By Stephen Barr
Tuesday, November 14, 2006

Nearly 40 percent of federal technology officials say worries about security breaches involving telecommuters cause them to toss and turn at night, according to a survey released yesterday.

Asked which security issues keep them up at night, the technology officials listed concerns about remote access to systems, violation of employee privacy and disruption of agency operations.

The survey of 200 federal technology officials was conducted in August, when outrage remained strong over the May theft of a laptop and external hard drive from the home of an analyst for the Veterans Affairs Department. Although police recovered the equipment, the theft put millions of veterans at risk of identity theft.

"Right now, the aspect of security getting the most attention is data theft associated with laptops or personal digital assistants," said Gerald T. Charles Jr., an executive with Cisco Systems Inc., which sponsored the survey.

Concerns over computer security appear to be slowing the government's efforts to increase telecommuting, Charles said. Still, he noted, agencies are rethinking how they do business as they seek to use technology to respond to emergencies or to realign their workforces, he said.

For example, the General Services Administration and the Defense Department are examining whether telecommuting can help ease the demands on office space and traffic systems that will be placed on Fort Belvoir when base-closing orders relocate thousands of workers to southern Fairfax County over the next few years, Charles said.

The House Government Reform Committee and other congressional panels have faulted federal agencies for doing a poor job of protecting their information networks and computers from hackers and viruses. In a bid to tighten security, Congress approved the 2002 Federal Information Security Management Act, which requires agencies to meet certain computer security standards and to create procedures for reporting security problems.

The Cisco survey found that getting into compliance with the law and meeting goals laid out by the Office of Management and Budget and the Congress are key priorities for federal tech officials in the coming year.

But the technology officials listed a lack of personnel, tight budgets and problems in understanding FISMA regulations as key challenges in implementing security solutions.

Federal technology officials, representing 45 agencies and the military, also reported losing sleep over inadequately trained or unconcerned employees and software flaws.

Despite their concerns, 58 percent of the survey respondents said progress is being made on computer security at their agencies.

Cisco, the world's largest maker of computer networking equipment, sponsored the survey to help guide its business strategy, Charles said.

Susan E. Dudley, President Bush's nominee to oversee federal regulatory policy at the OMB, told a Senate committee yesterday that her writings at a think tank were sometimes provocative but should not be taken as a sign that she would try to undermine or block federal rules that seek to protect the environment and public safety.

For the past eight years, Dudley has taught and written about regulation for the Mercatus Center at George Mason University. Her critics had assailed her for comments involving air bags, arsenic limits in drinking water and workplace injuries and said her writings show that she would take a hands-off approach to regulating corporations.

Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine), chairman of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, and the committee's Democrats expressed concern about Dudley's writings. Sen. Daniel K. Akaka (D-Hawaii) told Dudley that regulatory decisions "cannot be left to political whim or individual political preferences."

Dudley promised to enforce the law and abide by presidential directives. She described herself as "fair and open-minded" and said her writings had sought to challenge how people think about the consequences of regulation.

After the hearing, Collins said Dudley "did a good job" and demonstrated that she understands the responsibilities of the OMB regulatory post.

Collins said she intends to hold the hearing record open so Democrats may ask more questions of Dudley. The nomination should come up for a vote next month, Collins said.