GAO Recommends State Dept. Justify New Cyber-Tech Bureau
The State Department should provide evidence justifying creating a new bureau focused on cybersecurity and emerging technology, GAO recommended Thursday. State informed Congress of its plans in 2019, and Secretary Antony Blinken approved the new bureau this month. Briefing slides…
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didn’t “show that State used evidence to justify its proposal or explain how it would address any challenges,” the auditor said. The slides and a memo didn’t “sufficiently demonstrate that it used data and evidence in developing its proposal,” the report said. The department instead “presented four options for the organizational placement of the new bureau, with ‘pros’ and ‘cons’ listed for each option,” the report said. The department said it disagreed with the characterization. It said it provided appropriate material detailing options the department has for establishing the Cyberspace Security and Emerging Technologies Bureau, options the report didn’t closely examine. State said a draft report noted only one potential downside to the proposal: separating cyber and digital policy between different undersecretaries, which could pose coordination challenges. The department agreed that evaluating relevant data and evidence, “when available,” could be useful in determining program effectiveness.