Homeland Security
Information Sharing Responsibilities, Challenges, and Key Management Issues Gao ID: GAO-03-715T May 8, 2003The Homeland Security Act of 2002, which created the Department of Homeland Security, brought together 22 diverse organizations to help prevent terrorist attacks in the United States, reduce the vulnerability of the United States to terrorist attacks, and minimize damage and assist in recovery from attacks that do occur. To accomplish this mission, the act established specific homeland security responsibilities for the department, which included sharing information among its own entities and with other federal agencies, state and local governments, the private sector, and others. GAO was asked to discuss DHS's information sharing efforts, including (1) the significance of information sharing in fulfilling DHS's responsibilities; (2) GAO's related prior analyses and recommendations for improving the federal government's information sharing efforts; and (3) key management issues DHS should consider in developing and implementing effective information sharing processes and systems.
DHS's responsibilities include the coordination and sharing of information related to threats of domestic terrorism within the department and with and between other federal agencies, state and local governments, the private sector, and other entities. To accomplish its missions, DHS must, for example access, receive, and analyze law enforcement information, intelligence information, and other threat, incident, and vulnerability information from federal and nonfederal sources; and analyze such information to identify and assess the nature and scope of terrorist threats. DHS must also share information both internally and externally with agencies and law enforcement on such things as goods and passengers inbound to the United States and individuals who are known or suspected terrorists and criminals. GAO has made numerous recommendations related to information sharing. Although improvements have been made, more efforts are needed to address the following challenges, among others, that GAO has identified: (1) developing a comprehensive and coordinated national plan to facilitate information sharing on critical infrastructure, (2) developing productive information sharing relationships between the federal government and state and local governments and the private sector, and (3) providing appropriate incentives for nonfederal entities to increase information sharing with the federal government and enhance other critical infrastructure protection efforts. Through its prior work, GAO has identified potential information sharing barriers, critical success factors, and other key management issues that DHS should consider as it establishes systems and processes to facilitate information sharing among and between government entities and the private sector. It will be important for the department to understand the numerous potential barriers to information sharing and develop appropriate strategies to address them, considering any related provisions of the Homeland Security Act. GAO's work has also identified critical success factors for information sharing that DHS should consider as it proceeds. Further, as part of its information technology management, DHS should develop and implement an enterprise architecture to integrate the many existing systems and processes required to support its mission and to guide the department's investments in new systems to effectively support homeland security in the coming years. Other key management issues include ensuring that sensitive information is secured, developing secure communications networks, integrating staff from different organizations, and ensuring that the department has properly skilled staff.
GAO-03-715T, Homeland Security: Information Sharing Responsibilities, Challenges, and Key Management Issues
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Testimony
Before the Committee on Government Reform, House of Representatives:
For Release on Delivery
Expected at 10:00 a.m. EDT
Thursday, May 8, 2003:
Homeland Security:
Information Sharing Responsibilities, Challenges, and Key Management
Issues:
Statement of
Robert F. Dacey, Director,
Information Security Issues
Randolph C. Hite, Director,
Information Technology Architecture and Systems Issues
GAO-03-715T:
GAO Highlights:
Highlights of GAO-03-715T, a testimony before the Committee on
Government Reform, House of Representatives
Why GAO Did This Study:
The Homeland Security Act of 2002, which created the Department of
Homeland Security, brought together 22 diverse organizations to help
prevent terrorist attacks in the United States, reduce the
vulnerability of the United States to terrorist attacks, and minimize
damage and assist in recovery from attacks that do occur. To
accomplish this mission, the act established specific homeland security
responsibilities for the department, which included sharing
information among its own entities and with other federal agencies,
state and local governments, the private sector, and others.
GAO was asked to discuss DHS‘s information sharing efforts,
including (1) the significance of information sharing in fulfilling
DHS's responsibilities; (2) GAO‘s related prior analyses and
recommendations for improving the federal government‘s
information sharing efforts; and (3) key management issues DHS
should consider in developing and implementing effective information
sharing processes and systems.
