For Immediate Release
Office of the Press Secretary
Contact: 202-282-8010
Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Janet Napolitano met with private sector leaders in the real estate, professional sports, media and financial industries during her visit to New York City this week to discuss the importance of protecting the nation's critical infrastructure and the shared responsibility of building a national culture of readiness and resiliency.
"The majority of America's critical infrastructure is owned and operated by the private sector," said Secretary Napolitano. "DHS is committed to building meaningful partnerships with businesses across the country to secure the infrastructure vital to the safety of our citizens."
In a series of three roundtable discussions on Thursday, Secretary Napolitano underscored her commitment to ensuring the security of the nation's vital assets and gathered input on ways to increase engagement with these partners.
She discussed the Department's major efforts to protect cyber and physical infrastructure and facilitate private sector security efforts—including the Risk Self-Assessment Tool, which assists private sector leaders in identifying ways to improve the security and resilience of their facilities.
Secretary Napolitano also highlighted the National Infrastructure Protection Plan (NIPP)–a DHS-led national approach for public-private partnerships around the country and across government to protect critical infrastructure and key resources (CIKR).
Today, Secretary received a security briefing at the New York Stock Exchange, toured the trading floor and met with leaders from the financial sector to discuss best practices to protect the critical assets and resources that ensure America’s national security and economic stability.
CIKR includes physical and digital assets, systems and networks that play significant roles in America's safety, economy and public health. Their incapacitation or destruction could debilitate the overall stability of the United States and threaten national security.
CIKR is comprised of 18 unique sectors—the vast majority of which are owned and operated by the private sector, representing key areas such as food and water, manufacturing, energy, communications and transportation systems, and emergency services. DHS coordinates security efforts with the full range of CIKR partners—state, local, tribal, territorial, and private sector—via a network of Government and Sector Coordinating Councils.
In addition to her visit to the New York Stock Exchange today, Secretary Napolitano joined U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) Director Alejandro Mayorkas to naturalize more than 100 citizenship candidates from more than 40 countries at Ellis Island and toured a U.S. Secret Service-led Electronic Crimes Task Force facility.
While in New York, Secretary Napolitano also delivered remarks to the America-Israel Friendship League, visited regional Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and USCIS offices, and appeared on The Colbert Report.
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