Homeland security forum response (303)

Larry Keasler

As part of the nation’s 16 Critical Infrastructure Sectors, the primary objective of the Defense Industrial Base (DIB) Sector is to directly support the U.S. military forces in the production of materials and services. As specified by Homeland Security Presidential Directive 7 (HSPD-7), the Department of Defense is the Sector-Specific Agency for the DIB Sector. In this role, the DoD is “responsible for leading a collaborative, coordinated effort to identify, assess, and improve risk management of critical infrastructure within DIB” (DHS, 2013, 11). Associated partners of the DoD working in collaboration are interagency members such as the Department of Energy, Department of State, Transportation Security Administration, and a large number of representatives from the private sector.

The vital roles than the private sector plays in helping the federal government carry out its objectives are to provide support to the military in the field of research and development, manufacturing of products and integrated systems, weapon systems and components. Making up the private sector in the DIB Sector are international and domestic companies, laboratories, academia, and logistic chains. The DIB is broken down into 10 segments which include a make-up of sub-segments. The segments include: Missile, Aircraft, Troop support, Space, Combat vehicle, Ammunition, Weapons, Information technology, Shipbuilding, and Electronics.

The types of services and materials that are produced does not define the DIB as the other critical infrastructure sectors are defined, rather the DIB is defined by who their customer is that will be receiving the services and materials. Once a facility that has been identified by DoD to be a production partner, vulnerability assessments are conducted considering the value to the nation. These assessments not only identify vulnerabilities from natural disasters, but also from possible intentional attacks. However, due to the enormity of associated assets, “DoD encourages DIB asset owner/operators to apply a risk management approach to protecting DIB infrastructure. DoD assists owner/operators with understanding the risk—impact of loss, vulnerabilities, and threat—associated with a specific asset” (DHS, 2015, 23).  

Reference

Department of Homeland Security. (2015). Defense industrial base sector specific plan: An annex to the NIPP 2013.  Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office.

John McLaughlin

For this week’s reading regarding the sector specific plans associated with critical infrastructure, I chose to read about the information technology sector.  Information technology field is one of the biggest when it comes to different departments of the government contracting out the jobs.  With the United States relying on technology more than ever the importance of information technology specialists are at a premium.  When it comes to information technology government entities tend to contract out the jobs to reputable companies filled with employees who are experienced in the field.

The information technology sector has six critical functions:

· provide IT services and products

· provide incident management capabilities

· provide domain name resolution services

· provide identify management and associated trust services

· provide internet-based content, information and communication services

· provide internet routing access and connection services

There are many concerns related with these critical functions such as partial or complete loss of internet routing and connection which is mitigated by something like increased responsiveness to increased internet traffic.  There are many risks associated with internet that must be mitigated by information technology because if something catastrophic were to happen, out government could come to a stand-still.  One way that the private sector tries to manage the risks is by holding working groups.  For example, during the SSCA Working Group, different private companies come together along with representatives from the Department of Homeland Security and Department of Defense to discuss risks associated with software, and supply.  Another responsibility of information technology is cyber security.  As our reliance on technology continues to grow, our adversaries will continue to find new ways to attack our infrastructure and cyber-attacks are at the forefront.   Providing a good security system for the network, will go a long way in preventing damage to the country’s infrastructure.

In conclusion, not only is information technology an important sector in today’s world, but the importance of the sector will continue to grow as does technological advances in the world.  From building networks to preventing cyber-attacks, the information technology sector has a huge impact.  Mitigating the risks associated with the information technology field will be a responsibility of the private sector for years to come.

Department of Homeland Security. (2016b). Information technology sector specific plan: An annex to the NIPP 2013.   Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office.