NASA IT security improves

NASA’s IT security was so flawed that the agency’s inspector general placed it on the list of the most serious challenges facing the agency. Over the last year, however, things improved to the point where IT security was removed from the list. Scott Santiago, NASA’s deputy CIO for IT security, said the ongoing consolidation of IT systems deployed throughout NASA — the CIO’s office has reduced the number of systems it oversees from 1,550 to 1,266 — and investment in an agency-wide patch management program are among the reasons the agency improved its standing. In FY2004 House Government Reform Committee’s Federal Computer Security Report Card, NASA got a D- for the second year in a row. The IG gave the agency a poor rating on the quality of its certification and accreditation process. Good to see that things are improving.

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