Morning Security Brief: Information Security, Privacy Rights, and Security Budget Woes

► Almost all of the 24 major federal agencies had information security weaknesses in five key control categories, according to a new Government Accountability Office report. The GAO report states that "federal agencies have generally reported increasing rates of implementation for key information security activities. However, in fiscal year 2009, agencies reported mixed progress.... For example, governmentwide, agencies collectively reported that 91 percent of employees and contractors had received security awareness training in fiscal year 2009, up from 89 percent in fiscal year 2008." However, "the percentage of systems for which security controls have been tested and reviewed decreased from 93 percent to 89 percent, [and] the percentage of systems with tested contingency plans decreased from 91 percent to 86 percent."

► The Center for Democracy & Technology (CDT) joined the American Civil Liberties Union, the Electronic Frontier Foundation, and Public Citizen in urging the Supreme Court to recognize a privacy interest in personal messages when a government employer allows employees to use employer-provided electronic communication services for personal communications. "The case – City of Ontario v. Quon – is one of the first opportunities for the Supreme Court to consider the application of the Fourth Amendment to electronic communications," notes the CDT. For more on the background of the case, see the earlier Security Management news post.

►Budget problems in Youngstown, Ohio, probably a window into what happens to security in a recession--as if you didn't know. A local paper reports that "the municipal court judges dropped a $500,000 increase in their budget for security...[even though] Security remains a major concern of the court," According to Vindy.com, Judge Kobly said that "a man walked into her private office last week, getting past security guards without a problem. It’s a common occurrence, she said."