Opportunities Exist for SEC to Improve Its Controls over Financial Systems and Data
The SEC is responsible for enforcing securities laws, issuing rules and regulations that provide protection for investors, and helping to ensure that the securities markets are fair and honest ... . In carrying out its mission, the SEC relies on computerized information systems to collect, process, and store sensitive information, including financial data. Having effective information security controls ... in place is essential to protecting these systems and the information they contain. <br/> This report details weaknesses GAO identified in the information security program at SEC during its audit ... IT security basics under scrutiny ... Financial audit by US GAO was accompanied by an IT examination focused on information security measures in the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). GAO found that SEC’s systems could ... be compromised, because of risks jeopardizing the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of sensitive financial information.
Full description

Performance Audit of Public Debt Management Information Systems
and External Financing Department – Ministry’s organizational unit responsible for public debt management. Audit team evaluated the activities of the IT service provider - LEPL Financial-Analytical Service ... The usage and development of the information technologies in public financial management is an important priority of the country at the phase of intensive implementation of electronic governance ... (E-Governance). The fact that information systems play crucial role in the business processes of the Ministry of Finance affects the state and the public in general. <br/> Bearing in mind the role and importance ... ... More effective IT governance needed ... Importance of effective performance of public debt management e-systems may be explained by the world’s increased dependence on such systems. In parallel with the performance audit of debt management ... information systems of the Ministry Of Finance of Georgia, Supreme Audit Institutions of 11 countries also studied this topic, both in terms of systems’ performance and their practical application by local ... financial institutions. Audit conducted by the State Audit Office of Georgia has revealed security and governance shortcomings related to management and usage of these systems.
Full description

Management of Information Resources of the Ministry of the Interior
Department and State Enterprise Regitra which are responsible for administration of the information resources managed by the Ministry as well as data security and development. ... Many activities of the Ministry of the Interior require the use of information resources that are of great significance to the entire State, such as the state and departmental registers, and public ... information systems. Whereas the Ministry has failed to implement some of the public audit recommendations of 2007 and 2010,6 we analysed, whether there have been any positive changes in the field of IT ... ... Process maturity examination can help in IT audit ... Main risk areas in case of this audit were strategic and organisational - Ministry’s weak ownership of IT resources, insufficient audit and internal control function. SAI Lithuania auditors found ... also flaws in change management and security processes. But the finding, which gave them the key to the root cause of problems, was connected with maturity assessment of the auditee's IT processes.
Full description

Analysis of Trends in SAI Japan’s Findings
Analysis of IT audit cases by Board of Audit of Japan in years 2004-12. ... Not used IT systems and overpaid 'ghost' services ... Wrap-up of almost a decade of SAI of Japan's IT related audits results in a form of list of most often found problems. On the top of the list are unwanted or overpaid IT systems and too expensive ... maintanance. It makes you thinking: if one of the world technology leaders could find this, what could we find in our country...
Full description

IT Police Systems
Implementation by the Polish Police of two IT projects (E-police station and Command Support System - CSS) was audited. Both systems were to relieve the Police officers and increase the quality ... and effectiveness of their work. Audit explained the reason of failure in the case of E-police station project and success in the case of CSS. Although some irregularities occurred in both cases, careful planning ... and organization of the project turned out to make the difference. Accordance with the public procurement law was not part of the audit as a separate investigation in that matter was carried by respective Polish ... ... A textbook example of how not to implement the IT projects ... Polish NIK compared the implementation of two flagship IT projects of the Police HQ: successful 'Command Support System' and problematic 'E-police station'. List of interesting problems appeared...
Full description

Report to the Public AccountsCommittee on mitigation of cyber attacks
This report concerns the action taken by Danish government bodies to prevent cyber attacks. Behaving sensibly in cyberspace to avoid attacks is important, but should be supplemented by technical ... security controls that can increase security and mitigate cyber attacks. International studies have concluded that three central security controls can prevent the majority of the currently known types ... of attacks: - technical restriction of download of programmes; - limited use of local administrators; - systematic software updates. Rigsrevisionen has assessed whether the government bodies in the study ... Three basic security measures are often neglected ... Government agencies are open for cyber attacks because they often forget to respect three basic IT security measures. The three measures are: 1. technical restriction on programs downloading; 2 ... . limited use of local administrators rights; 3. systematic software updates.
Full description

General and Creation Control of the Information Systems of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs
The objective of the audit was to assess general and creation control of the information systems of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Since the beginning of 2009, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has ... achieved considerable progress in the management of the information systems. The auditors reviewed and assessed all key elements of the process. ... Overview of problems - area by area ... SAI Lithuania looked into all critical elements of a Ministry's information system, starting from IT architecture, through information security to automation of data processing.
Full description

Lessons learned from government ICT-projects
This audit has been performed on request of the Dutch parliament. Some newspapers mentioned government losses of four to five billion euro's on a yearly bases. These news items caused the parliament ... to request this audit. The audit has been performed in only 5 months time and consisted of the re-use of earlier performed audits. We have 'recycled' earlier findings about ICT-projects. ... 'Expensive' does not always mean 'High Quality', so... do not feed the spiral ... Excellent analysis of systemic errors commited when designing Government IT projects. The report aims at the essence of problems which are encountered far from information technologies - in: politics ... , business, psychology... Do not be mislead by date of report, it is evergreen for all who really want to know why IT projects fail.
Full description

Management and protection of assets in the field of the information-communication technologies at the AO SR
The Supreme Audit office of the Slovak Republic (SAO SR) has executed the audit at the Antimonopoly Office of the Slovak Republic (AO SR) for the audit period 2010 and 2011 to verify the operation ... and security of the information-communication technologies (ICT) and the information systems of the public administration (ISPA) as well as the state assets administration, the economy and disposal ... with the state assets, the compliance with the generally binding legal regulations and the general statues in the field of the ISPA. There were 24 irregularities found, mainly in the field of the protection ... ... ... Failure to comply with the law leads to unnecessary jeopardizing of data security ... The audit in the field of the information systems of the public administration (ISPA) executed by the Supreme Audit Office of the Slovak Republic at the Antimonopoly Office of the Slovak Republic (AO ... SR) exposed several deficiencies related to the information systems and the data security as a consequence of a lawbreaking.
Full description

The National Offender Management Information System (NOMIS)
This report examines the reasons for the delays and cost increases to the original integrated information system and, since the moratorium imposed by the Minister of State in order to seek options ... for project’s cost reduction, the aims of the revised National Offender Management Service (NOMS) and the progress made, the impact of the delays and rescoping on the costs and benefits achieved, and NOMS ... ’ fitness to deliver. The aim of one integrated information system (C-NOMIS i.e. National Offender Management Information System) was to improve information sharing about offenders; address the lack ... Rescoping necessary, but not fully successful ... An initiative to build a single offender management IT system for the prison and probation services has not delivered value for money. The NAO investigation found the project had been hampered ... by poor management leading to a three-year delay, a doubling in project costs and reductions in scope and benefits.
Full description