Page 28 - FCW, September/October 2020

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September/October 2020 FCW.COM
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NASA doesn’t know
what’s on its networks
According to a recent report by the agency’s Office of Inspector General, NASA officials cannot provide an accurate count of the number of contractor-owned devices connected to its networks, and governance problems are interfering with the agency’s attempts to get a better handle on overall cybersecurity.
NASA is “not adequately securing its networks from unauthorized access” by partner and employee IT devices and “has not fully implemented enforcement controls to remove or block unauthorized IT devices from accessing NASA’s networks and systems,” the report states. Consequently, “NASA remains vulnerable to cybersecurity attacks.”
In 2018, NASA’s CIO tried to take a tough line on shadow IT by banning personal devices, but that policy was
replaced just six months later with a rules-based effort to govern employee and contractor devices.
By the agency’s own count, there are almost 1,300 employee-owned devices that can connect to the agency’s
“In the face of persistent cybersecurity threats, NASA needs to quickly move to a more consistent, enterprise-wide approach to identifying and managing these risks”.
— NASA’S OFFICE OF INSPECTOR GENERAL
Microsoft Office 365 enterprise email system. According to NASA’s CIO, there is not an “authoritative source” for a count of contractor and other partner- owned devices authorized to access NASA networks.
Although NASA has been trying to centralize technology budgeting and
USCIS cancels employee furloughs
The planned furloughs of more than 13,000 U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services employees set for Aug. 30 were called off late that month.
The agency, which is funded by fees, had been facing financial shortfalls because of the economic slowdown during the pandemic. In May, USCIS asked Congress for $1.2 billion in emergency appropriations, but negotiations over agency funding appeared to founder amid the collapsed talks over a second round of pandemic relief.
Increases in fee collections and reductions in spending helped USCIS avoid the furloughs, the agency said in a statement. In particular, officials cut spending on contracts that assisted USCIS employees with case processing.
However, USCIS Deputy Director
for Policy Joseph Edlow, who is also performing the function of agency director, said that by avoiding the furloughs, USCIS will incur “a severe operational cost that will increase backlogs and wait times across the board, with no guarantee we can avoid future furloughs.” He added that “a return to normal operating procedures requires congressional intervention to sustain the agency through fiscal year 2021.”
Many lawmakers had been pressing USCIS to cancel the furloughs by citing the agency’s improved financial outlook, including revised estimates that showed USCIS would close out fiscal 2020 with $230 million left unspent.
The American Federation of Government Employees, whose Council 119 represents USCIS workers, credited a campaign by workers and advocacy by
$2.5 billion
is the ceiling for HHS’ contract, which runs through 2032, under the Enterprise Infrastructure Solutions vehicle
management as required under the Federal IT Acquisition Reform Act, it still faces cultural obstacles, and technology officials at the various NASA centers retain significant authority and oversight. As a result, NASA has racked up some of the worst grades of any federal agency on the biannual FITARA scorecard released by the House Oversight and Reform Committee.
“We acknowledge the inherent difficulty in balancing center-specific flexibilities and desire for autonomy with the need for a robust, enterprise- wide approach to IT security,” the auditors wrote. “However, in the face of persistent cybersecurity threats, NASA needs to quickly move to a more consistent, enterprise-wide approach to identifying and managing these risks.”
NASA’s acting CIO, Jeff Seaton, agreed with the auditors’ conclusions and said the risks cited in the report would be addressed through policy changes and new technology tools before the end of 2021.
— Adam Mazmanian
lawmakers for the reversal.
Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), vice
chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee, had hoped to include a solution to the USCIS funding problem in a second round of pandemic relief and had sent several letters to the agency pressing for a solution. Leahy welcomed the decision to cancel the furloughs but took aim at the Trump administration for creating the problem.
“The emotional strain placed on these members of our communities who did not know when their next paycheck would come was a completely needless crisis imposed by the Trump administration,” Leahy said. “I look forward to continuing to work on a long- term solution to ensure the solvency of this vital agency into the future.”
— Adam Mazmanian