WASHINGTON–NCUA’s Office of Inspector General (OIG) has issued a report that offers four recommendations for improving the agency’s Continuity of Operations Program (COOP).
The findings follow an audit of all COOP program activities from Jan. 1, 2018, through Dec. 31, 2021, according to the OIG.
The OIG said in its report that it found the COOP program was operating in accordance with applicable laws, regulations, policies, and procedures and that it was ready and able to execute should the need arise – the two areas of focus of the review.
But there is room for improvement, the report found.
“Specifically, we determined the NCUA should perform a full failover test of its IT network to ensure management is made aware of any potential weaknesses and correct them, as necessary,” the report states. “We also determined that the Office of Continuity and Security Management (OCSM) and the Office of the Chief Information Officer (OCIO) need to improve communication with each other regarding COOP and security matters.”
The Recommendations
The recommendations made to NCUA in the report include:
- NCUA should conduct a business impact analysis to define the IT network as essential and determine timelines for restoration to be used as a measurement for a full failover test of the NCUA IT network
- The agency should ensure the chief information officer plans, conducts, and reports on a full failover test of the NCUA’s IT network to identify and correct any identified weaknesses
- NCUA should ensure the results of the failover test from are communicated in writing to the NCUA Board, the Office of the Executive Director, and the Director, Office of Continuity and Security Management, to ensure the Continuity of Operations program and disaster recovery capabilities are thoroughly managed and reported on
- NCUA should ensure OCIO management shares all necessary NCUA IT network, systems, disaster recovery information and details with the Director of OCSM, including dates and results of the OCIO’s tabletop exercises and other disaster recovery drills, such as failover tests.
According to the OIG, NCUA has agreed with the recommendations and estimated year-end 2023 and 2024 completion dates.
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