Critical Infrastructure and Resilience
The nation’s critical infrastructure consists of sixteen essential sectors that make daily life possible. Any threat to these sectors, whether natural or manmade, could potentially debilitate U.S. homeland security, economic security, public health or safety. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Science and Technology Directorate (S&T) coordinates with public and private sector partners to help strengthen the security and resilience of the nation’s critical infrastructure through technical innovation.
Advances in automated technology, such as sensors, Internet of Things and cybersecurity protections can help those responsible for protecting critical infrastructure sectors more efficiently understand potential threats, run diagnostics, predict potential changes in their systems and strengthen the security and resiliency of these critical infrastructure systems. S&T manages DHS’s Support Anti-Terrorism by Fostering Effective Technologies (SAFETY) Act, which provides liability protections for these organizations and technologies. In addition, S&T sponsors the Critical Infrastructure Resilience Institute Center of Excellence, which collaborates with industry, DHS and other federal and state agencies to understand resilient infrastructure systems, application of critical infrastructure in the real world, building the business case for resilience, and the future of resilience.
From looking at how we detect and protect against the dangers of solar flares and helping communities predict storm surge and prepare for and respond to floods to helping improve the cybersecurity of the nation’s finance and energy sectors, S&T strengthens critical infrastructure security and resilience across multiple sectors through technical expertise and targeted solutions.
Current Projects and Programs
- 2016 White Sands Missile Range (WSMR) Electronic Jamming Exercise Fact Sheet
- 2017 First Responder Electronic Jamming Exercise Fact Sheet
- Application for Radiological Decontamination Fact Sheet
- Broadband Demonstration Network—Developing Tools to Measure and Assess In-Building Coverage Fact Sheet
- Canada-U.S. Enhanced Resilience Experiment Series (CAUSE) V Fact Sheet
- Canada-U.S. Enhanced Resiliency Experiment (CAUSE) Fact Sheet
- Communications and Networking Engine
- Countering Violent Extremism - Actionable Indicators and Countermeasures Project Fact Sheet
- Critical Infrastructure Design and Adaptive Resilient Systems (CIDARS)
- Cybersecurity for Oil & Gas Systems (COGS)
- Data Analytics Engine
- Datacasting—Broadcasting Real-Time Video and Critical Data over Existing Digital Television Spectrum Fact Sheet
- DHS S&T and Central United States Earthquake Consortium (CUSEC) Partnership Promotes Community Resilience Fact Sheet
- Distributed Denial of Service Defense (DDoSD)
- Emergency Data Exchange Language Suite of Standards Fact Sheet
- Finding Individuals for Disaster and Emergency Response (FINDER) Fact Sheet
- First Responder Support Tools (FiRST) Application Fact Sheet
- Flood Apex: Automated National Structures Inventory Project Fact Sheet
- Flood Apex: Community Hazard Assessment and Mitigation Planning System (CHAMPS) Assessed to help Mitigate Disasters Fact Sheet
- Flood Apex: Enhanced Resiliency Experiment Framework Fact Sheet
- Flood Apex: Program Overview Rethinking America's Costliest Disaster Fact Sheet
- Flood Apex: Smart Alerts Pilot Project Fact Sheet
- Flood Apex: Utilizing the Landsat Mission and Spectral Indices to Automate Flood Extent Mapping Fact Sheet
- Global Positioning System (GPS) Vulnerabilities for Critical Infrastructure Fact Sheet
- Imaging System for Immersive Surveillance
- Improving Model Capabilities Fact Sheet
- International Forum to Advance First Responder Innovation Fact Sheet
- Internet of Things (IoT): Low-Cost Flood Inundation Sensors Fact Sheet
- Low Light Internet Protocol Camera Fact Sheet
- Machine-to-Machine Architectures to Improve First Responder Communications Fact Sheet
- Mobile Ad-hoc Networking (MANET) to Improve Public Safety Situational Awareness Fact Sheet
- National Hurricane Program Technology Modernization HURREVAC-eXtended (HV-X) Fact Sheet
- NATO/Next Generation Incident Command System (NICS) Pilot Project Fact Sheet
- Next Generation Cyber Infrastructure Apex
- Next Generation First Responder (NGFR) Communication Hub Fact Sheet
- Next Generation First Responder (NGFR) Fact Sheet
- Next Generation First Responder (NGFR) Integration Demo Fact Sheet
- Next Generation First Responder (NGFR) Internet of Things (IoT) Fact Sheet
- Next Generation Incident Command System (NICS) Fact Sheet
- Prepaid Card Reader Fact Sheet
- Project 25 Compliance Assessment Program (P25 CAP) Fact Sheet
- Radio Internet-Protocol Communications Module (RIC-M) Fact Sheet
- Radiological Emergency Management System (REMS) Fact Sheet
- Radiological/Nuclear Response and Recovery Research & Development Fact Sheet
- Rapid DNA
- RDD Planning Guidance Fact Sheet
- Resilient Electric Grid (REG) Fact Sheet
- Resilient Tunnel Project Fact Sheet
- Responder Training and Exercise Program (RTE) Fact Sheet
- Response and Defeat Operations Support (REDOPS) Fact Sheet
- Safeguarding Grand Central Terminal Fact Sheet
- SAFETY Act for Liability Protection Fact Sheet
- Situational Awareness and Decision Support Engine
- Smart Cities
- Standards for Drinking Water Resilience: Infrastructure Resilience Assessment Project
- S&T Standards Improving the Level of Preparedness and Resilience in the Private Sector Against All-Hazards
- S&T Standards Protecting the Nation Against White Powder Attacks
- Turbo FRMAC Expansion Fact Sheet
- Urban Operational Experimentation (OpEx) Fact Sheet
- Wireless Emergency Alerts (WEA) Fact Sheet
Available Technologies and Projects
The following technologies and projects are available either commercially or from S&T. Review each product for contact information.
Additional Resources
The following resources will provide more information about some of our projects.
Videos
- Strengthening the Nation's Critical Infrastructure
- SAFETY Act Implementation Video
- Linking Oil and Gas Industry to Improve Cybersecurity (LOGIIC)
- Time-lapse Video of S&T's Tunnel Plug
News
For more information on how to work with us visit our Business Opportunities page or review our Industry Guide.