned to meet the goal by the end of fiscal year 2018 and 9 agencies reported that they did not plan to meet the goal by the end of fiscal year 2018 In all the 24 agencies reported a total of 6 250 data center closures as of August 2018 which represented about half of the total reported number of federal data centers In addition the agencies reported 1 009 planned closures by the end of fiscal year 2018 with an additional 191 closures planned through fiscal year 2023 for a total of 1 200 further closures Further in August 2018 22 agencies reported that they had achieved $1 94 billion in cost savings for fiscal years 2016 through 2018 while 2 agencies reported that they had not achieved any savings In addition to that amount 21 agencies identified a further $0 42 billion in planned savings through fiscal year 2018—for a total of $2 36 billion in planned cost savings from fiscal years 2016 through 2018 Nevertheless this total is about $0 38 billion less than OMB’s goal of $2 74 billion for overall DCOI savings Agencies Need to Better Manage Software Licenses to Achieve Savings In our 2015 high-risk report’s discussion of IT acquisitions and operations we identified the management of software licenses as an area of concern in part because of the potential for cost savings Federal agencies engage in thousands of software licensing agreements annually The objective of software license management is to manage control and protect an organization’s software assets Effective management of these licenses can help avoid purchasing too many licenses which can result in unused software as well as too few licenses which can result in noncompliance with license terms and cause the imposition of additional fees 50 OMB’s Memorandum M-16-19 directs agencies to categorize its data centers as a tiered data center or a non-tiered data center A tiered data center is defined as one using each of the following 1 a separate physical space for IT infrastructure 2 an uninterruptible power supply 3 a dedicated cooling system or zone and 4 a backup power generator for a prolonged power outage All other data centers are to be considered non-tiered data centers Page 23 GAO-19-275T Information Technology As part of its PortfolioStat initiative OMB has developed a policy that addresses software licenses This policy requires agencies to conduct an annual agency-wide IT portfolio review to among other things reduce commodity IT spending Such areas of spending could include software licenses In May 2014 we reported on federal agencies’ management of software licenses and determined that better management was needed to achieve significant savings government-wide 51 Of the 24 selected agencies we reviewed only 2 had comprehensive policies that included the establishment of clear roles and central oversight authority for managing enterprise software license agreements among other things Of the remaining 22 agencies 18 had policies that were not comprehensive and 4 had not developed any policies Further we found that only 2 of the 24 selected agencies had established comprehensive software license inventories a leading practice that would help them to adequately manage their software licenses The inadequate implementation of this and other leading practices in software license management was partially due to weaknesses in agencies’ policies As a result we concluded that agencies’ oversight of software license spending was limited or lacking thus potentially leading to missed savings However the potential savings could be significant considering that in fiscal year 2012 1 major federal agency reported saving approximately $181 million by consolidating its enterprise license agreements even when its oversight process was ad hoc Accordingly we recommended that OMB issue a directive to help guide agencies in managing software licenses We also made 135 recommendations to the 24 agencies to improve their policies and practices for managing licenses Among other things we recommended that the agencies regularly track and maintain a comprehensive inventory of software licenses and analyze the inventory to identify opportunities to reduce costs and better inform investment decision making Most agencies generally agreed with the recommendations or had no comments As of December 2018 27 of the 135 recommendations had 51 GAO Federal Software Licenses Better Management Needed to Achieve Significant Savings Government-Wide GAO-14-413 Washington D C May 22 2014 Page 24 GAO-19-275T Information Technology not been implemented Table 2 reflects the extent to which the 24 agencies implemented the recommendations in these two areas Table 2 Agencies’ Implementation of GAO’s Software License Management Recommendations as of December 2018 Tracks and maintains a comprehensive inventory Uses inventory to make decisions and reduce costs 🌑🌑 🌓🌓 🌑🌑 🌑🌑 🌑🌑 🌑🌑 🌑🌑 🌑🌑 🌑🌑 🌑🌑 🌑🌑 🌑🌑 🌑🌑 🌑🌑 🌓🌓 🌑🌑 🌑🌑 🌑🌑 🌓🌓 🌓🌓 🌑🌑 🌑🌑 🌓🌓 🌑🌑 🌓🌓 🌑🌑 🌑🌑 🌑🌑 🌑🌑 🌓🌓 🌑🌑 🌑🌑 🌓🌓 🌑🌑 🌑🌑 🌑🌑 🌑🌑 🌑🌑 🌑🌑 