http://www.govexec.com/story_page.cfm?articleid=38348 

By Jill R. Aitoro 
GovExec.com  
October 23, 2007

Federal agencies report an average of 30 incidents a day in which 
Americans' personally identifiable information is exposed, double the 
number of incidents reported early this summer, according to the top 
information technology executive in the Bush administration.

The Office of Management and Budget issued a memo in July 2006 requiring 
agencies to report security incidents that expose personally 
identifiable information to the U.S. Computer Emergency Readiness Team 
within one hour of the incident. In June 2007, 40 agencies reported 
almost 4,000 incidents, an average of about 14 per day. As of this week, 
the average had increased to 30 a day, said Karen Evans, administrator 
of the Office of Electronic Government and Information Technology at 
OMB.

Evans, who spoke Monday at the Executive Leadership Conference in 
Williamsburg, Va., an annual gathering of government and industry IT 
executives, attributed the increase to agencies conducting more thorough 
reporting on security breaches. "Agencies are erring on the side of 
[caution], reporting [incidents] first, and then getting more 
information," Evans said in an interview with Government Executive.

She added that only a small percentage of reported incidents pose a 
significant risk to Americans' personal information.

But the figure of 30 incidents a day concerned a chief information 
security officer for a large civilian agency attending the conference. 
"I was surprised by the number," the CISO said. He added that he reports 
an average of one security incident a week, which is typically caused by 
an employee who lost a BlackBerry. Since sensitive data is encrypted and 
handheld devices can be remotely turned off, the agency avoids security 
breaches that could result in exposure of personally identifiable 
information, the CISO said.

OMB's 2006 memo states that agencies should report all incidents 
involving personally identifiable information in electronic or paper 
form, and agencies should not distinguish between breaches that are 
suspected to have resulted in exposing personal information and those 
that agencies can confirm have resulted in exposing personal 
information.

"An increase in reporting isn't necessarily a bad thing," Evans said. 
"It means people don't want to end up on the front of the Washington 
Post. High [numbers of] reports reflect increased market awareness."


__________________________________________________________________      
CSI 2007 is the only conference that delivers a business-focused
overview of enterprise security. It will convene 1,500+ delegates,
80 exhibitors and features 100+ sessions/seminars providing a
roadmap for integrating policies and procedures with new tools
and techniques.  Register now for savings on conference fees   
and/or free exhibits admission. - www.csiannual.com