What GAO Found:
DHS‘s responsibilities include the coordination and sharing of
information related to threats of domestic terrorism within the
department and with and between other federal agencies, state and
local governments, the private sector, and other entities. To
accomplish its missions, DHS must, for example access, receive, and
analyze law enforcement information, intelligence information, and
other threat, incident, and vulnerability information from federal and
nonfederal sources; and analyze such information to identify and
assess the nature and scope of terrorist threats. DHS must also share information both internally and externally with
agencies and law enforcement on such things as goods and passengers
inbound to the United States and individuals who are known or
suspected terrorists and criminals.
GAO has made numerous recommendations related to information sharing.
Although improvements have been made, more efforts are needed to
address the following challenges, among others, that GAO has
identified.
* Developing a comprehensive and coordinated national plan to
facilitate information sharing on critical infrastructure.
* Developing productive information sharing relationships between the
federal government and state and local governments and the private
sector.
* Providing appropriate incentives for nonfederal entities to increase
information sharing with the federal government and enhance other
critical infrastructure protection efforts.
Through its prior work, GAO has identified potential information
sharing barriers, critical success factors, and other key management
issues that DHS should consider as it establishes systems and processes
to facilitate information sharing among and between government
entities and the private sector. It will be important for the
department to understand the numerous potential barriers to
information sharing and develop appropriate strategies to address
them, considering any related provisions of the Homeland Security Act.
GAO‘s work has also identified critical success factors for
information sharing that DHS should consider as it proceeds. Further,
as part of its information technology management, DHS should develop
and implement an enterprise architecture to integrate the many
existing systems and processes required to support its mission and to
guide the department‘s investments in new systems to effectively
support homeland security in the coming years. Other key management
issues include ensuring that sensitive information is secured,
developing secure communications networks, integrating staff from
different organizations, and ensuring that the department has properly
skilled staff.
www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-03-715T.
To view the full testimony, click on the link
above.
For more information, contact Robert F.
Dacey at (202) 512-3317 or daceyr@gao.gov.
[End of section]:
Mr. Chairman and Members of the Committee:
I am pleased to be here today to discuss challenges for the Department
of Homeland Security (DHS) in integrating its information gathering and
sharing functions. The Homeland Security Act of 2002 brought together
22 diverse organizations and created a new cabinet-level department to
help prevent terrorist attacks in the United States, reduce the
vulnerability of the United States to terrorist attacks, and minimize
damage and assist in recovery from attacks that do occur. To accomplish
this mission, the Act established specific homeland security
responsibilities for the department and directed it to coordinate its
efforts and share information among its own entities and with other
federal agencies, state and local governments, the private sector, and
others.
In my testimony today, I will summarize GAO's analysis of information
sharing as an integral part of fulfilling DHS's mission and
responsibilities. I will then discuss GAO's related prior analyses and
recommendations for improving the federal government's information
sharing efforts. Lastly, I will discuss the key management issues DHS
should consider in developing and implementing effective information
sharing processes and systems.
In preparing this testimony, we relied on prior GAO reports and
testimonies on combating terrorism, critical infrastructure protection
(CIP), homeland security, information sharing, information technology
(IT), and national preparedness, among others. We also reviewed and
analyzed the National Strategy for Homeland Security, the National
Strategy to Secure Cyberspace, the National Strategy for the Physical
Protection of Critical Infrastructures and Key Assets,the National
Strategy for Combating Terrorism,[Footnote 1] the Homeland Security Act
of 2002,[Footnote 2] and other relevant federal policies. Our work was
performed during April and May 2003 in accordance with generally
accepted government auditing standards.
Results in Brief:
The Homeland Security Act of 2002 and other federal policy, including
the National Strategy for Homeland Security, assign responsibilities to
DHS for the coordination and sharing of information related to threats
of domestic terrorism, within the department and with and between other
federal agencies, state and local governments, the private sector, and
other entities. For example, to accomplish its missions, the new
department must (1) access, receive, and analyze law enforcement
information, intelligence information, and other threat, incident, and
vulnerability information from federal and nonfederal sources; (2)
analyze such information to identify and assess the nature and scope of
terrorist threats; and (3) administer the Homeland Security Advisory
System and provide specific warning information and advice on
appropriate protective measures and countermeasures. Further, DHS must
share information both internally and externally with agencies and law
enforcement on such things as goods and passengers inbound to the
United States and individuals who are known or suspected terrorists and
criminals. It also must share information among emergency responders in
preparing for and responding to terrorist attacks and other
emergencies.
