The GAO Looks at Protecting U. S. Government Computers

A recent GAO study indicates that federal information systems are susceptible to spam, spyware and even phishing. Among findings were that many agencies underestimated the dangers of spam, had not given employees enough training on phishing and had seen decreased employee productivity because of spyware. Among recommendations were government-wide policies for cyberprotection and incident reporting, security awareness training and periodic risk assessments.

Managers of private businesses may want to read the report (link provided by clicking on title of this post); many of the problems cited by the GAO would also apply to businesses. Also note that the U. S. Government does provide limited assistance (such as the Identity Theft Clearinghouse) to businesses that have already become infected.