Federal Agency Case History

SCENARIO:A federal agency was in need of compliance and certification assistance. They were responsible for coordinating technical support for the safety and health of personnel responding to the clean-up and recovery operations following the destruction of Hurricane Katrina along the Gulf Coast of the United States.

This agency’s technical data center contracted Wilson Consulting Group (WCG) to provide a variety of turn-key certification and accreditation compliance services. WCG reviewed, verified, and tested the security controls (management, operational, and technical) of the electronic docket management system and related systems serving the agency’s Directorate of Science, Technology and Medicine (DSTM).

WCG's Strategy: WCG performed a variety of services, including system documentation assessment, security certification and accreditation, and other tests to assess the effectiveness of the DSTM security controls. The tests included vulnerability assessments and penetration testing, where appropriate. WCG made recommendations for cost-effective solutions to correct identified vulnerabilities. As a direct result of the quality of these efforts, WCG was retained to provide remediation services.

WCG provided guidance and documentation to assist the agency in obtaining Authority to Operate (ATO) certification for several of the agency’s systems.

ATO certification requires that systems be tested to verify compliance with applicable federal management, operational, and technical security guidelines, regulations, and controls. These guidelines included, but were not limited to:

OMB Circulation A – 130, Management of Federal Information Resources
Department of Labor (DOL) Computer Security Handbook
DOL System Development Lifecycle Manual (SDLCM)
DOL Technical Security Standards Manual
NIST SP 800-30, Risk Management Guide for IT Systems
NIST FIPS 31, Guidelines for ADP Physical Security and Risk Management
NIST SP 800-37 (draft), Guidelines for Security Accreditation of IT Systems
NIST SP 800-18, Guide for Developing Security Plans for Information Technology Systems
Administration Procedures Act
Title 29, Code of Federal Regulations, Part 70
Information Technology Management Reform Act of 1996
Privacy Act of 1974
Computer Fraud & Abuse Act of 1986, as amended
Freedom of Information Act, as amended
E-Government Act of 2002
Department of Labor Technical Security Standards Manual (TSSM)
Department of Labor FIPS 199/Security Self-Assessment (MS Access)
Federal Information Processing Standards (FIPS 199)
NIST Special Publication 800-53, “Recommended Security Controls for Federal Information Systems”
NIST Special Publication 800-60, “Guide for Mapping Types of Information & Information Systems to Security Controls”

The goal of the system vulnerability assessment was to examine the information system’s security infrastructure to determine its ability to prevent breaches.

The assessment’s findings and recommendations were outlined in the recent Office of the Inspector General (OIG) reports. These included:

DOL and Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA)security policies and procedures, and their enforcement
Emergency response and recovery plans
Physical security of facilities and equipment housing the information systems
Use of the applications security features, including user administration and access control
Level of user awareness and technical personnel training in security issues and technology
Use and protection of all outside connections, including access via LANS, dial-up, and individual workstations/servers
Susceptibility to non-technical attacks
Unintended use of the information systems by OSHA personnel

WCG RESULTS: WCG successfully examined, evaluated, documented, and prepared certification and accreditation tests, procedures, and approvals for the complex multi-tiered records management applications within the agency’s environment.

We provided guidance and documentation to assist them in obtaining ATO certification for the following systems:

OHMS (the agency’s health monitoring system)
Salt Lake Technical System (SLTS)
TESS (Technical Equipment Support System)
MAO (Medical Access Order)

The project was delivered on time, on budget, and to the government’s specifications. Due to the quality and timeliness of our work, WCG was asked to expand the scope of services provided to the agency.

WCG Results

WCG successfully examined, evaluated, documented, and prepared certification and accreditation tests, procedures, and approvals for the complex multi-tiered records management applications within the agency’s environment.

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