The Information Security Oversight Office (ISOO) released its Fiscal Year (FY) 2018 Annual Report to the President today and posted it here.  In his Letter to the President, ISOO Director Mark A. Bradley highlighted the challenges the Government faces in trying to safeguard and manage petabytes of electronic data using antiquated systems meant for paper. He also stressed the need for the Government to modernize its information security and information management policies, and to adopt a technology and investment strategy to accomplish it.

The report featured both an update on ISOO’s efforts to implement recommendations from its FY 2017 Annual Report to the President and a high-level assessment of the various programs in ISOO’s portfolio, including the Controlled Unclassified Information (CUI) Program.  The first page of the FY 2018 report is dedicated to an evaluation of agency CUI implementation efforts and ISOO’s work supporting implementation. The report noted that agencies have made significant progress since last year, but work remains to be done.

Specifically, many agencies still have not submitted CUI budget estimates to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). To aid agencies, ISOO worked with OMB to modify section 31.15 of Circular A-11, Preparation, Submission, and Execution of the Budget. This guidance now includes details meant to inform what agencies need to include in submitting their CUI implementation budget estimates: hiring staff to implement and manage the program; developing and deploying automated marking tools; and creating training programs for agency staff. ISOO also worked with the Departments of Homeland Security and Defense, the National Aeronautical and Space Administration, and the General Services Administration to draft standard safeguarding requirements for inclusion in a Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR). ISOO and its partners hope to finalize these requirements in FY 2019 so it is ready for use by agencies.

We hope you take time to read both the Director’s Letter to the President as well as the full report.