🌑🌑 Social Security Administration 🌓🌓 🌑🌑 🌑🌑 🌓🌓 🌑🌑 🌑🌑 U S Agency for International Development 🌑🌑 🌑🌑 Agency Department of Agriculture Department of Commerce Department of Defense Department of Education Department of Energy Department of Health and Human Services Department of Homeland Security Department of Housing and Urban Development Department of Justice Department of Labor Department of State Department of the Interior Department of the Treasury Department of Transportation Department of Veterans Affairs Environmental Protection Agency General Services Administration National Aeronautics and Space Administration Nuclear Regulatory Commission National Science Foundation Office of Personnel Management Small Business Administration Legend 🌑🌑 Fully—the agency provided evidence that it fully addressed this recommendation 🌓🌓 Partially—the agency had plans to address this recommendation Source GAO analysis GAO-19-275T Page 25 GAO-19-275T Information Technology Agencies Need to Address Shortcomings in Information Security Area Since information security was added to the high-risk list in 1997 we have consistently identified shortcomings in the federal government’s approach to cybersecurity 52 In particular in a September 2018 report we identified four major cybersecurity challenges 1 establishing a comprehensive cybersecurity strategy and performing effective oversight 2 securing federal systems and information 3 protecting cyber critical infrastructure and 4 protecting privacy and sensitive data 53 To address these challenges we identified 10 critical actions that the federal government and other entities need to take For example in order to address the challenge of securing federal systems and information we identified 3 actions that the agencies should take 1 improve implementation of government-wide cybersecurity initiatives 2 address weaknesses in federal information security programs and 3 enhance the federal response to cyber incidents Figure 6 depicts the 10 critical actions to address the four major cybersecurity challenges 52 As of the February 2017 update to the high-risk list this high-risk area is designated as Ensuring the Security of Federal Information Systems and Cyber Critical Infrastructure and Protecting the Privacy of Personally Identifiable Information 53 GAO High-Risk Series Urgent Actions Are Needed to Address Cybersecurity Challenges Facing the Nation GAO-18-622 Washington D C Sept 6 2018 Page 26 GAO-19-275T Information Technology Figure 6 Ten Critical Actions Needed to Address Four Major Cybersecurity Challenges Page 27 GAO-19-275T Information Technology As we have previously noted in order to strengthen the federal government’s cybersecurity posture agencies should fully implement the information security programs required by FISMA In this regard FISMA provides a framework for ensuring the effectiveness of information security controls for federal information resources The law requires each agency to develop document and implement an agency-wide information security program Such a program should include risk assessments the development and implementation of policies and procedures to costeffectively reduce risks plans for providing adequate information security for networks facilities and systems security awareness and specialized training the testing and evaluation of the effectiveness of controls the planning implementation evaluation and documentation of remedial actions to address information security deficiencies procedures for detecting reporting and responding to security incidents and plans and procedures to ensure continuity of operations Since fiscal year 2010 we have made over 3 000 recommendations to agencies aimed at addressing the four cybersecurity challenges These recommendations have identified actions for agencies to take to strengthen technical security controls over their computer networks and systems They also have included recommendations for agencies to fully implement aspects of their information security programs as mandated by FISMA Nevertheless many agencies continue to be challenged in safeguarding their information systems and information in part because many of these recommendations have not been implemented Of the roughly 3 000 recommendations made since 2010 73 percent had been implemented as of November 2018 leaving 688 recommendations unimplemented Agencies’ Inspectors General Are to Identify Information Security Program Weaknesses In order to determine the effectiveness of the agencies’ information security programs and practices FISMA requires federal agencies’ inspectors general to conduct annual independent evaluations The agencies are to report the results of these evaluations to OMB and OMB is to summarize the results in annual reports to Congress In these evaluations the inspectors general are to frame the scope of their analyses identify key findings and detail recommendations to address the findings The evaluations