GAO has made numerous recommendations over the last several years
related to information sharing functions that have been transferred to
DHS. One significant area concerns the federal government's CIP
efforts, which is focused on the sharing of information on incidents,
threats, and vulnerabilities, and the providing of warnings related to
critical infrastructures both within the federal government and between
the federal government and state and local governments and the private
sector. Although improvements have been made, further efforts are
needed to address the following critical CIP challenges:
* developing a comprehensive and coordinated national plan to
facilitate CIP information sharing that clearly delineates the roles
and responsibilities of federal and nonfederal CIP entities, defines
interim objectives and milestones, sets timeframes for achieving
objectives, and establishes performance measures;
* developing fully productive information sharing relationships within
the federal government and between the federal government and state and
local governments and the private sector;
* improving the federal government's capabilities to analyze incident,
threat, and vulnerability information obtained from numerous sources
and share appropriate, timely, useful warnings and other information
concerning both cyber and physical threats to federal entities, state
and local governments, and the private sector; and:
* providing appropriate incentives for nonfederal entities to increase
information sharing with the federal government and enhance other CIP
efforts.
In addition, GAO recently identified challenges in consolidating and
standardizing watch list structures and policies, which are essential
to effectively sharing information on suspected terrorists and
criminals.[Footnote 3]
The success of homeland security also relies on establishing effective
systems and processes to facilitate information sharing among and
between government entities and the private sector. Through our prior
work, we have identified potential information sharing barriers,
critical success factors, and other key management issues that DHS
should consider as it establishes systems and processes to facilitate
information sharing among and between government entities and the
private sector. It will be important for the department to understand
the numerous potential barriers to information sharing and develop
appropriate strategies to address them, considering any related
provisions of the Homeland Security Act. Our work has also identified
critical success factors for information sharing that DHS should
consider as it proceeds. Further, as part of its information technology
management, DHS must develop and implement an enterprise architecture
to integrate the many existing systems and processes required to
support its mission and to guide the department's investments in new
systems to effectively support homeland security in the coming years.
Other key management issues include ensuring that sensitive information
is secured, developing secure communications networks, integrating
staff from different organizations, and ensuring that the department
has properly skilled staff.
Information Sharing Is Integral to Fulfilling DHS's Mission:
With the terrorist attacks of September 2001, the threat of terrorism
rose to the top of the country's national security and law enforcement
agendas. As stated by the President in his National Strategy for
Homeland Security in July 2002, our nation's terrorist enemies are
constantly seeking new tactics or unexpected ways to carry out their
attacks and magnify their effects, such as working to obtain chemical,
biological, radiological, and nuclear weapons. In addition, terrorists
are gaining expertise in less traditional means, such as cyber attacks.
In response to these growing threats, Congress passed and the President
signed the Homeland Security Act of 2002 creating the DHS. The overall
mission of this new cabinet-level department includes preventing
terrorist attacks in the United States, reducing the vulnerability of
the United States to terrorist attacks, and minimizing damage and
assisting in recovery from attacks that do occur. To accomplish this
mission, the act established specific homeland security
responsibilities for the department and directed it to coordinate its
efforts and share information within DHS and with other federal
agencies, state and local governments, the private sector, and other
entities. This information sharing is critical to successfully
addressing increasing threats and fulfilling the mission of DHS.
Threats, Incidents, and the Consequences of Potential Attacks Are
Increasing:
DHS's responsibilities include the protection of our nation's publicly
and privately controlled resources essential to the minimal operations
of the economy and government against the risks of physical as well as
computer-based or cyber attacks. Over the last decade, physical and
cyber events, as well as related analyses by various entities, have
demonstrated the increasing threat to the United States.
