Federal Security Changes Will Impact ED, IRS Collectors

For agencies working on behalf of the U.S. Department of Education (ED) or the Internal Revenue Service, comments made at recent Senate hearing may indicate future complications for data security compliance.

Several experts testified that vulnerabilities still existed in federal agencies’ handling of data security, and that the federal government continued to struggle in keeping its information systems secure.

It appeared clear that the Senate Homeland Security Committee was prepared for alarming news when it named the hearing “Agencies in Peril: Are We Doing Enough to Protect Federal IT and Secure Sensitive Information?” Much of the hearing revolved around the Federal Information Security Management Act (FISMA).

Greg Wilshusen, Information Technology Director for the Government Accountability Office, said that “Twenty of 24 major federal agencies continue to experience data security troubles.”  

According to Wilshusen, most agencies “did not implement controls for limiting system access or guarding against intrusion, nor did they regularly configure devices to fix vulnerabilities.”

Both Wilshusen and Cyber Security Industry Alliance President Tim Bennett agreed legislation to enhance FISMA is needed. While the hearing was not focused on a specific bill, the U.S. House is considering a measure to ramp up security as well as reporting and auditing requirements.

Toughening federal government security programs will probably impact the 17 private collection agencies currently on the ED contract, and the two working on behalf of the IRS (“IRS Renews Collection Contracts with Two Agencies,” March 4). Bottom line, FISMA requirements involve the auditing of partners to federal agencies, a fact that became clear when ED announced in January that that some its agency partners would undergo data security audits by the Office of Inspector General. 

Any future changes or enhancements to FISMA would surely lead to more headaches for these ARM partners.