More About the Office of Infrastructure Protection

The Office of Infrastructure Protection (IP) leads the coordinated national program to reduce and mitigate risk within the 18 national critical infrastructure sectors from acts of terrorism and natural disasters and to strengthen sectors' ability to respond and quickly recover from an attack or other emergency.

Learn more about the 18 critical sectors.

The Sector-Specific Agencies

Under the National Infrastructure Protection Plan (NIPP), a Sector-Specific Agency (SSA) is the federal agency assigned to lead a collaborative process for critical infrastructure protection within each of the 18 sectors. The NIPP's comprehensive framework allows IP to provide the cross-sector coordination and collaboration needed to set national priorities, goals, and requirements for effective allocation of resources. More importantly, the NIPP framework integrates a broad range of public and private critical infrastructure protection activities.

The SSAs provide guidance about the NIPP framework to state, tribal, territorial, and local homeland security agencies and personnel. They coordinate NIPP implementation within the sector, which involves developing and sustaining partnerships and information-sharing processes, as well as assisting with contingency planning and incident management.

IP serves as the SSA for six of the 18 critical infrastructure sectors:

• Chemical
• Commercial Facilities
• Critical Manufacturing
• Dams
• Emergency Services
• Nuclear Reactors, Materials, and Waste

SSA responsibility for the other 12 sectors is held by other Department components and federal agencies:

• Agriculture and Food - Department of Agriculture; Food and Drug Administration
• Banking and Finance - Department of the Treasury
• Communications - Department of Homeland Security
• Defense Industrial Base - Department of Defense
• Energy - Department of Energy
• Government Facilities - Department of Homeland Security
• Information Technology - Department of Homeland Security
• National Monuments and Icons - Department of the Interior
• Postal and Shipping - Transportation Security Administration
• Healthcare and Public Health - Department of Health and Human Services
• Transportation Systems - Transportation Security Administration; U.S. Coast Guard
• Water - Environmental Protection Agency

IP works closely with SSAs of the other 12 sectors to implement the NIPP. This involves addressing cross-sector vulnerabilities and collaborating to achieve cross-sector program efficiencies.

The NIPP requires that each SSA prepare a Sector-Specific Plan, review the plan annually, and update it as appropriate. Each SSA developed its plan in coordination with its public and private sector partners. Learn more from the Critical Infrastructure Resource Center.

Chapter 2 of the NIPP provides further information about the federal government's authorities, roles, and responsibilities.

Learn more about Critical Infrastructure Protection programs and activities.

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Office of Infrastructure Protection Divisions

Contingency Planning and Incident Management Division. CPIMD plans and coordinates critical infrastructure-focused response to natural disasters and manmade incidents. CPIMD operates the National Infrastructure Coordinating Center, one of five elements of the DHS National Operations Center.

Infrastructure Analysis and Strategy Division. IASD leads the nation's premiere analytical teams in critical infrastructure-related modeling, simulation, and analysis, in close collaboration with the Department's public and private partners. IASD maintains the Homeland Security Infrastructure Threat and Risk Analysis Center (HITRAC), an internal Department coordination center, and the National Infrastructure Simulation and Analysis Center (NISAC).

Infrastructure Information Collection Division. IICD leads the Department's program to acquire infrastructure data and provide it in standardized formats to public and private sector homeland security partners to enhance planning and emergency response. IICD provides enterprise solutions for the collection, protection and visualization of infrastructure information.

Infrastructure Security Compliance Division. ISCD leads national implementation of the Chemical Facility Anti-Terrorism Standards (CFATS). The CFATS program assesses high-risk chemical facilities, promotes collaborative security planning, and ensures that covered facilities meet risk-based performance standards.

Partnership and Outreach Division. POD develops and sustains strategic partnerships and information sharing with owners and operators of the nation's critical infrastructure and provides outreach and training support to assist state, tribal, and local homeland security partners. Learn about the Critical Infrastructure Learning Series.

Protective Security Coordination Division. PSCD reduces risk to the nation's critical infrastructure and key resources through site vulnerability assessments, Protective Security Advisors, the Regional Resiliency Assessment Program, and the Office of Bombing Prevention.

Sector-Specific Agency Executive Management Office. SSA EMO oversees critical infrastructure protection in six of the 18 critical infrastructure sectors — Chemical; Commercial Facilities; Critical Manufacturing; Dams; Emergency Services; and Nuclear Reactors, Materials, and Waste.

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