Homeland Security Computer Security Grade: D+

FAILURE EVERYWHERE.? ... earned the Dept. of Homeland Security a big fat "F" in computer-system security. For the third year running, the agency entrusted with protecting the U.S. from security threats of all forms received the lowest grade possible from a congressional oversight committee.

The report card, issued Mar. 16 by the House Government Reform Committee, covers fiscal 2005 and measures government compliance with the Federal Information Security Management Act (FISMA), which requires agencies to protect themselves against cyber threats. The grades are aimed at giving a sense of how well federal agencies are doing in such areas as training employees in computer security, and testing and certifying computer systems.

Flaws in the government's systems come in spite of a big and growing IT budget. The federal government's IT budget rose to $62.2 billion in the year ended September, 2005, from $50.4 billion in 2002. Of that, $4.8 billion was for IT at the DHS, including $2.35 billion specifically for IT security, according to the OMB. - BUS