Finding 561639 (2024-003)

Significant Deficiency
Requirement
N
Questioned Costs
-
Year
2024
Accepted
2025-05-28

AI Summary

  • Core Issue: The College's information security program is missing eight required safeguards in the Design and Implementation section.
  • Impacted Requirements: Compliance with the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act under Special Tests is not met due to incomplete policy elements.
  • Recommended Follow-Up: Update the written program to include the eight minimum safeguards by June 30, 2025.

Finding Text

Special Tests. Questioned Costs: $0. Condition: The College's information security program included all seven required elements. However, the Design and Implementation required element included eight minimum safeguards that must be addressed within that element and those were not included in the policy. Criteria: Per the Student Financial Assistance Program Compliance Supplement, May, 2024, the Special Test compliance requirement "Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act", the College must have a written information security program that addresses seven required elements. Cause: The College was not aware that the eight minimum safeguard elements were required to be in the written program. Effect: The College was not in compliance with all of the Gramm-Leach-Bliley under Special Tests. Recommendation: We recommend the College update the written program to expand the Design and Implementation section to include the required eight minimum safeguards. View of Responsible Officials: Management acknowledges the finding and has prepared a corrective action plan. Anticipated Date of Completion: June 30, 2025

Corrective Action Plan

The College was aware of the minimum safeguard elements required to be in the written program and has been drafting the plan and implementing the elements for quite some time; however, it is acknowledged that this undertaking is not complete. The College’s Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act Action Plan and current progress in response to the rule that went in effect on May 13, 2024 is included below. The plan includes several key elements, such as designating a qualified individual to oversee the security program, conducting risk assessments, implementing safeguards, and ensuring data encryption. There has been significant progress in some areas, such as implementing access controls and conducting security awareness training. However, some tasks remain, including conducting a written risk assessment, implementing a formal data retention policy, and creating an incident response plan. The goal is to complete and list all safeguards in the new Information Security Plan before the end of fiscal year 2025. GRAMM-LEACH-BLILEY ACT ACTION PLAN Section I – Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act The Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act (GLBA), enacted on November 12, 1999, requiresinstitutions to protect privacy and security of non-public sensitive personal consumer information. An amendment to GLBA in 2021 on the Federal Trade Commission’s Standards for Safeguarding Customer Information, or the Safeguards Rule for short, was made to keep up with modern technology. This rule is in effect starting May 13, 2024. Section II – Safeguards Rule Requirements The Safeguards Rule Requires the following Elements to an Information Security Plan: 1. Designation of a qualified individual to implement and supervise the information securityprogram. 2. Conduct a Risk Assessment 3. Designing and implementation of safeguards to control risks identified in the risk assessment: a) Implement and Review access controls b) Identify your systems, information, and core processes, and maintain the information c) Encrypt Consumer data at rest and in transit d) Procedures on how the institutionmanages applications, in-house and/orthird- party. e) Implementation of Multi-factor Authentication to customer information f) Implement a Data Retention Policy g) Implement a Change Management Policy to identify and address risks when modifying or adding new systems, processes, individuals/positions, or networks. h) Documentation of how the institution logs and monitors authorized and unauthorized user activity 4. Routinely monitor and evaluate the effectiveness of safeguards 5. Information Security Awareness and User training program a) Security Awareness Training for all employees b) Specialized training for employees conducting the information security program c) Verify and access effectiveness of training programs 6. Establish and monitor safeguards regarding service providers 7. RoutinereviewingandrevisionofyourInformationSecurityProgramincludingtraining, controls, policies, procedures, etc. to remain flexible against emerging threats. 8. Create a written Incident Response Plan 9. Require your Qualified Individual to report on the Information Security Plan, such as: risk assessment, risk management, service provider agreements, test results, security events and details on how personnel responded, and recommendations for change to the program. Section III – Lewis and Clark Community College’s Action Plan and Progress Lewis and Clark Community College has been actively implementing Safeguards to protect consumer information against emerging threats. The action plan below lists where the college’s progress current is at for each of the listed requirements above, respectively, and how the college plans to solve any incomplete requirements. 1. The Chief Data and Technology Officer position is the Qualified Individual. a) Status: Complete b) Plan: List the CDTO as the Qualified Individual in the new Information Security Plan 2. The college has not conducted a written Risk Assessment. a) Status: Incomplete b) Plan: The college has an active high-priority project to conduct a risk assessment to identify all potential risks to the institution to create a written, documented, assessment. 