DoD Cybersecurity Priorities, Challenges and Updates from the 2018 GAO Report

In October 2018, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) released a series of in-depth report outlining the federal governments’ top cybersecurity challenges and providing guidance on how to address them.

According to the report, the DoD is facing a number of widespread, systematic and mission critical cyber vulnerabilities that, in particular, threaten the security of weapons systems and critical utility infrastructure. The following is an overview of what the GAO report uncovered, their recommendations for closing these cybersecurity gaps and updates on what has changed since the release of the report.

This GAO Cybersecurity Report at-a-glance highlights:

• Top cyber vulnerabilities of weapons systems and industrial control systems
• How the DoD is working to more effectively recruit and retain cybersecurity talent
• Top barriers to cybersecurity and GAO recommendations for overcoming them
• The evolving policies and procedures leveraged by DoD agencies to ensure that contractor networks are secure