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Feds split on FISMA’s effectiveness

By GCN Editors

GCN surveyed 122 readers by e-mail, including 83 who work for civilian or Defense agencies, on the impact of the data breaches and the Federal Information Security Management Act.

Which of the following statements do you agree with most?
FISMA is a paperwork exercise and doesn’t help secure systems. - 47%
FISMA is making federal agency IT systems more secure. - 53%

How could Congress Best support the goals of FISMA? (Choose up to three)
Require stronger language in contracts in connection with IT security - 46.3%
Require agencies to perform a review of all IT assets - 31.5%
Give CIOs more authority - 29.6%
OMB should improve FISMA - 26.9%
Require agencies to inform the public about data breaches sooner - 25%
Other - 15.7%
Don’t know - 9.3%
They shouldn’t do anything - 6.5%

Which technologies best address your security needs? (Choose two)
Data encryption - 63%
Digital Certification - 37%
Biometric controls - 22.2%
Three-factor authentification - 23.1%
Better password management - 37%
Other - 8.3%