ANNISTON ARMY DEPOT, Ala. -- The depot's Directorate of Information Management received a nearly perfect rating during a recent cyber crime prevention survey by the U.S. Army Cyber Command.

"Anytime a network receives a rating over 90 percent, that is outstanding," said Randy Heflin, the depot's director of information management.

The installation's NIPRNet, or Nonsecure Internet Protocol Router Network, earned a 98.9 percent compliance rating and the SIPRNet, Secure Internet Protocol Router Network received a 100 percent compliance rating.

Making the accomplishment more impressive was the time frame involved.

On Thursday, Oct. 16, Heflin received an e-mail from ARCyber informing him the inspection would take place the following Monday. Since the next day was an off-Friday, the e-mail was effectively a five-hour notice.

"This is standard procedure," said Heflin, explaining ARCyber often gives two-weeks' notice of inspections, but has the authority to inspect networks at any time.

The installation's networks were checked to ensure each computer had the latest software upgrades and patches. Inspectors also verified the Information Assurance Vulnerability Alerts, which provide software and operating system warnings to DOIM employees, were working as they should.

In all, 2,856 nodes, comprising the entire ANAD network, were inspected and only 48 vulnerabilities were found.

Receiving an 80 percent compliance rating would have been a passing score, but, thanks to the DOIM team, ANAD far surpassed that rating, earning the highest inspection rating ARCyber has seen.

"It was a total team effort," said Heflin, adding each division within the directorate played a role, as did the users.

Each time a computer user logs off at the end of the day, rather than shutting down their system completely, they help DOIM ensure computers are up-to-date.

Because most software updates and patches are sent through the network during off-duty hours, leaving the computer on enables those patches and upgrades to be installed, making each user's computer more secure.

In addition to leaving computers on at the end of the work day, DOIM encourages users to:

• Continue to report suspicious e-mails

• Report any abnormal activity on the computer

• Be mindful about websites visited

• Remember, computer usage is monitored all the time and network inspections may occur at any time