GAO faults disaster recovery plan for critical networks

The Homeland Security Department has not developed an effective way to ensure that critical national infrastructure, such as electrical grids and telecommunications networks, can bounce back from a disaster, government auditors have found.

In response to criticism from lawmakers and private-industry officials, DHS has emphasized the need for critical infrastructure to be resilient, meaning it has the ability to absorb and recover from a natural disaster or terrorist attack. Critical infrastructure generally refers to structures and systems, whether physical or virtual, that are vital to national security, economic security, and public health. The department has conducted surveys and vulnerability assessments of critical infrastructure to identify gaps, but has not developed a way to measure whether owners and operators of that infrastructure adopt measures to reduce risks, the Government Accountability Office said in a report. "DHS's efforts to incorporate resiliency into the programs it uses to work with asset owners and operators is evolving, but program management could be strengthened," GAO wrote.

To that end, GAO recommended that Homeland Security officials "develop performance measures to assess the extent to which asset owners and operators are taking actions to resolve resiliency gaps identified during the various vulnerability assessments."