WASHINGTON D.C GOVERNMENT BUDGET ALLOCATES $65.5 B FOR COMPUTER TECHNOLGY INCLUDING SECURITY Stephen Barr - Budget Keeps Tabs on Computer Security Risks - washingtonpost.com:

Budget Keeps Tabs on Computer Security Risks

By Stephen Barr
Thursday, February 8, 2007; Page D03

When the president releases a new budget, Karen Evans finds herself in demand.

She draws a crowd because, as the government's high-tech policy chief, she oversees big money for computer systems and other information technology investments. The fiscal 2008 budget proposes spending $65.5 billion on technology -- a handsome chunk of change by almost any standard.

In recent days, Evans has briefed more than 150 industry executives on federal technology spending plans, provided budget highlights to congressional committees, talked to industry associations, and conducted press briefings for East Coast and West Coast publications. Another corporate briefing is being planned for tech executives who could not be crowded into the first session.

Yesterday, between rattling off budget numbers and explaining policy procedures, Evans, the administrator of e-government and information technology for the Office of Management and Budget, made clear that she's watching how agencies perform and stands ready to help any in danger of bungling projects.

For the first time, President Bush's budget includes a "management watch list" of technology projects that have been poorly managed or may be vulnerable to hackers or some other security problem, Evans said.

For 2008, 346 of 840 major technology investment programs and projects are on the watch list. Evans estimated spending on the 346 programs at $14.4 billion.

She has updated a lengthy list of high-risk technology projects, though some are included only because they require coordination among multiple agencies and need more oversight. The list includes 25 e-gov initiatives that have required additional discussions with the House and Senate Appropriations committees.

There is no estimate of how much these projects cost because agencies are still compiling data for the OMB. But Evans said the incomplete tally stands at $9.1 billion.

The two lists have been compiled in previous years but did not become part of the public record until last year, when Sen. Tom Coburn (R-Okla.) pressed for their release. The management watch list for troubled projects, in particular, is no longer hidden, assuming budget-watchers make it to Chapter 9 of the "Analytical Perspectives" budget book.

In addition to the recurring concerns about whether big computer upgrades and other technology projects are running over budget or taking too long, the government had to deal with a series of high-profile data security breaches last year.

One notable case involved the theft of a Veterans Affairs Department laptop and external hard drive from an analyst's home, raising concerns that the burglary had put at risk the names and Social Security numbers of millions of veterans. Officials later concluded that the data had not been accessed.

Evans said yesterday that agencies are making progress on improving their cyber-security, at least from a statistical standpoint. The percentage of systems that have been certified and accredited for security controls and contingency plans has increased markedly, she said.

But reviews by agency inspectors general found 11 of the 26 agencies had not made satisfactory progress on their plans to resolve cyber-security problems or did not have an effective process in place to identify and correct security weaknesses, according to the OMB.

Overall, fiscal 2008 spending on information technology in the government is increasing 2.6 percent from what Bush sought in fiscal 2007.

Some agencies would get substantial increases: The budget calls for a 45.5 percent boost for the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (to help find alternative energy sources) and a 23.4 percent boost for the Treasury Department (to improve tax collection systems).

But the technology budget would fall by 1.1 percent, to $4.11 billion, at the Department of Homeland Security. Evans said the $44 million reduction would not hinder the fight against terrorism because the department was given significant increases in previous years.

Under the president's budget, she said, the government would spend about $46 billion this year on maintaining technology systems that support agency missions, and about $20 billion on projects to modernize or develop computer systems.

Stephen Barr's e-mail address isbarrs@washpost.com.