Office of the Inspector General

U.S. Department of Justice

OVERSIGHT ★ INTEGRITY ★ GUIDANCE

Audit of the INTERPOL Washington, 

the United States National Central 

Bureau’s Information Security 

Program Pursuant to the Federal 

Information Security Modernization 

Act of 2014 Fiscal Year 2019

Audit Division 20-037 March 2020
i 

Commentary and Summary 

Audit of the INTERPOL Washington, the United States National Central 

Bureau’s Information Security Program Pursuant to the Federal Information 

Security Modernization Act of 2014 Fiscal Year 2019

 

Objectives

The objectives of this audit were to determine whether 

the INTERPOL Washington, the United States National 

Central Bureau’s (USNCB) overall information security 

program and practices were consistent with the 

requirements of the Federal Information Security 

Modernization Act (FISMA). In addition, the audit was 

designed to complete the Department of Homeland 

Security FY 2019 Cyberscope reporting metrics. 

Results in Brief

The audit identified weaknesses in five of the eight 

domain areas that need to be strengthened to ensure 

that USNCB’s information systems and data are 

adequately protected. 

Recommendations

This audit provides 14 recommendations for improving 

USNCB’s information security program. 

To ensure USNCB was immediately aware of the 

deficiencies identified during this audit, the auditors 

presented the findings to USNCB management prior to 

the issuance of this report. USNCB management 

concurred with the identified weaknesses.

Public Release

The OIG is publicly releasing this Commentary and 

Summary of the report rather than the full report itself 

because Inspectors General are required by FISMA to 

take appropriate steps to ensure the protection of 

information that, if disclosed, may adversely affect 

information security. Such protections shall be 

commensurate with the risk.

Audit Approach

KPMG LLP conducted this performance audit of USNCB’s

information security program under the direction of the 

Department of Justice Office of the Inspector General 

(OIG) and in accordance with Generally Accepted 

Government Auditing Standards (GAGAS) and the Office 

of Management and Budget (OMB) reporting 

requirements. The OIG reviewed KPMG LLP's report 

and related documentation for compliance with GAGAS. 

The OIG’s review was not intended to enable the OIG to 

make a conclusion about the effectiveness of USNCB’s 

information security controls. KPMG LLP is responsible 

for the attached auditors' report dated December 12, 

2019, and the conclusions expressed in the report. The 

OIG’s review disclosed no instances where KPMG LLP 

did not comply, in all material respects, with GAGAS 

and OMB reporting requirements.

Background

FISMA was passed by Congress and signed into law by 

the President in 2014. FISMA assigns responsibilities to 

federal agencies, the National Institute of Standards 

and Technology (NIST), and OMB to strengthen federal 

information system security. This includes directing

NIST to develop standards and guidelines for ensuring 

the effectiveness of information security controls over 

information systems that support federal agencies’ 

operations and assets, and requiring the head of each 

agency to implement policies and procedures to costeffectively reduce risks to an acceptable level.

Annually, agency Inspectors General are required to 

either perform an independent evaluation or contract an 

independent external auditor to perform an evaluation 

of the agency’s information security program and 

practices to ensure the effectiveness of the program 

and practices. Each evaluation must include: (1) testing

the effectiveness of information security policies, 

procedures, and practices of a representative subset of 

the agency’s information systems; (2) an assessment 

(based on the results of the testing) of compliance with 

FISMA; and (3) separate representations, as 

appropriate, regarding information security related to 

national security systems.
 

The Department of Justice Office of the Inspector General (DOJ OIG) is a 

statutorily created independent entity whose mission is to detect and deter 

waste, fraud, abuse, and misconduct in the Department of Justice, and to 

promote economy and efficiency in the Department’s operations.

To report allegations of waste, fraud, abuse, or misconduct regarding DOJ 

programs, employees, contractors, grants, or contracts please visit or call the

DOJ OIG Hotline at oig.justice.gov/hotline or (800) 869-4499.

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE OFFICE OF THE INSPECTOR GENERAL

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Washington, DC 20530-0001

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