Audit Division 20-063 May 2020

Office of the Inspector General

U.S. Department of Justice

OVERSIGHT ★ INTEGRITY ★ GUIDANCE

Audit of the Federal Bureau of 

Prisons’ Information Security 

Program Pursuant to the Federal 

Information Security Modernization

Act of 2014 Fiscal Year 2019 
i 

Commentary and Summary

Audit of the Federal Bureau of Prisons’ 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 Federal Bureau of Prisons’ (BOP) 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 two of the eight

domain areas that need to be strengthened to ensure 

that BOP’s information systems and data are adequately 

protected. 

Recommendations

This audit provides two recommendations for improving 

BOP’s information security program. 

To ensure BOP and the Justice Management Division 

(JMD) were immediately aware of the deficiencies 

identified during this audit, the auditors presented the 

findings to BOP and JMD management prior to the 

issuance of this report. BOP and JMD 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 BOP’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 BOP’s 

information security controls. KPMG LLP is responsible 

for the attached auditors' report dated November 5, 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.
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE OFFICE OF THE INSPECTOR GENERAL

950 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW

Washington, DC 20530-0001

Also at Oversight.gov

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.

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