Safeguard and Secure Cyberspace

The Department has the lead for the federal government for securing civilian government computer systems, and works with industry and state, local, tribal and territorial governments to secure critical infrastructure and information systems. The Department works to:

• analyze and reduces cyber threats and vulnerabilities;
• distribute threat warnings; and
• coordinate the response to cyber incidents to ensure that our
• computers, networks, and cyber systems remain safe.

On This Page:

• Enhance Cybersecurity Coordination and Resilience
• Expand Cybersecurity Partnerships
• Promote Cybersecurity Knowledge and Preparedness

Learn More:

• Cybersecurity Activities & Programs
• Other Department Responsibilities

Enhance Cybersecurity Coordination and Resilience

• To improve coordination and oversight, the Department centralized its key cybersecurity functions, including the U.S. Computer Emergency Readiness Team (US-CERT) and the National Cyber Security Division (NCSD), under a single Deputy Under Secretary for National Protection and Programs.
• Over the past two years, the Department has increased our cybersecurity workforce by 500 percent.
• The Department has deployed the EINSTEIN 2 capability – an automated cyber surveillance system that monitors federal internet traffic for malicious intrusions and provides near real-time identification of malicious activity – at 15 Departments and agencies and four Managed Trusted Internet Protocol Service providers, private internet service providers that assist federal agencies in protecting their computers, networks and information.
• The President’s Cybersecurity Policy Review called for “a comprehensive framework to facilitate coordinated responses by Government, the private sector, and allies to a significant cyber incident.” The Department of Homeland Security coordinated the interagency, state and local government, and private sector working group that developed the National Cyber Incident Response Plan, which provides a framework for effective incident response capabilities and coordination between federal agencies, state and local governments, the private sector, and international partners during significant cyber incidents.

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Expand Cybersecurity Partnerships

• The Department of Homeland Security and the Department of Defense (DOD) signed a landmark memorandum of agreement in 2010 to protect against threats to critical civilian and military computer systems and networks. The agreement embeds Department of Defense cyber analysts within Department of Homeland Security and sent a senior Department of Homeland Security official, as well as Department of Homeland Security privacy, civil liberties and legal personnel, to DOD’s National Security Agency.
• The Department hosted Cyber Storm III, a three-day exercise that brought together a diverse cross-section of the Nation’s cyber incident responders – including participation from 13 countries, 11 states and seven federal agencies – to simulate a large-scale cyber attack on critical infrastructure across the nation.
• In 2009, the Department established the National Cybersecurity and Communications Integration Center (NCCIC) to serve as the nation’s principal hub for cyber incident response. In 2010, the Multi-State Information Sharing and Analysis Center, funded in part by the Department, opened a complementary 24-hour watch and warning facility designed to enhance situational awareness at the state and local level and allow the federal government to quickly and efficiently provide critical cyber risk, vulnerability, and mitigation data to state and local governments.
• The Department of Homeland Security, the Department of Defense, and the Financial Services Information Sharing and Analysis Center launched a pilot initiative designed to help protect key critical networks and infrastructure within the financial services sector by sharing actionable, sensitive information.
• The Department implemented the Cybersecurity Partners Local Access Plan, which allows owners and operators of critical infrastructure and key resources, as well as state technology officials and law enforcement officials, to access secret-level cybersecurity information via local fusion centers.
• The Department of Homeland Security and the Office of Management and Budget work cooperatively with agencies across the federal government to coordinate the protection of the nation’s federal information systems through compliance with the Federal Information Security Management Act of 2002.

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Promote Cybersecurity Knowledge and Preparedness

• The Department launched the National Cybersecurity Awareness Campaign Challenge, which called on the public and private sector companies to develop creative and innovative ways to enhance awareness of cybersecurity. Based on the winning proposals, the Department launched the “Stop. Think. Connect.” cybersecurity awareness campaign—a national initiative that promotes simple steps the public can take to increase their safety and security online.
• The Department and the White House published a draft National Strategy for Trusted Identities in Cyberspace – which seeks to secure the identities of individuals, organizations, services and devices during online transactions, as well as infrastructure.

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