GAO issues recommendations for agencies dealing with technology

The Government Accountability Office recommends two agencies be more transparent about technology’s capabilities.

The Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) Science and Technology Directorate and the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) are agencies that research, develop, and test technologies involving mass transit systems.

DHS requires the Science and Technology Directorate develop results-oriented milestones. The accountability office discovered the directorate has not used milestones that fully adhered to DHS guidance. This means DHS may not have the information needed to make proper assessments.

The TSA tests the effectiveness of commercially available technologies but does not routinely or comprehensively share its assessments with mass transit operators.

The accountability office recommends the deputy secretary of Homeland Security ensure the directorate take steps to more fully incorporate practices for developing milestones into the Surface Transportation Explosive Threat Detection program.

The office also recommends the Transportation Security Administration administrator should develop a system to routinely and comprehensively share appropriate information on the performance of mass transit security technologies. This sharing should be conducted with
mass transit operators and stakeholders until DHS completes work on a more permanent information sharing system.

Once the accountability office has confirmed actions DHS and TSA have taken in response to the recommendation, it will write an updated.