With the coordinated terrorist attacks against the World Trade Center
in New York City and the Pentagon in Washington, D.C., on September 11,
2001, the threat of terrorism rose to the top of the country's national
security and law enforcement agendas. Even before these catastrophic
incidents, the threat of attacks against people, property, and
infrastructures had increased concerns about terrorism. The terrorist
bombings in 1993 of the World Trade Center in New York City and in 1995
of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City, which killed
168 people and wounded hundreds of others, prompted increased emphasis
on the need to strengthen and coordinate the federal government's
ability to effectively combat terrorism domestically. The 1995 Aum
Shinrikyo sarin nerve agent attack in the Tokyo subway system also
raised new concerns about U.S. preparedness to combat terrorist
incidents involving weapons of mass destruction.[Footnote 4] However,
as clearly demonstrated by the September 11, 2001, incidents, a
terrorist attack would not have to fit the definition of weapons of
mass destruction to result in mass casualties, destruction of critical
infrastructures, economic losses, and disruption of daily life
nationwide.
U.S. intelligence and law enforcement communities continuously assess
both foreign and domestic terrorist threats to the United States. The
U.S. foreign intelligence community--the Central Intelligence Agency,
the Defense Intelligence Agency, the Federal Bureau of Investigation
(FBI), and the Department of State's Bureau of Research and
Intelligence--monitors the foreign-origin terrorist threat to the
United States. In addition, the FBI gathers intelligence and assesses
the threat posed by domestic sources. According to the U.S.
intelligence community, conventional explosives and firearms continue
to be the terrorists' weapons of choice. The community also believes
that terrorists are less likely to use weapons of mass destruction,
although the possibility that terrorists will use these weapons may
increase over the next decade.
Nevertheless, in February 2003, the Director of Central Intelligence
testified[Footnote 5]that in his view, we have entered a new world of
proliferation, where there are knowledgeable non-state purveyors of
weapons of mass destruction materials and technology that are
increasingly capable of providing technology and equipment that
previously could only be supplied by countries with established
capabilities. He also stated that although there have been successes on
many fronts in the war on terrorism, recent events underscore the
threat that the al Qaeda network continues to pose to the United
States. He further stated that even without an attack on the U.S.
homeland, more than 600 people were killed in acts of terror last year-
-200 in al Qaeda-related attacks alone--including 19 U.S. citizens. In
addition, he stated that terrorism directed at U.S. interests goes
beyond Middle Eastern or religious extremist groups, adding that the
Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia has shown a new willingness to
inflict casualties on U.S. nationals. Table 1 summarizes key physical
threats to homeland security.
Table 1: Physical Threats to Homeland Security:
Threat: Chemical weapons; Description: Chemical weapons are extremely
lethal and capable of producing tens of thousands of casualties. They
are also relatively easy to manufacture, using basic equipment, trained
personnel, and precursor materials that often have legitimate dual
uses. As the 1995 Tokyo subway attack revealed, even sophisticated
nerve agents are within the reach of terrorist groups.
Threat: Biological weapons; Description: Biological weapons, which
release large quantities of living, disease-causing microorganisms,
have extraordinary lethal potential. Like chemical weapons, biological
weapons are relatively easy to manufacture, requiring straightforward
technical skills, basic equipment, and a seed stock of pathogenic
microorganisms. Biological weapons are especially dangerous because we
may not know immediately that we have been attacked, allowing an
infectious agent time to spread. Moreover, biological agents can serve
as a means of attack against humans as well as livestock and crops,
inflicting casualties as well as economic damage.
Threat: Radiological weapons; Description: Radiological weapons, or
"dirty bombs," combine radioactive material with conventional
explosives. The individuals and groups engaged in terrorist activity
can cause widespread disruption and fear, particularly in heavily
populated areas.
Threat: Nuclear weapons; Description: Nuclear weapons have enormous
destructive potential. Terrorists who seek to develop a nuclear weapon
must overcome two formidable challenges. First, acquiring or refining a
sufficient quantity of fissile material is very difficult--though not
impossible. Second, manufacturing a workable weapon requires a very
high degree of technical capability--though terrorists could feasibly
assemble the simplest type of nuclear device. To get around these
significant though not insurmountable challenges, terrorists could seek
to steal or purchase a nuclear weapon.
