The National Security Agency’s Office of the Inspector General released a report stating that the agency didn’t properly handle its contracting procedures and signals intelligence data repository. The report, which consolidates audits from October 2018 to March 2019, also found that there’s “room for improvement†in eight information technology security areas.
According to the IG, there were cases of significant problems or abuses in agency programs within the reporting period including deficiencies in SIGINT data verification procedures that “have the potential to impact civil liberties and individual privacy.†In addition, the IG found that NSA failed to properly implement award-fee contracting procedures and that the agency’s obligations for such contracts increased by 139 percent from fiscal 2010 to 2017.
The Department of Defense’s award fee obligations declined to $10B from fiscal 2010 to 2015 due to the implementation of incentive agreements. NSA also lacked transparency on its fiscal 2018 financial statements, the report stated.
