Chairman Carper’s Reaction to DHS OIG Report on Information Security at the Department

WASHINGTON- Today, U.S. Senator Tom Carper (D-Del.), Chairman of the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, issued the following statement in response to the release of a Department of Homeland Security Office of the Inspector General (DHS OIG) report. The report found that DHS has made progress in enhancing its information security, but more work needs to be done.

“As the number of cyber-related attacks and information breaches continue to grow, it is critical that our federal agencies do all that they can to protect their systems and to ensure that sensitive information is properly secured. Today’s report by the Department of Homeland Security Office of the Inspector General (DHS OIG) makes it clear that significant progress has been made in enhancing DHS’s information security efforts. Despite these gains, though, DHS OIG highlighted some very important areas in which DHS, like many other federal agencies, can and should improve. I am glad to hear that DHS has already taken steps to implement all five recommendations in the report, and I look forward to working with them to ensure that these initiatives are put in place in a timely manner. The effectiveness of IT security, though, is a shared responsibility. That’s why I continue to work closely with my colleagues in the Senate and House, especially Dr. Coburn, on bipartisan legislation that will address the very serious cyber threats facing our country, including updating our current FISMA framework, as well as other initiatives to better protect our information systems.”