Technology

GAO: Agencies lack social-media savvy, security guidelines

A recent Government Accountability Office review found agencies lack policies for records management, privacy and security associated with social media.

Federal News Network Staff

August 2, 2011 11:53 am

< a min read

A recent Government Accountability Office report found that agencies have a long way to go in securing their social media.

Specifically, agencies lack policies for records management, privacy and the security associated with social media, the watchdog agency reported.

According to the report, 23 out of the 24 major federal agencies use sites such as Facebook, Twitter and YouTube. But only seven agencies have identified security risks – such as hackers using social media to launch cyber attacks against federal information systems – and put in place controls to prevent them.

And only 12 of the agencies using social media have policies for keeping records of what’s posted online.

This story is part of Federal News Radio’s daily Cybersecurity Update. For more cybersecurity news, click here.