A report from the Office of Management and Budget says federal agencies reported 30,899 cybersecurity incidents to the Department of Homeland Security‘s U.S. Computer Emergency Readiness Team during fiscal year 2016.Grant Schneider, acting federal chief information security officer, wrote in a White House blog post that the annual Federal Information Security Modernization Act of 2014 report to Congress revealed that 16 reported incidents were identified as major information security breaches.
The report indicates 81 percent of government users now use multi-factor Personal Identity Verification cards to access federal networks and 70 percent of agencies have deployed anti-phishing and malware functions in an effort to protect their networks.
Agencies also adopted mechanisms to identify, detect and protect hardware and software platforms on their networks to safeguard high value information technology, according to the report.
OMB collaborated with agencies to form cybersecurity policies, including a revision to the “Managing Information as a Strategic Resource” circular that provides an overarching framework for federal IT resource management.
The report said OMB also worked with the Office of Personnel Management to publish the Federal Cybersecurity Workforce Strategy as part of efforts to help agencies hire and retain cyber talent.
The annual FISMA report also details agency performance against cybersecurity metrics; independent reviews of inspectors general; cybersecurity policy and program updates; and a summary of cybersecurity incidents.
