We recommend that HUD’s Deputy Assistant Secretary for Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity update protocols to promote consistent expectations for timely supervisory, legal, and headquarters reviews of complex cases.

We recommend that HUD’s Deputy Assistant Secretary for Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity review and update the MOUs with OGC for each region to identify and remove inefficiencies that can lead to longer FHEO investigation times and OGC review times and identify best practices that can be implemented across all regions.

We recommend that HUD’s Deputy Assistant Secretary for Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity review and update investigative processes followed by each regional office to identify best practices that can be implemented across all regions and identify and remove inefficiencies that can lead to longer investigation times.

Implement a process to identify teleworkers most at risk of receiving incorrect locality payments, verify that their official duty stations are correct and they are reporting to their official duty stations as required, and if necessary, correct their locality payments.

HUD OCIO should a) resolve the conflicts between its Inventory of Automated Systems (IAS) policy and web applications policy to clarify if web applications will be inventories in IAS, the web application Sharepoint site, or both; and b) implement the chosen resolution to this conflict to develop a consistent inventory of web applications (IG FISMA metric 1).

HUD OCIO should implement an automated governance, risk, and compliance tool to manage risk from all sources across the three tiers of the organization in a timely manner. This recommendation updates FY 2021 FISMA recommendation number 5 (IG FISMA metrics 5, 9, and 10).

HUD OCIO should employ automation to maintain a timely and accurate view of security configuration information for all systems connected to its network (IG FISMA metric 20).

HUD OCIO should demonstrate that it can implement its defined security responses if a baseline configuration is changed without authorization. This can be shown by either a response to a real incident if one happens or through a testing exercise if there are no applicable incidents (IG FISMA metric 23).

HUD OCIO should review its security training program and determine whether it should provide general cybersecurity awareness training to external users of its systems and data (IG FISMA metric 44).

Housing should include zero trust requirements as part of the Housing Strategic Roadmap for Housing Modernization.

Housing should refine access controls within the FHA Catalyst modules that are dynamic, are tailored to user actions, and require continuous reauthentication to ensure that users have access only to information needed.

Housing should coordinate with HUD’s SOC to a. Ensure that FHA Catalyst user behavior monitoring logs are regularly captured and adequately reviewed for discrepancies in user activities. b. Establish program office responsibility for the log review process.  

Issue guidance to PHAs clarifying the timing of unit inspections and lead-based paint visual assessments to address the misinterpretation caused by the terms “annual” and “every 12 months.”

We recommend that the Chief Financial Officer enhance existing policies to establish a formal grant accrual risk management framework to help ensure consistent standards across HUD with regard to the development, review, and execution of the grant accrual and validation. This framework should include 1) identifying grant accrual estimation risk, assessing the magnitude of this risk, and managing the risks that arise when using certain…

We recommend that the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Operations of Community Planning and Development enhance CPDs existing Grant Accrual Standard Operating Procedures to strengthen governance within CPD and to effectively work within the framework established by the OCFO in recommendation 1A. The updated procedures should include increased ownership and oversight over the reviews, authorizations, approvals, and changes to the CPD grant…

Update the Conveyance, Assignment, and Assumption Agreement to require purchasers to property outcomes and identifying information including those of third-party purchasers when applicable report final.

Enhance data collection and processing controls to ensure consistency in reporting data.

Enhance existing demonstration guidance within the Conveyance, Assignment, and Assumption Agreement to provide further detail regarding documentation retention requirements.

The OIG has determined that the contents of this recommendation would not be appropriate for public disclosure and has therefore limited its distribution to selected officials.

The OIG has determined that the contents of this recommendation would not be appropriate for public disclosure and has therefore limited its distribution to selected officials.