Study of Federal Computer Security Report Card Gives Poor Marks to Government

At a press conference on Wednesday, Jan. 16, Telos Corporation, a provider of government-validated, secure enterprise solutions, unveiled the results of the Federal Computer Report Card Chief Information Security Officer (CISO) Study, in which federal CISOs graded the Federal Computer Security Report Card a C.

Concurrently, Congressman Davis (R'Va.), chair of the House Government Reform Committee, unveiled the 2004 Federal Computer Security Report Card grades. The federal government was given an overall D+ grade. Also, Rep. Davis and the Federal Chief Information Officers (CIO) Council announced the creation of the CISO Exchange, a public-private initiative focused on empowering federal CISOs to improve federal government IT security. Chairman Davis and the CIO Council will co-chair the CISO Exchange, respectively represented by Melissa Wojciak, staff director of the Government Reform Committee, and Vance Hitch, CIO for the Department of Justice (DOJ).

The Telos study aimed to provide the CISO perspective on the overall FISMA process. CISOs note that while the Federal Computer Security Report Card successfully focuses attention on federal computer security, there is significant room to improve evaluation criteria and establish a more linear connection to agency funding. Further findings on the Report Card Study are included in the release copied below. To download the full findings of the Telos Federal Computer Security Report Card Study, visit www.telos.com.