GAO Criticizes DHS’ Efforts to Track Effectiveness of Cybersecurity Outreach

The Department of Homeland Security is not doing enough to measure the effectiveness of its outreach efforts to promote cybersecurity for critical infrastructure in the United States, according to a government watchdog.

The report, from the Government Accountability Office (GAO), found that although DHS has taken steps to promote the National Institute of Standards and Technology’s (NIST)framework for improving critical infrastructure cybersecurity, it is not using specific metrics to track how effectively those efforts are taking root.

Adopting the NIST Framework

The NIST framework, developed in 2014, is designed to “provide a flexible and risk-based approach for entities within the nation’s 16 critical infrastructure sectors to protect their vital assets from cyber-based threats,” according to the GAO. Those sectors are chemical, commercial facilities, communications, critical manufacturing, dams, the defense industrial base, emergency services, energy, financial services, food and agriculture, government facilities, healthcare and public health, IT, nuclear reactors and materials, transportation systems, and water and wastewater systems. For the full article click here 

from critical infrastructure alliance http://ift.tt/1MGrXBw
via IFTTT