Threat: Conventional means; Description: Terrorists, both domestic and
international, continue to use traditional methods of violence and
destruction to inflict harm and spread fear. They have used knives,
guns, and bombs to kill the innocent. They have taken hostages and
spread propaganda. Given the low expense, ready availability of
materials, and relatively high chance for successful execution,
terrorists will continue to make use of conventional attacks.
Source: National Strategy for Homeland Security:
[End of table]
In addition to these physical threats, terrorists and others with
malicious intent, such as transnational criminals and intelligence
services, pose a threat to our nation's computer systems. As dramatic
increases in computer interconnectivity, especially in the use of the
Internet, continue to revolutionize the way much of the world
communicate and conducts business, this widespread interconnectivity
also poses significant risks to the government's and our nation's
computer systems and, more importantly, to the critical operations and
infrastructures they support. For example, telecommunications, power
distribution, water supply, public health services, national defense
(including the military's warfighting capability), law enforcement,
government services, and emergency services all depend on the security
of their computer operations. If not properly controlled, the speed and
accessibility that create the enormous benefits of the computer age
also allow individuals and organizations to inexpensively eavesdrop on
or interfere with these operations from remote locations for
mischievous or malicious purposes.
Government officials are increasingly concerned about cyber attacks
from individuals and groups with malicious intent, such as crime,
terrorism, foreign intelligence gathering, and acts of war. According
to the FBI, terrorists, transnational criminals, and intelligence
services are quickly becoming aware of and are using information
exploitation tools such as computer viruses, Trojan horses, worms,
logic bombs, and eavesdropping sniffers that can destroy, intercept,
degrade the integrity of, or deny access to data.[Footnote 6] In
addition, the disgruntled organization insider is a significant threat,
since these individuals often have knowledge that allows them to gain
unrestricted access and inflict damage or steal assets without
possessing a great deal of knowledge about computer intrusions. As
greater amounts of money are transferred through computer systems, as
more sensitive economic and commercial information is exchanged
electronically, and as the nation's defense and intelligence
communities increasingly rely on commercially available IT, the
likelihood increases that cyber attacks will threaten vital national
interests. Table 2 summarizes the key cyber threats to our
infrastructure.
Table 2: Cyber Threats to Critical Infrastructure Observed by the FBI:
Threat: Criminal groups; Description: There is an increased use of
cyber intrusions by criminal groups who attack systems for purposes of
monetary gain.
Threat: Foreign intelligence services; Description: Foreign
intelligence services use cyber tools as part of their information
gathering and espionage activities.
Threat: Hackers; Description: Hackers sometimes crack into networks for
the thrill of the challenge or for bragging rights in the hacker
community. While remote cracking once required a fair amount of skill
or computer knowledge, hackers can now download attack scripts and
protocols from the Internet and launch them against victim sites. Thus,
while attack tools have become more sophisticated, they have also
become easier to use.
Threat: Hacktivists; Description: Hacktivism refers to politically
motivated attacks on publicly accessible Web pages or e-mail servers.
These groups and individuals overload e-mail servers and hack into Web
sites to send a political message.
Threat: Information warfare; Description: Several nations are
aggressively working to develop information warfare doctrine, programs,
and capabilities. Such capabilities enable a single entity to have a
significant and serious impact by disrupting the supply,
communications, and economic infrastructures that support military
power--impacts that, according to the Director of Central
Intelligence,[A] can affect the daily lives of Americans across the
country.
Threat: Insider threat; Description: The disgruntled organization
insider is a principal source of computer crimes. Insiders may not need
a great deal of knowledge about computer intrusions because their
knowledge of a victim system often allows them to gain unrestricted
access to cause damage to the system or to steal system data.
Threat: Virus writers; Description: Virus writers are posing an
increasingly serious threat. Several destructive computer viruses and
"worms" have harmed files and hard drives, including the Melissa Macro
Virus, the Explore.Zip worm, the CIH (Chernobyl) Virus, Nimda, and Code
Red.
Source: Federal Bureau of Investigation unless otherwise indicated.
[A] Prepared Statement of George J. Tenet, Director of Central
Intelligence, before the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, Feb.
2, 2000.