3. Designing and implementation of safeguards to control risks identified in the risk assessment: a) The college currently implements access controls to prevent unauthorized access. i) Status: Complete ii) Plan: Document the access controls in the new Information Security Plan. b) The college has a rudimentaryinventory system and is in the process of upgrading theirITinventory managementsystemtoapurchasedITAM(InformationSecurity Asset Management)system. i) Status: Incomplete ii) Plan: Finishimplementation of the chosen ITAMsystem and document how it will bemanaged. c) The college has encryption implemented to critical systems containing consumer information at rest and has network encryption requirementsimplemented. i) Status: Incomplete, implemented but not documented ii) Plan: Written documentation in the form of a Policyor Document is required d) Thecollegedoes notproducesoftware in-house. Thereis noformal written evaluation procedures on how third-party applications are assessed. i) Status: Incomplete ii) Plan: Towrite asection in the newInformation Security Planon how the college evaluates the security of a third-party application. e) Thecollege has partiallyimplemented Multi-FactorAuthentication (MFA)totheir systems. All email systems and just employee AD FS logins require MFA currently. i) Status: Incomplete ii) Plan: Thereis currently alisted project for the implementation of MFA to Self- Service, and our Colleague system, and a plan to retire the Blazernet.lc.edu system. As an additional mitigation, Colleague (institutional consumer information) is currently only accessible on-campus. f) The college does not have a formal written Data Retention Policy. i) Status: Incomplete ii) Plan:Tousetheinformationgatheredbythe previousDataRetentionPolicy Mover Teamin early 2023 to collaborate witha contractor to finish the policy before the next fiscal year. g) The college does not have awritten Change Management Policy. i) Status: Incomplete ii) Plan: Toimplement a change management policy thatincludes identifying and addressing any potential riskswhenmodifying or adding new systems, processes, individuals/positions, or networks. h) The college does monitor and track user logs such as all logins to campus systems, and the information security personnel routinelymonitors the logs to search for any suspicious activity, but the procedure is not written. i) Status: Incomplete ii) Plan: To write the procedure of how logs are monitored, user data is tracked and include it in the new Information Security Plan. 4. The college has a documented external penetration test for the previous fiscal year, a documented internal vulnerability assessment from the previous fiscal year, documented reoccurring simulated phishing campaigns to test the effectiveness of the awareness and user training campaigns, documented physical flash drive drop tests in employee-only locations to test the effectiveness of awareness and user training, documented routine updates to all end-user systems to mitigate vulnerabilities, and the upcomingpurchaseof an ITAM thatincludes livevulnerability managementtomitigate vulnerabilities. a) Status: Complete b) Plan:ToincludetherequirementsoftestingeffectivenessonthenewInformation Security Plan 5. Thecollege currentlyhas implementedregularinformationsecurity awareness and user training for all employees of the college. a) Thecollegeutilizesa third-partyapplication for awareness anduser training programs at least once per year or more. i) Status: Complete ii) Plan:Toincludeinformationregardingtheawarenessandusertraining campaigns in the new Information Security Plan. b) The Information SecurityAnalyst has been providedat least yearly conferences to staycurrentwithnewdataand trendspresented. TheInformation Security Analyst also reads information security news and updates on a weekly basis to keep current with emerging threats and vulnerabilities. i) Status: Complete ii) Plan:ToincludeinformationregardingthespecialtraininginthenewInformation Security Plan. c) The documented simulated phishing campaigns, flash drive drop tests, and the Security Awareness Proficiency Assessment (SAPA)providedat theendoftraining campaigns to all employees is used to create future trainings to provide effective content to increase employee knowledge of information security best practices. i) Status: Complete ii) Plan:Toincludeinformation regardinghowthe tests andassessment affectand change future campaigns in the new Information Security Plan. 6. The college currently has an enacted technology purchasing policy that allows for the InformationTechnology departmenttoreviewandevaluateanytechnologypurchaseor requisition first before agreeing to partner with another provider. a) Status: Complete b) Plan: Tooutline the purchasing policy in the new Information Security Plan 7. The college is currently creating a Routine Review Plan to document and keep trackof policies, procedures, documents, access controls, agreements, and training programs that are to be routinely reviewed and revised to ensure all Information Technology documentation stays up to date. a) Status: Incomplete b) Plan: Tolist and outline the routine review plan in the New Information Security Plan once it is complete. It is currently in the process of being drafted and is on the college’s project list. 8. The college does not have a written Incident Response Plan. a) Status: Incomplete b) Plan: Tocollaborate with a contractor to create and complete the plan before the next fiscalyear. 9. The college’s Qualified Individual does not currently routinely report on the current Information SecurityPlan. a) Status: Incomplete b) Plan: Tolayoutin the InformationSecurityPlan forthe QualifiedIndividual to report to the Board of Trustees’at least yearly regardingrisk assessment, risk management, service provider agreements, test results, security events and details on how personnel responded, and recommendations for change to the information security program. Section IV – Information Security Plan Schedule All safeguards listed above are planned on completion and to be listed in the new InformationSecurity Planbefore the beginning of the new fiscal year starting on July 1st, 2025. The Information Security Plan and any newly created policies will be listed on the lc.edu website once completed. This action plan is to ensure that Lewis & Clark Community College becomes in compliance with GLBA to ensure the safety of consumer information. Person(s) Responsible: Ron Wall, Chief Data and Technology Officer Timing for Implementation: Full Implementation expected by June 30, 2025

