Fed watchdog report critical of agency that protects against terror strikes on U.S. retail

A new government watchdog report is critical of the federal agency in charge of preventing terrorist attacks on retail stores across the country, which the report states are a highly vulnerable target.

The federal Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency is the agency that defends against threats and collaborates to "build a more secure and resilient infrastructure, including commercial facilities," according to the Office of the Inspector General of the Department of Homeland Security report issued last week.

However, the report state the agency "does not effectively coordinate or share best practices to improve security across the commercial facilities sector."

In addition, the report concluded that the agency lacked "adequate policies and procedures" to bolster its own oversight of commercial facilities across the country. 

Among the recommendations in the report is that the agency should consult with the Department of Homeland Security to "develop comprehensive policies and procedures to support its role" in overseeing the security of commercial facilities, as well as improve its reporting standards and regularly update its own internal policies. 

The agency pledged to meet the inspector general's goals by January 2021.