Audit Division 20-050 March 2020

Office of the Inspector General

U.S. Department of Justice

OVERSIGHT ★ INTEGRITY ★ GUIDANCE

Audit of the Federal Bureau of 

Investigation’s 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 Investigation’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 Federal Bureau of Investigation’s (FBI) 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 the FBI’s information systems and data are 

adequately protected. Of particular note, some of these 

control deficiencies were found related to other FBI 

systems based on prior FISMA audits.

Recommendations

This audit provides 10 recommendations for improving 

the FBI’s information security program.

To ensure the FBI was immediately aware of the 

deficiencies identified during this audit, the auditors 

presented the findings to FBI management prior to the 

issuance of this report. FBI 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 FBI’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 FBI’s 

information security controls. KPMG LLP is responsible 

for the attached auditors' report dated October 17, 

2019, and the conclusions expressed in the report. The 

OIG’s review disclosed no instances where KPMG 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 cost 

effectively 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.

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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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