GAO finds Census Bureau vulnerable to cyberattack

A litany of IT shortcomings will put the Census Bureau at the mercy of hackers and other nefarious activity until the agency implements a comprehensive information security program, according to the Government Accountability Office.

A report released Feb. 20 concluded that although the Census Bureau has taken steps to protect the information and systems that support its mission, it has not effectively adopted appropriate information security controls to protect those systems.

Security controls are used to regulate who or what can access the bureau’s systems. Census officials, for example, did not adequately control connectivity to key network devices and servers or identify and authenticate users. They also failed to limit user access rights and permissions, encrypt data, monitor systems and network or ensure appropriate physical security controls were adopted.

The main reason for these flaws is the agency’s lack of a sweeping information security program to ensure controls are effectively established and maintained. The Federal Information Security Management Act requires all agencies to create and adopt an information security program.

The agency also failed to keep certain security management program policies current and had not revised its IT security program and policies since April 2010. Intra-agency guidelines require Census to update its policies at least once a year.

"Until the bureau implements a complete and comprehensive security program, it will have limited assurance that its information and systems are being adequately protected against unauthorized access, use, disclosure, modification, disruption or loss," GAO warned.