Security News > 2020 > March > GAO: Federal Data Centers Remain Vulnerable to Cyberthreats

A drawback to these plans is that many of these facilities no longer classified as data centers remain vulnerable to cyberthreats, according to a Government Accountability Office audit released Thursday.

The major concern that the GAO audit found is that these smaller facilities remain significant access points to federal IT infrastructures and without proper reporting and cybersecurity oversite, could provide vulnerable to a data breach or a larger-scale attack.

The GAO report makes several recommendations to improve security around the OMB consolidation plan, including requiring federal agencies to issues quarterly and annual reports about what data centers have been closed and why these were shuttered.

Currently, 24 federal agencies are involved in the OMB's data center consolidation program, which is officially called the Data Center Optimization Initiative, according to the GAO. Between 2012 and 2019, the 24 federal agencies involved in DCOI have saved $4.7 billion through various data center consolidation initiatives and closures, and GAO expects another $264 million in savings this year.

The report finds that some 260 data centers that measure over 1,000 square feet will continue operating, but longer send reports to the OMB. An example of this is Social Security Administration, which is now operating five data centers larger than 8,000 square feet, but which are no longer classified as data centers under the updated OMB definition, according to the audit.

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https://www.inforisktoday.com/gao-federal-data-centers-remain-vulnerable-to-cyberthreats-a-13896