U.S. Hampered in Fighting Cyber Attacks, Report Says
The U.S. government’s ability to counter cyber attacks against its nonmilitary computer systems is largely ineffective, according to a report from an internal watchdog to be released Wednesday.
The Homeland Security Department branch that monitors cyber attacks can’t force other agencies to protect their systems, is woefully understaffed and its ability to manage responses to cyber attacks has been hindered by constant turnover, said the department’s inspector general.
The department’s U.S. Computer Emergency Readiness Team, known as US-CERT, also withheld data from other federal agencies that could have helped them address security breaches, the report found.
The team “is still hindered in its ability to provide an effective analysis and warning program for the federal government in a number of ways,” according to congressional testimony outlining the report from Inspector General Richard Skinner. The remarks, prepared for a hearing Wednesday, were reviewed by The Wall Street Journal.
