Key lawmaker wants agencies to step up efforts to secure IT networks

The federal government needs to devise a means for its employees to do more to secure its computer networks against mounting and increasingly damaging accounts, the chairman of a House subcommittee charged with cyber security said at a hearing on Tuesday.

Rep. Adam Putnam, R-Fla., chairman of the House Government Reform Subcommittee on Technology, said that federal information technology managers are not moving fast enough to itemize and secure their information technology systems.

"The economic damage being done to our economy is significant," Putnam said, noting that a recent report estimated the worldwide mitigation costs for computer viruses and worms at $83 billion.

To spur greater security, Putnam is arranging meetings between subcommittee staff and federal agencies to discuss their scorecard grade.

"So far, we have met with 14 agencies and the results are encouraging," he said.

On Tuesday, the General Accounting Office released a list of specific technologies that it believes could help agencies secure their systems.

The top five control categories include: access controls; system integrity; cryptography; audit and monitoring; and configuration management and assurance.

The effective implementation of such technologies, however, relies on the following actions by the agencies: using layered, defense-in-depth strategies; considering IT infrastructures when selecting technologies; using results from independent tests when making decisions; training staff; and ensuring proper configuration.