Sens. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) and Tom Carper (D-Del.) have proposed a bill that mandates regular reports on security of federal government computer networks in an effort to prevent data breaches among government agencies.The Federal Computer Security Act of 2015 will require inspectors general of federal agencies to submit reports to the Government Accountability Office and Congress on how agencies safeguard their computer systems, Hatch’s office said Wednesday.
The bill would require reports to contain information on agencies’ use of logical access protocols to access computer networks, policies used to carry out security software inventories, data management procedures used by government contractors and software tools used for information security management.
GAO would also have to present to Congress an economic analysis and a report that details limitations on the use of security devices and software tools across the federal government.
