Security News > 2020 > February > GAO: Census Bureau Comes Up Short on Cybersecurity

The U.S. Census Bureau has not done enough to address cybersecurity issues in preparation for the 2020 census, which is slated to begin in April, according to a new report from the Government Accountability Office.

The GAO report notes that over the last 10 years, the watchdog agency has issued more than a 110 recommendations on a variety of topics, including cybersecurity, to the Census Bureau concerning the 2020 census, but some of them have yet to be implemented.

"The bureau needs to quickly address concerns related to the readiness of its internet response system," according to the GAO. "The bureau also continues to face significant cybersecurity challenges, including those related to addressing cybersecurity weaknesses in a timely manner, resolving cybersecurity recommendations from the , and addressing numerous other cybersecurity concerns."

Security preparedness: Since 2017, the Department of Homeland Security has provided several recommendations to the census bureau to strengthen its cybersecurity efforts, including improvements in incident management capabilities, penetration testing and phishing assessments, in order to determine if attackers are able to access personally identifiable data.

Bureau officials told GAO investigators that they are working with local partners, fact-checkers and law enforcement to share correct information about the census process.

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https://www.inforisktoday.com/gao-census-bureau-comes-up-short-on-cybersecurity-a-13745