PACP Committee News Release
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Standing Committee on Public Accounts |
HOUSE OF COMMONS CHAMBRE DES COMMUNES OTTAWA, CANADA K1A 0A6 |
Comité permanent des comptes publics |
For immediate release
NEWS RELEASE
URGENT ACTION NEEDED TO PROTECT GOVERNMENT IT SYSTEMS FROM INTRUSION
Ottawa, June 07, 2005 -
Today, Mr. John Williams, MP, and Chair of the House of Commons Standing Committee on Public Accounts, tabled the Committee’s 14th Report, Information Technology Security.
Canadians are becoming increasingly aware of what can happen when electronic information systems are not secure. Where government systems are concerned, risks include the unauthorized disclosure, modification, or loss of sensitive personal information. The government’s own data holdings are also vulnerable to similar risks.
The Committee was therefore deeply troubled by the results of an audit by the Auditor General of Canada revealed that government IT (Information Technology) standards are not complete, that many existing standards have yet to be fully met, that Treasury Board Secretariat is not fully monitoring compliance with the standards, and that many departments and agencies are not verifying that their systems are secure. Many departments also lack business continuity plans in the event that they experience a cyber attack.
The Committee makes twelve recommendations that address current shortcomings in government-wide IT security including the need to accelerate efforts to develop and implement all remaining IT security standards before December 2006.
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