BAD REPORT CARD

Federal cybersecurity has “regressed” since 2019 due to factors including the lack of centralized cyber leadership at the White House, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) said in a report released Tuesday.

The watchdog agency included boosting federal cybersecurity as a key issue in its “high risk” report to Congress, which outlines a wide array of areas where the federal government is both succeeding and falling behind.

“Federal agencies and other entities need to take urgent actions to implement a comprehensive cybersecurity strategy, perform effective oversight, secure federal systems, and protect cyber critical infrastructure, privacy, and sensitive data,” GAO wrote.

The report was the subject of two hearings in the House and Senate on Tuesday. Comptroller General Gene Dodaro testified during both hearings, and stressed the need for the Biden administration to fill the position of national cyber director, created by the most recent National Defense Authorization Act.