Investigative Operations: Use of Covert Testing to Identify Security Vulnerabilities and Fraud, Waste, and Abuse

Abstract

GAO's Forensic Audits and Special Investigations team (FSI), which was created in 2005 as an interdisciplinary team consisting of investigators, auditors, and analysts, conducts covert tests at the request of the Congress to identify vulnerabilities and internal control weaknesses at executive branch agencies. These vulnerabilities and internal control weaknesses include those that could compromise homeland security, affect public safety, or have a financial impact on taxpayer's dollars. FSI conducts covert tests as "red team" operations, meaning that FSI does not notify agencies in advance about the testing. Recently, concerns have arisen as to whether top management at the U.S. Transportation Security Administration (TSA) were negatively impacting the results of red team operations by leaking information to security screeners at the nation's airports in advance of covert testing operations.

Open PDF

Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Nov 14, 2007
Accession Number
ADA474330

Entities

Organizations

  • United States Government Accountability Office

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Autonomy
  • Counter WMD
  • Human Systems
  • Weapons Technologies

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Congress
  • Covert Operations
  • Department Of Defense
  • Department Of Homeland Security
  • Electronic Mail
  • Governments
  • Homeland Security
  • House Of Representatives
  • Law
  • Law Enforcement
  • Materials
  • Personnel Management
  • Public Safety
  • Security
  • Security Personnel
  • United States Government
  • Vulnerability

Readers

  • Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD)
  • Defense Acquisition Program Management
  • Strategic Security Studies