A new report from the Government Accountability Office (GAO) highlights significant cybersecurity and privacy risks in federal IT acquisitions critical to national security, public health, and economic operations. The review examined 16 key IT acquisitions across 11 federal agencies, with total projected costs exceeding $51.7 billion. Seven of these acquisitions were found to have high cybersecurity and privacy risks, increasing concerns over the security of sensitive government data.
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The acquisitions reviewed include major modernization efforts, such as the Department of Education’s overhaul of its student aid processing systems and the Department of Veterans Affairs’ electronic health record modernization. Agencies acknowledged that failing to proceed with these projects would jeopardize mission objectives, customer service improvements, and cost efficiencies. As federal IT infrastructure ages, threats and vulnerabilities become more difficult to mitigate, exacerbating risks across agencies.
GAO’s report identified 75 unresolved IT and cybersecurity-related recommendations from previous audits affecting nine of the 16 acquisitions. The Department of Health and Human Services alone plans to spend approximately $6.2 billion over ten years on its health record modernization initiative, emphasizing the scale of investment in these critical systems. The Department of Education’s acquisitions, which handle vast amounts of personally identifiable information, were among those flagged for heightened cybersecurity and privacy concerns.
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The GAO conducted this study in response to a congressional request, surveying 24 federal agencies and selecting 16 of the most mission-critical acquisitions for further review. The findings underscore the urgent need for enhanced cybersecurity measures as agencies work to modernize their IT systems. The Office of Management and Budget and eight agencies provided feedback on the report, contributing technical comments to refine the final analysis.
Article by multiple RFHC contributors, based upon information from the Government Accountability Office (GAO).
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