The IT office at the Peace Corps is undergoing a leadership shakeup (DC)
This is from the report: "Because it has not effectively realized a robust risk management process at the entity level,…
Peace Corps CIO exits after 3 months
By Chase Gunter
Feb 15, 2018
The IT office at the Peace Corps is undergoing a leadership shakeup.
Rick Endres, who took over as Peace Corps CIO in October, is no longer in the position, an agency spokesperson confirmed. Deputy CIO Scott Knell, who served as the agency’s acting CIO from January through October 2017, is once again acting CIO.
The CIO job at the Peace Corps is a career position, not a politically appointed one.
The agency’s CIO is charged with managing a global network and infrastructure that includes the D.C. headquarters and overseas posts that support staff and more than 7,400 volunteers worldwide. The Trump administration is requesting $31.2 million for Peace Corps OCIO operations for FY2019, down from $42 million in 2017. The agency’s overall budget request is $396 million.
The agency is currently in the midst of a technology refresh designed to retire legacy operations. According to the 2019 budget request, that effort is 79 percent complete. In a FY2018 goal update, the agency noted that “Retaining and hiring quality IT professionals will be key to increasing momentum during FY 2018.”
Given the challenge of providing IT services to such a far-flung and diverse network of users and offices, the Peace Corps has historically had trouble when it comes to IT security and tech management challenges. In a fiscal year 2017 audit, the agency’s inspector general reported the Peace Corps “lacks an effective information security program,” and found IT security problems relating to “people, processes, technology and culture.”
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Chase Gunter is a staff writer covering civilian agencies, workforce issues, health IT, open data and innovation. Prior to joining FCW, Gunter reported for the C-Ville Weekly in Charlottesville, Va., and served as a college sports beat writer for the South Boston (Va.) News and Record. He started at FCW as an editorial fellow before joining the team full-time as a reporter. Gunter is a graduate of the University of Virginia, where his emphases were English, history and media studies.
It would be really good to know why Chase Gunter left at what would appear to be a critical time.
This is from the report:
“Because it has not effectively realized a robust risk management process at the entity level, the Peace Corps may be incapable of addressing the root causes associated with existing information security risks. A weak risk management process may invariably expose the Peace Corps to attacks, environmental disruptions, or business failures due to human error. Further, the absence of a risk-based culture could prevent the agency from making well-informed decisions to ensure that the results align with agency priorities. By circumventing controls and introducing new systems without following the appropriate security review process, the agency risks leaving the network and its sensitive data vulnerable to exploitation.
Additionally, without adequate oversight of external systems, there is minimal assurance that third party systems’ information security controls maintain compliance with Federal standards. This could cause security lapses, leading to unauthorized users having the ability to exploit the systems and access the Peace Corps’ sensitive data.”
https://www.oversight.gov/sites/default/files/oig-reports/2017%20FISMA%20Final%20Report.pdf