[End of table]
As the number of individuals with computer skills has increased, more
intrusion or "hacking" tools have become readily available and
relatively easy to use. A hacker can literally download tools from the
Internet and "point and click" to start an attack. Experts also agree
that there has been a steady advance in the sophistication and
effectiveness of attack technology. Intruders quickly develop attacks
to exploit vulnerabilities discovered in products, use these attacks to
compromise computers, and share them with other attackers. In addition,
they can combine these attacks with other forms of technology to
develop programs that automatically scan the network for vulnerable
systems, attack them, compromise them, and use them to spread the
attack even further.
Along with these increasing threats, the number of computer security
incidents reported to the CERTŪ Coordination Center (CERT/CC)[Footnote
7] rose from 9,859 in 1999, to 52,658 in 2001, to 82,094 in 2002, and
to 42,586 for the first quarter of 2003. And these are only the
reported attacks. The Director, CERTŪ Centers, stated that as much as
80 percent of actual security incidents goes unreported, in most cases
because the organization (1) was unable to recognize that its systems
had been penetrated because there were no indications of penetration or
attack or (2) was reluctant to report incidents. Figure 1 shows the
number of incidents reported to the CERT/CC from 1995 through the first
quarter of 2003.
Figure 1: Information Security Incidents Reported to Carnegie-Mellon's
CERT Coordination Center: 1995 through First Quarter 2003:
[See PDF for image]
[End of figure]
According to the National Security Agency, foreign governments already
have or are developing computer attack capabilities, and potential
adversaries are developing a body of knowledge about U.S. systems and
methods to attack these systems. Since the terrorist attacks of
September 11, 2001, warnings of the potential for terrorist cyber
attacks against our critical infrastructures have also increased. For
example, in February 2002, the threat to these infrastructures was
highlighted by the Special Advisor to the President for Cyberspace
Security in a Senate briefing when he stated that although to date none
of the traditional terrorists groups, such as al Qaeda, have used the
Internet to launch a known assault on the United States'
infrastructure, information on water systems was discovered on
computers found in al Qaeda camps in Afghanistan.[Footnote 8] Also, in
his February 2002 statement for the Senate Select Committee on
Intelligence, the director of central intelligence discussed the
possibility of cyber warfare attack by terrorists.[Footnote 9] He
stated that the September 11 attacks demonstrated the nation's
dependence on critical infrastructure systems that rely on electronic
and computer networks. Further, he noted that attacks of this nature
would become an increasingly viable option for terrorists as they and
other foreign adversaries become more familiar with these targets and
the technologies required to attack them.
Since September 11, 2001, the critical link between cyberspace and
physical space has also been increasingly recognized. In his November
2002 congressional testimony, the Director, CERT Centers at Carnegie-
Mellon University, noted that supervisory control and data acquisition
(SCADA) systems and other forms of networked computer systems have been
used for years to control power grids, gas and oil distribution
pipelines, water treatment and distribution systems, hydroelectric and
flood control dams, oil and chemical refineries, and other physical
systems, and that these control systems are increasingly being
connected to communications links and networks to reduce operational
costs by supporting remote maintenance, remote control, and remote
update
functions.[Footnote 10] These computer-controlled and network-
connected systems are potential targets for individuals bent on causing
massive disruption and physical damage, and the use of commercial, off-
the-shelf technologies for these systems without adequate security
enhancements can significantly limit available approaches to protection
and may increase the number of potential attackers.
Not only is the cyber protection of our critical infrastructures
important in and of itself, but a physical attack in conjunction with a
cyber attack has been highlighted as a major concern. In fact, the
National Infrastructure Protection Center (NIPC) has stated that the
potential for compound cyber and physical attacks, referred to as
"swarming attacks," is an emerging threat to the U.S. critical
infrastructure.[Footnote 11] As NIPC reports, the effects of a swarming
attack include slowing or complicating the response to a physical
attack. For example, cyber attacks can be used to delay the
notification of emergency services and to deny the resources needed to
manage the consequences of a physical attack. In addition, a swarming
attack could be used to worsen the effects of a physical attack. For
example, a cyber attack on a natural gas distribution pipeline that
opens safety valves and releases fuels or gas in the area of a planned
physical attack could enhance the force of the physical attack.
