The final step in moving the USGS DAR encryption project into a compliance phase is to enable automatic shutdowns of non-compliant systems. Respecting the September Fiscal Year Closeout Activities, a decision was made to move the shutdown activities that were supposed to start on August 29, 2022, to Monday, October 17, 2022 providing additional time for sites to remediate non-compliant systems.
All computers must meet DAR encryption requirements, except for the following authorized exclusions:
- Virtual Computers
- Physical computers that are an Operating System other than Windows and Mac (such as Linux or Solaris): An enterprise solution to encrypt and centrally escrow the encryption keys for Linux/Solaris OSs does not currently exist.
- Computers located in a Controlled Space: The computer object must have the appropriate keyfile label in place. Follow the Instructions for updates as needed.
- Computers with an Open POA&M: A POA&M (Plan of Action and Milestones) has been opened explaining why a computer cannot be encrypted with milestones and deadlines documented, and computer object has appropriate keyfile label in place
A list of all computers that are not encrypted and are not labelled for controlled space or a POA&M can be found on the BigFix Web Reports List technical support page under the Config Status tab.
For more details, see: USGS Data at Rest (DAR) encryption shutdown actions starting October 17, 2022.eml