Categories

Special Tests & Provisions

Other Findings in this Audit

  • 561637 2024-001
    Significant Deficiency
  • 561638 2024-002
    Significant Deficiency
  • 561640 2024-001
    Significant Deficiency
  • 561641 2024-002
    Significant Deficiency
  • 561642 2024-003
    Significant Deficiency
  • 561643 2024-001
    Significant Deficiency
  • 561644 2024-002
    Significant Deficiency
  • 561645 2024-003
    Significant Deficiency
  • 561646 2024-001
    Significant Deficiency
  • 561647 2024-002
    Significant Deficiency
  • 561648 2024-003
    Significant Deficiency
  • 561649 2024-001
    Significant Deficiency
  • 561650 2024-002
    Significant Deficiency
  • 561651 2024-003
    Significant Deficiency
  • 561652 2024-004
    Significant Deficiency
  • 561653 2024-004
    Significant Deficiency
  • 1138079 2024-001
    Significant Deficiency
  • 1138080 2024-002
    Significant Deficiency
  • 1138081 2024-003
    Significant Deficiency
  • 1138082 2024-001
    Significant Deficiency
  • 1138083 2024-002
    Significant Deficiency
  • 1138084 2024-003
    Significant Deficiency
  • 1138085 2024-001
    Significant Deficiency
  • 1138086 2024-002
    Significant Deficiency
  • 1138087 2024-003
    Significant Deficiency
  • 1138088 2024-001
    Significant Deficiency
  • 1138089 2024-002
    Significant Deficiency
  • 1138090 2024-003
    Significant Deficiency
  • 1138091 2024-001
    Significant Deficiency
  • 1138092 2024-002
    Significant Deficiency
  • 1138093 2024-003
    Significant Deficiency
  • 1138094 2024-004
    Significant Deficiency
  • 1138095 2024-004
    Significant Deficiency

Programs in Audit

ALN Program Name Expenditures
84.063 Federal Pell Grant Program $4.25M
84.268 Federal Direct Student Loans $1.80M
93.575 Child Care and Development Block Grant $510,570
17.274 Youthbuild $395,116
84.048 Career and Technical Education -- Basic Grants to States $383,018
15.611 Wildlife Restoration and Basic Hunter Education and Safety $381,075
84.425 Education Stabilization Fund $351,082
84.044 Trio Talent Search $289,733
84.047 Trio Upward Bound $278,343
10.069 Conservation Reserve Program $140,828
84.007 Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grants $119,500
10.093 Voluntary Public Access and Habitat Incentive Program $101,236
84.033 Federal Work-Study Program $90,066
47.074 Biological Sciences $81,314
17.259 Wioa Youth Activities $66,190
84.002 Adult Education - Basic Grants to States $59,555
94.006 Americorps State and National 94.006 $53,904
47.050 Geosciences $50,313
66.461 Regional Wetland Program Development Grants $37,059
93.569 Community Services Block Grant $12,791
15.634 State Wildlife Grants $12,415