The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) - the federal agency responsible for the security of pipelines that transport oil, gas and other products throughout the United States - lacks the cyber security expertise needed to protect computerized networks, which present attractive targets for hackers, the General Accountability Office (GAO) said in an audit released on Wednesday
WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 01st May, 2019) The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) - the Federal agency responsible for the security of pipelines that transport oil, gas and other products throughout the United States - lacks the cyber security expertise needed to protect computerized networks, which present attractive targets for hackers, the General Accountability Office (GAO) said in an audit released on Wednesday."TSA does not have a strategic workforce plan to help ensure it identifies the skills and competencies - such as the required level of cybersecurity expertise - necessary to carry out its pipeline security responsibilities," the report said. "GAO recommended that TSA develop a strategic workforce plan, which TSA plans to complete by July 2019."
GAO pointed out in the report that data sources and underlying judgments of "certain threat and vulnerability inputs are not fully documented."
TSA has not tracked the status of key security review recommendations for the past five years, the report said.
However, TSA accepted recommendations in the GAO audit and produced a timetable for implementation, the report added.
In April 2018, a cyberattack targeted personal information of customers, forcing four US natural gas pipeline operators to temporarily shut down computerized communication systems, according to published reports.