also are to capture maturity model ratings for their respective agencies Toward this end in fiscal year 2017 the inspector general community in partnership with OMB and DHS finalized a 3-year effort to create a maturity model for FISMA metrics The maturity model aligns with the five function areas in the NIST Framework for Improving Critical Infrastructure Cybersecurity Cybersecurity Page 28 GAO-19-275T Information Technology Framework identify protect detect respond and recover 54 This alignment is intended to help promote consistent and comparable metrics and criteria and provide agencies with a meaningful independent assessment of their information security programs The maturity model is designed to summarize the status of agencies’ information security programs on a five-level capability maturity scale The five maturity levels are defined as follows • Level 1 Ad-hoc Policies procedures and strategy are not formalized activities are performed in an ad-hoc reactive manner • Level 2 Defined Policies procedures and strategy are formalized and documented but not consistently implemented • Level 3 Consistently Implemented Policies procedures and strategy are consistently implemented but quantitative and qualitative effectiveness measures are lacking • Level 4 Managed and Measurable Quantitative and qualitative measures on the effectiveness of policies procedures and strategy are collected across the organizations and used to assess them and make necessary changes • Level 5 Optimized Policies procedures and strategy are fully institutionalized repeatable self-generating consistently implemented and regularly updated based on a changing threat and technology landscape and business mission needs In March 2018 OMB issued its annual FISMA report to Congress which showed the combined results of the inspectors general’s fiscal year 2017 evaluations 55 Based on data from 76 agency inspector general and independent auditor assessments OMB determined that the government-wide median maturity model ratings across the five NIST Cybersecurity Framework areas did not exceed a level 3 consistently implemented Table 3 shows the inspectors general’s median ratings for each of the NIST Cybersecurity Framework areas 54 National Institute of Standards and Technology Framework for Improving Critical Infrastructure Cybersecurity Gaithersburg Md Feb 12 2014 55 Office of Management and Budget Federal Information Security Modernization Act of 2014 Annual Report to Congress Fiscal Year 2017 Washington D C March 2018 Page 29 GAO-19-275T Information Technology Table 3 Median Government-Wide Inspectors General Maturity Model Ratings for Fiscal Year 2017 National Institute of Standards and Technology Cybersecurity Framework area Median maturity model rating Identify Level 3 Consistently implemented Protect Level 3 Consistently implemented Detect Level 2 Defined Respond Level 3 Consistently implemented Recover Level 3 Consistently implemented Source Office of Management and Budget GAO-19-275T OMB Requires Agencies to Meet Targets for Cybersecurity Metrics In its efforts toward strengthening the federal government’s cybersecurity OMB also requires agencies to submit related cybersecurity metrics as part of its Cross-Agency Priority goals In particular OMB developed the IT modernization goal so that federal agencies will be able to build and maintain more modern secure and resilient IT A key part of this goal is to reduce cybersecurity risks to the federal mission through three strategies manage asset security protect networks and data and limit personnel access The key targets supporting each of these strategies correspond to areas within the FISMA metrics Table 4 outlines the strategies their associated targets and the 23 civilian CFO Act agencies’ progress in meeting those targets as of June 2018 Page 30 GAO-19-275T Information Technology Table 4 Civilian Agencies’ Progress in Meeting the Office of Management and Budget’s OMB Targets to Reduce Cybersecurity Risks as Reported by OMB as of June 2018 Civilian agencies’ progress in meeting target average of 23 agencies Number of civilian agencies meeting the target out of 23 agencies Privileged Network Access Management 100 percent of privileged users are required to use a personal identity verification PIV card or Authenticator Assurance Level 3 AAL3 multifactor authentication method to access the agency’s network 96% 17 High Value Asset HVA Access Management 95 percent of High Value Assets require all users to authenticate using a PIV card or AAL3 multifactor authentication method 59% 12 Automated Access Management 95 percent of users are covered by an automated dynamic access management solution that centrally tracks access and privilege levels 51% 13 Hardware Asset Management 95 percent of hardware assets covered by a capability to detect and alert upon the connection of an unauthorized hardware asset 61% 15 Software Asset Management 95 percent of software assets