The Top 10 Government Programs Deemed 'High Risk' for Fraud, Abuse and Mismanagement

The fiscally shaky Medicare, the Defense Department’s Nuclear Security Administration and the Internal Revenue Service were just a few of the federal programs designated as “high risk” by the Government Accountability Office.

The high risk designation identifies federal programs with the greatest “vulnerabilities to fraud, waste, abuse, and mismanagement or the need for transformation to address economy, efficiency, or effectiveness challenges.”

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The GAO also faulted the country’s cyber security system to protect government information from hackers, the same week that the Obama administration announced it is establishing a new agency to combat cyberterrorism.

The GAO cited 32 programs as high risk and prone to mismanagement.

Here are the top 10 most high-risk government programs:

1. Medicare Program

2. Department of Defense Supply Chain Management

3. DOD Weapon Systems Acquisition

4. Department of Energy's Contract Management for the National Nuclear Security Administration and Office of Environmental Management

5. NASA Acquisition Management

6. IRS Enforcement of Tax Laws

7. DOD Contract Management

8. DOD Financial Management

9. DOD Business Systems Modernization

10. Ensuring the Security of Federal Information Systems and Cyber Critical Infrastructure and Protecting the Privacy of Personally Identifiable Information

For all of the federal programs, read the full report.