United States Postal Service faces major management issues with cybersecurity being one of them

• The report outlines the most critical management issues that the service had faced during the past six months, i.e. between April and September 2019.
• It includes 227 recommendations for the United States Postal Service, which could ultimately result in the funding of more than $175 million.

The United States Postal Service’s (USPS) Office of the Inspector General (OIG) has submitted a Semiannual Report to Congress, which includes some of the most critical challenges for the agency.

Of these, cybersecurity has been listed as one of the challenging issues faced by the USPS. Overall, the report outlines the most critical management issues that the service had faced during the past six months, i.e. between April and September 2019.

What does the report say?

The report submitted by OIG includes 227 recommendations for the United States Postal Service, which could ultimately result in the funding of more than $175 million.

It highlights the need for a modern information technology network that can meet up to the requirements of the Postal Service. While the digital presence is necessary to meet the demands of the changing delivery market, the OIG adds that falling behind in IT modernization can also leave the agency vulnerable to cyber threats.

“The network must have the ability to meet these demands as well as the flexibility to continually adjust to the ever-changing business and regulatory environment,” the report states. “As information technology and the cyber threat landscape evolves, security continues to be an ongoing challenge.”

Previous year’s challenges

A review of the cybersecurity of the USPS conducted in November 2018 found a lack of long-term planning in which ongoing costs for software licenses and contract support had not been considered. This had caused the agency to shell out an extra amount beyond the given budget.

In the review, the OIG had recommended the USPS to create and execute a program, and provide administrative budget to adequately plan and administer an ongoing cybersecurity program. The current target for fulfilling this recommendation in March 2020.