covered by a whitelisting capability 59% 11 Authorization Management 100 percent of high and moderate impact systems covered by a valid security authorization to operate 94% 12 Mobile Device Management 95 percent of mobile devices covered by a capability to remotely wipe contents if the device is lost or compromised 97% 18 Strategies to reduce cybersecurity risks OMB’s target s Limit Personnel Access Manage Asset Security Protect Networks and Data a a Intrusion Detection and Prevention At least four of six intrusion prevention metrics have met an implementation target of at least 90 percent and 100 percent of email traffic is analyzed using domain-based message authentication reporting and conformance email authentication protocols 4 5 of 6 Exfiltration and Enhanced Defenses At least three of four exfiltration and enhanced defenses metrics have met an implementation target of at least 90 percent 3 7 of 4 23 Data Protection At least four of six data protection metrics have met an implementation target of at least 90 percent 3 4 of 6 12 3 Source GAO summary of Office of Management and Budget data GAO-19-275T Note aMany agencies did not meet this goal because not all of their email is analyzed using domainbased message authentication reporting and conformance email authentication protocols as required by Department of Homeland Security’s Binding Operational Directive 18-01 Page 31 GAO-19-275T Information Technology In conclusion FITARA and FISMA present opportunities for the federal government to address the high-risk areas on improving the management of IT acquisitions and operations and ensuring the security of federal IT thereby saving billions of dollars Most agencies have taken steps to execute key IT management and cybersecurity initiatives including implementing CIO responsibilities requiring CIO reviews of IT acquisitions realizing data center consolidation cost savings managing software assets and complying with FISMA requirements The agencies have also continued to address the recommendations that we have made over the past several years However further efforts by OMB and federal agencies to implement our previous recommendations would better position them to improve the management and security of federal IT To help ensure that these efforts succeed we will continue to monitor agencies’ efforts toward implementing the recommendations Chairmen Meadows and Hurd Ranking Members Connolly and Kelly and Members of the Subcommittees this completes my prepared statement I would be pleased to respond to any questions that you may have GAO Contacts and Staff Acknowledgments If you or your staff have any questions about this testimony please contact Carol C Harris Director Information Technology at 202 5124456 or harriscc@gao gov Contact points for our Offices of Congressional Relations and Public Affairs may be found on the last page of this statement GAO staff who made key contributions to this testimony are Kevin Walsh Assistant Director Chris Businsky Rebecca Eyler Meredith Raymond and Jessica Waselkow Analyst in Charge Page 32 GAO-19-275T Information Technology This is a work of the U S government and is not subject to copyright protection in the United States The published product may be reproduced and distributed in its entirety without further permission from GAO However because this work may contain copyrighted images or other material permission from the copyright holder may be necessary if you wish to reproduce this material separately 103115 GAO’s Mission The Government Accountability Office the audit evaluation and 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NW Room 7149 Washington DC 20548 Strategic Planning and External Liaison James-Christian Blockwood Managing Director spel@gao gov 202 512-4707 U S Government Accountability Office 441 G Street NW Room 7814 Washington DC 20548 Website http www gao gov fraudnet fraudnet htm E-mail fraudnet@gao gov Automated answering system 800 424-5454 or 202 512-7470 Please Print on Recycled Paper Carol Cha Harris Mrs Harris is the Director for Information Technology Acquisition Management Issues at the U S Government Accountability Office In this position she has responsibility for GAO’s evaluations of information technology across the federal government Specific responsibilities include government-wide and agency-specific assessments of system and software development and acquisition cost and schedule estimation enterprise architectures technology investment management and telecommunications Since joining GAO in 2002 Mrs Harris has led numerous reviews of information technology systems and management at a wide array of federal agencies including the Departments of Commerce Defense and Homeland Security as well as the Federal Aviation Administration She is also the co-author of GAO's first best practice guide for developing and managing capital program costs Ms Harris has a B S in Business Information Technology from Virginia Tech