Responses of Federal Agencies and Airports We Surveyed About	 
Access Security Improvements (31-AUG-01, GAO-01-1069R). 	 
								 
To address concerns about the use of stolen or counterfeit law	 
enforcement badges or credentials to gain access to secure	 
government buildings and airports, GAO conducted an undercover	 
operation to gain entry into 19 federal sites and two commercial 
airports in the Washington, D.C., area and in Orlando, Florida.  
GAO also surveyed 23 other major federal agencies about any	 
security improvements that they may have implemented as a result 
of the investigation. All 43 agencies and airports queried	 
responded to GAO's survey, and many said that they had either	 
started or completed a security assessment of existing security  
policies and procedures. GAO has not verified whether the	 
reported specific security enhancements have actually been	 
implemented.							 
-------------------------Indexing Terms------------------------- 
REPORTNUM:   GAO-01-1069R					        
    ACCNO:   A01709						        
  TITLE:     Responses of Federal Agencies and Airports We Surveyed   
             About Access Security Improvements                               
     DATE:   08/31/2001 
  SUBJECT:   Airports						 
	     Criminals						 
	     Facility security					 
	     Identification cards				 
	     Internet						 

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GAO-01-1069R
     
GAO- 01- 1069R Security Improvement Inquiry United States General Accounting
Office

Washington, DC 20548

August 31, 2001 The Honorable Lamar Smith Chairman Subcommittee on Crime
Committee on the Judiciary House of Representatives

Subject: Responses of Federal Agencies and Airports We Surveyed About Access
Security Improvements

Dear Mr. Chairman: This letter responds to the Subcommittee?s December 2000
request that we determine what security improvements were implemented by
federal agencies and airports as a result of the testimony we presented to
the Subcommittee in May 2000 regarding security breaches at selected
agencies and airports. 1

Our May 25, 2000, testimony presented our findings with respect to the
Subcommittee?s request that we investigate the potential security risk posed
by the use of stolen or counterfeit law enforcement badges and credentials.
The concern was that such badges and credentials, which are readily
available for purchase on the Internet and from other public sources, could
be used by criminals, terrorists, and foreign intelligence agents to gain
access to secure government buildings and airports.

To address these concerns, Office of Special Investigations agents conducted
an undercover operation in April and May 2000 to gain entry into 19 federal
sites and 2 commercial airports in the Washington, D. C., area and in
Orlando, Florida. 2 At each site, the agents carried bogus badges and
credentials, declared themselves as armed law enforcement officers, and
gained entry without submitting to magnetometer and x- ray screenings. Our
agents were 100- percent successful in penetrating the 21 targeted sites,
and at no time were their bogus credentials or badges challenged by anyone.
Before the May 2000 hearing, we briefed agency officials on how we gained
entry to their facilities.

1 Security: Breaches at Federal Agencies and Airports (GAO/ T- OSI- 00- 10,
May 25, 2000). 2 The Central Intelligence Agency; Federal Aviation
Administration; Federal Bureau of Investigation;

Federal Emergency Management Agency; Immigration and Naturalization Service;
Library of Congress; National Aeronautics and Space Administration; National
Archives and Records Administration; and the Departments of Agriculture,
Defense, Education, Energy, Health and Human Services, Housing and Urban
Development, Justice, Labor, State, and Transportation; Orlando Airport;
Ronald Reagan National Airport; and the U. S. Courthouse and Federal
Building in Orlando, FL.

GAO- 01- 1069R Security Improvement Inquiry 2 We conducted our work to
obtain follow- up information from January through

August 2001. We contacted 20 sites that we successfully penetrated in 2000 3
to determine what actions, if any, each agency has taken. In addition, we
surveyed 23 other major federal agencies about any security improvements
they may have implemented as a result of the hearing. We provided a copy of
our testimony to the security office of each agency and airport and asked
that they submit written responses to us.

All 43 of the agencies and airports we queried responded; many stated that
they had either started or completed a security assessment of existing
security policies and procedures. Thirty- seven agencies- 19 were part of
our previous work and 18 were not- reported specific policy and/ or
procedural changes that they had taken to enhance access security. Four
agencies that were not part of our previous work said they made no changes
in response to our testimony because their existing security procedures were
adequate. The remaining two respondents did not specify whether or not they
made security improvements. The enclosure lists the 43 agencies we surveyed
and shows which agencies responded that they took action to improve their
access security, which agencies responded that they took no action, and
which agencies? responses were nonspecific.

Many of the 37 agencies that reported specific changes responded that only
those armed law enforcement officers on official business may enter their
facilities. Those not on official business must first surrender their
weapons for secure storage and are treated as visitors, who are screened by
magnetometers and x- ray machines. Some agencies reported that they now
require law enforcement officers on official business to be escorted at all
times. Two agencies said they are developing a digital credential,

?smart card,? system that would electronically verify a law enforcement
officer?s identity. We did not verify whether the security enhancements
reported by the agencies actually occurred.

- - - - We are sending copies of this letter to interested congressional
committees and the heads of each agency and airport we surveyed. We will
also make copies available to others on request. The letter will also be
available at www. gao. gov. If you have any questions about this
investigation, please call me at (202) 512- 7455 or Assistant Director
Patrick Sullivan at (202) 512- 6722. Senior Special Agent Kenneth Feng,
Senior Analyst Shelia James, and Deputy Assistant General Counsel Margaret
Armen made significant contributions to this inquiry and letter.

Sincerely yours, Robert H. Hast Managing Director Office of Special
Investigations

3 We did not follow up with the U. S. Courthouse and Federal Building in
Orlando, FL; however, we contacted the U. S. Marshals Service and the
General Services Administration, which are responsible for the security of
judicial facilities and federal buildings, respectively.

GAO- 01- 1069R Security Improvement Inquiry 3 Enclosure Enclosure

Responses From the 43 Agencies and Airports Surveyed

Agency/ Airport Action taken No action

taken Nonspecific response

Central Intelligence Agency a x Defense Intelligence Agency x Department of
Agriculture x Department of Commerce x Department of Defense x Department of
Education x Department of Energy x Department of Health and Human Services x
Department of Housing and Urban Development x Department of the Interior x
Department of Justice x Department of Labor x Department of State x
Department of Transportation x Department of the Treasury x Department of
Veterans Affairs x Drug Enforcement Administration x Federal Aviation
Administration x Federal Bureau of Investigation x Federal Emergency
Management Agency x Food and Drug Administration x General Services
Administration x Government Printing Office x Holocaust Memorial Museum x
Immigration and Naturalization Service x Internal Revenue Service x Library
of Congress x National Aeronautics and Space Administration x National
Archives and Records Administration x National Security Agency x National
Science Foundation x Nuclear Regulatory Commission x Orlando Airport x
Ronald Reagan National Airport x Smithsonian Institution x Social Security
Administration x The Supreme Court of the United States b x U. S. Agency for
International Development x U. S. Capitol Police x U. S. Customs Service x
U. S. Marshals Service x U. S. Postal Service x U. S. Secret Service x a
Responded to the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence.

b Referred the information request to the Administrative Office of the U. S.
Courts. (600916)
*** End of document. ***