Reports

We evaluated the Department to determine whether it effectively follows the incident response lifecycle, as defined by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). We found that the Office of the Chief Information Officer (OCIO) had not fully implemented the capabilities recommended by NIST in its incident detection and response program.

The Federal Information Security Modernization Act (FISMA) for fiscal year (FY) 2017. FISMA (Public Law 113-283) requires Federal agencies to have an annual independent evaluation of their information security programs and practices. This evaluation can be performed by either the agency’s Office of Inspector General (OIG) or by an independent external auditor, as determined by the OIG, to determine the effectiveness of such programs and practices.

OIG investigated allegations that Bureau of Indian Education (BIE) native language teachers accepted payments from a tribe, which illegally supplemented their Federal salaries. We substantiated the allegations. We identified BIE native language teachers who received two or three supplemental payments each, ranging from $1,490.48 to $5,544.43 per payment during the 2014 and 2015 school years. Several teachers admitted that prior to the first payment they were aware that accepting the money violated ethics rules and Federal law.

The OIG investigated allegations that a U.S. Bureau of Reclamation (USBR) contractor submitted a fraudulent claim for an equitable adjustment to a crane repair contract. The contractor allegedly altered cost submission documents submitted by the sub-contractor. We determined that the claim for equitable adjustment did not contain fraudulent information as alleged, and we confirmed that the sub-contractors cost submission documents submitted by the contractor were authentic.

Alleged Embezzlement at BIE Funded Tribally Controlled Grant School