Information technology issues figure prominently in a Dec. 20 inspector general report (.pdf) on management and performance challenges facing the Commerce Department in fiscal 2011.

The report, which is conducted yearly by the Commerce IG, outlines eight challenges for 2011. They include strengthening departmentwide IT security, managing the cost and technical performance of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's environmental satellite acquisition programs, overseeing fund distribution through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, and reducing patent application backlogs.

Since 2001, information security has been a material weakness in the department's annual Performance and Accountability Report, due to an inadequate certification and accreditation process, wrote Todd J. Zinser, Inspector General for the Commerce Department. Last year, the department developed a long-term strategic plan for identifying vulnerabilities and detecting malicious activities, but the report recommends that Commerce assess its information security program as a significant deficiency and emphasize continuous monitoring.

NOAA has satellite programs underway to modernize environmental monitoring capabilities, and in the past, such programs have run overbudget, behind schedule and suffered gaps in satellite coverage. The report suggests that further delays to the transition from the National Polar-Orbiting Operational Environmental Satellite System to the next generation Joint Polar Satellite System must be minimized in order to prevent gaps in polar environmental data collection. JPSS ground system development must also be completed on time to meet NPOESS Preparatory Project and JPSS Satellite 1 launch targets, wrote Zinser.

The report also recommends that NOAA's Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite-R Series be proactively managed to prevent further schedule slips and cost overruns by "obtaining and maintaining adequate contractor staffing for spacecraft development; reviewing the spacecraft design's applicability to the GOES-R mission; ensuring adequate end-to-end testing for program components; and verifying satellite operational facility readiness."

The disbursement of funds through ARRA's technology and construction programs present oversight challenges for the Commerce Department, according to the report. The Broadband Technology Opportunities Program Office would benefit from greater training and IT program expertise in order to monitor awards and agreements, wrote Zinser.   

In the coming year, the Patent and Trademark Office will face "immense and complex challenges in addressing patent pendency and application backlogs," wrote the Commerce IG. Not only will PTO be hiring more patent examiners and revising operations, it will be swapping out old IT infrastructure and seeking legislative approval for such IT tools, said the report. It will redesign and implement electronic patent processing, but in doing so, "it faces risks and challenges inherent in any major IT system change," said the report.

For more:
- see the Inspector General report (.pdf)

Related Articles:
Commerce Department cybersecurity not adequate, say auditors 
Problems loom for broadband stimulus
GAO: NOAA, NASA fail to prepare for possible satellite coverage gap 
PTO wants days of text as an image banished from examiner workflow system 
Patent and Trademark Office data will be made public through Google service
PTO destroying documents to evade FOIA, says IG