Federal Reports

Due to the importance of protecting the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) operations from external cyber events, we audited TVA’s protection mechanisms for a specific cyberattack.  Our objective was to determine if TVA’s protection mechanisms to prevent or protect against a specific type of cyberattack were adequately designed, properly implemented, and operating effectively.  Specifics are being withheld from public release due to their sensitive nature in relation to TVA’s cybersecurity.  We made two recommendations to TVA management. 

In accordance with the Reports Consolidation Act of 2000, the Inspector General is providing information on what he considers to be the most serious management and performance challenges facing the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission in fiscal year 2026. Congress left the determination and threshold of what constitutes a most serious management and performance challenge to the discretion of the Inspector General. These challenges are defined as mission critical areas or programs that have the potential to be a significant weakness or vulnerability that would greatly impact agency operations or strategic goals if not addressed by management.

WASHINGTON – Nicholas Moore, 24, of Springfield, Tennessee, pleaded guilty this morning in U.S. District Court in connection with hacking the electronic filing system of the U.S. Supreme Court at least 25 times and additionally hacking accounts at AmeriCorps and the Veterans Administration Health System, announced U.S. Attorney Jeanine Ferris Pirro.

The independent public accounting firm of Allmond & Company, LLC, under contract with the Office of Inspector General, audited Help America Vote Act (HAVA) grants administered by the Utah Lieutenant Governor’s Office, totaling $15.3 million. This included federal funds, state matching funds, and interest income earned on the reissued Section 251 and Election Security grants.

Report on Audit of the FTC’s Fiscal Year 2025 Financial Statements

The Office of Inspector General contracted with the independent public accounting firm Ernst & Young LLP to audit NASA’s fiscal year 2025 financial statements. The audit results found the financial statements presented fairly, in all material respects, the financial position and results of NASA’s operations.

What OIG Evaluated

The Office of Inspector General (OIG) performed this evaluation to (1) determine the nature and extent to which the Department funds and participates in international organizations, and (2) evaluate the Department’s use of oversight provisions for the funds it contributes to them.  

What OIG Found

OIG found that of the $9.3 billion provided to international organizations in FY 2024, $3.6 billion was assessed contributions levied by international organizations as requirements of membership. The remaining $5.7 billion was voluntary contributions, or discretionary financial assistance, designated for specific organizations and programs. According to Department officials, treaty obligations limited the Department’s ability to oversee or apply conditions to its $3.6 billion of assessed contributions. OIG found United Nations (UN) policies and legal requirements, including UN diplomatic privileges and immunities, the UN’s single audit principle, and the UN’s practice of commingling funding presented barriers to the Department’s ability to obtain detailed information about its contributions. Despite these limitations, the Department participated in international organizations’ executive boards, reviewed international organizations’ audit reports, and coordinated with other donors to strengthen oversight and reform.  The Department had greater flexibility to include oversight provisions for its $5.7 billion in voluntary contributions. However, it did not consistently include such provisions in its contribution agreements.

Specifically, OIG found that the Department inconsistently applied oversight provisions to its agreements, with provisions varying by Department bureau and type of mechanism used to provide the funds. In contrast, OIG found that other donors to international organizations, such as the European Commission and the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), included more stringent requirements in their own standard funding agreement provisions. The inconsistent oversight provisions created a barrier to the Department and State OIG’s ability to thoroughly oversee funds voluntarily contributed to international organizations. To enhance accountability for IO contributions, Congress included a requirement in the Further Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2024 for the Department and USAID to seek to enter into written agreements with each international organization receiving U.S. funding. These agreements were to grant timely access to financial data and to other information relevant to the Inspectors General of the Department and USAID, and to the Comptroller General of the United States. OIG found that the Department had taken limited action to implement the statutory requirement and, 16 months after the enactment of the law, had not made any request to any international organization to enter into an overarching written agreement to provide the two OIGs and Government Accountability Office (GAO) with access to financial data and other information related to U.S. contributions.  

What OIG Recommends

OIG made five recommendations to improve the Department’s oversight of voluntary contributions and strengthen its implementation of Section 7048(h). 

In this year’s report, we identified five key challenges for NASA—returning humans to the Moon, sustaining a human presence in low Earth orbit, improving management of major programs and projects, managing cybersecurity risks and emerging technology, and sustaining mission critical capabilities.