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By: FEDweek StaffSome federal agencies have experienced increases in phishing and other forms of cyber attacks as telework by their employees increased due to the pandemic, GAO has said.
That is consistent with a report from last year by the Congressional Research Service which said that adversaries were trying to “take advantage of the pandemic to entice and trick users into downloading malicious software onto their devices,” the GAO said.
“While telework is an important option during the COVID-19 pandemic, the large number of additional remote connections needed to allow agencies to maintain maximum telework capabilities brings more risks to agency networks and systems,” it said.
In a report examining telework-related security at a dozen agencies, GAO said that officials from five “told us that they experienced an increase in certain types of cyberattacks during maximum telework. For example, officials from four of the five agencies stated that they saw an increase in phishing attacks.”
Among other findings, GAO noted that six of the 12 agencies allowed their employees to use personally owned devices during telework, with seven reporting challenges in acquiring laptops and other equipment for employees to use while teleworking. Other challenges included out-of-date guidance and lack of bandwidth to support record numbers of teleworkers.
The report said that such issues generally have been addressed through additional guidance, capacity, training, security controls and other steps. GAO identified continuing issues at some of the agencies such as ensuring that security controls were operating properly, and documenting responses when weaknesses were identified and said those agencies generally agreed with its recommendations in those areas.
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