Cyber Sector-Specific Planning Must Improve
October 28, 2009 (WASHINGTON) – Today, Rep. Bennie G. Thompson (D-MS), Chairman of the House Committee on Homeland Security issued the following statement regarding a report he requested by the Government Accountability Office (GAO) entitled “Critical Infrastructure Protection: Current Cyber Sector-Specific Planning Approach Needs Reassessment.” The report finds that the sector-specific agencies have made limited progress updating these plans and have not developed effective implementation actions or provided progress reports.
“Comprehensive completion and continual updating of sector-specific plans is vital to the protection of the nation’s critical infrastructure, said Thompson. With the recent reports on insecurities in our electric grid and other critical infrastructure we need to address this issue with the urgency that it requires. The White House, the appropriate departments and agencies and Congress must engage in a dialogue about the future of this approach,” Thompson concluded.
GAO found that while efforts are underway to improve the cyber content of sector-specific plans, which address the security of our critical infrastructure, only 9 of the 17 sector-specific plans studied have been updated. Of the 9 updates, only 3 addressed the missing cyber criteria; these 3 only involved a small number of the criteria in question.
GAO said the missing criteria were not addressed because the agencies focused more on the physical rather than the cyber security aspects of the plans, were unaware of the 2007 shortcomings, and did not receive a specific request by DHS to update cyber aspects of the plans. DHS has specifically called for these updates in the 2010 plans.
In addition, GAO found that the lack of complete updates to these plans is further evidence that the sector planning process has not been effective and thus leaves the nation not knowing where it stands in securing cyber critical infrastructures.
Link to Report
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FOR MORE INFORMATION: Dena Graziano or Adam Comis at (202) 225-9978
