(Source: RSA) The U.S. House of Representatives' Committee on Government Reform recently released the 2005 edition of its Federal Information Security Management Act (FISMA) report card. Unfortunately, the news was not good. The 25 major government agencies reported 15% of the IT systems remained uncertified/unaccredited while 6 agencies lacked effective corrective action plans, illustrating little improvement in the level of information security for government agencies compared to previous reports. Government agencies at all levels are entrusted with sensitive information about citizens, military personnel and others. As is the case with private industry, breaches of that information can create a public relations debacle and end up costing dearly-not just monetarily, but in public trust. Defense, security and diplomatic agencies are entrusted with even more sensitive information, which, in the wrong hands, could threaten national and international security.