Information Sharing is Critical to Meeting DHS's Mission:
As our government and our nation has become ever more reliant on
interconnected computer systems to support critical operations and
infrastructures and as physical and cyber threats and potential attack
consequences have increased, the importance of sharing information and
coordinating the response to threats among stakeholders has increased.
Information sharing and coordination among organizations are central to
producing comprehensive and practical approaches and solutions to
combating threats. For example, having information on threats and on
actual incidents experienced by others can help an organization
identify trends, better understand the risk it faces, and determine
what preventive measures should be implemented. In addition,
comprehensive, timely information on incidents can help federal and
nonfederal analysis centers determine the nature of an attack, provide
warnings, and advise on how to mitigate an imminent attack. Also,
sharing information on terrorists and criminals can help to secure our
nation's borders.
The Homeland Security Act of 2002 created DHS with the primary
responsibility of preventing terrorist attacks in the United States,
reducing the vulnerability of the United States to terrorist attacks,
and minimizing damage and assisting in recovery from attacks that do
occur. To help DHS accomplish its mission, the act establishes, among
other entities, five under secretaries with responsibility over
directorates for management, science and technology, information
analysis and infrastructure protection, border and transportation
security, and emergency preparedness and response. Figure 2 shows DHS's
organization and positions filled, as currently reported by DHS.
Figure 2: Department of Homeland Security:
[See PDF for image]
[End of figure]
As part of DHS's responsibilities, the act includes several provisions
specifically related to coordinating and sharing information within the
department and among other federal agencies, state and local
governments, the private sector, and other entities. It also includes
provisions for protecting CIP information shared by the private sector
and for sharing different types of information, such as grand jury and
intelligence information. Other DHS responsibilities related to
information sharing include:
* requesting and receiving information from other federal agencies,
state and local government agencies, and the private sector relating to
threats of terrorism in the United States;
* distributing or, as appropriate, coordinating the distribution of
warnings and information with other federal agencies, state and local
governments and authorities, and the public;
* creating and fostering communications with the private sector;
* promoting existing public/private partnerships and developing new
public/private partnerships to provide for collaboration and mutual
support; and:
* coordinating and, as appropriate, consolidating the federal
government's communications and systems of communications relating to
homeland security with state and local governments and authorities, the
private sector, other entities, and the public.
Each DHS directorate is responsible for coordinating relevant efforts
with other federal, state, and local governments. The act also
established the Office for State and Local Government Coordination to,
among other things, provide state and local governments with regular
information, research, and technical support to assist them in securing
the nation. Further, the act included provisions as the "Homeland
Security Information Sharing Act" that requires the President to
prescribe and implement procedures for facilitating homeland security
information sharing and establishes authorities to share different
types of information, such as grand jury information; electronic, wire,
and oral interception information; and foreign intelligence
information.
The following sections illustrate how DHS will require successful
information sharing within the department and between federal agencies,
state and local governments, and the private sector to effectively
carry out its mission.
Information Analysis and Infrastructure Protection Directorate:
The Information Analysis and Infrastructure Protection Directorate
(IAIP) is responsible for accessing, receiving, and analyzing law
enforcement information, intelligence information, and other threat and
incident information from respective agencies of federal, state, and
local governments and the private sector, and for combining and
analyzing such information to identify and assess the nature and scope
of terrorist threats. IAIP is also tasked with coordinating with other
federal agencies to administer the Homeland Security Advisory System to
provide specific warning information along with advice on appropriate
protective measures and countermeasures.[Footnote 12] Further, IAIP is
responsible for disseminating, as appropriate, information analyzed by
DHS within the department, to other federal agencies, to state and
local government agencies, and to private sector entities.
The Homeland Security Act of 2002 makes DHS and its IAIP directorate
also responsible for key CIP functions for the federal government. CIP
involves activities that enhance the security of our nation's cyber and
physical public and private infrastructure that are critical to
national security, national economic security, and/or national public
health and safety. Information sharing is a key element of these
activities. Over 80 percent of our nation's critical infrastructures
are controlled by the private sector. As part of their CIP
responsibilities, IAIP is responsible for (1) developing a
comprehensive national plan for securing the key resources and critical
infrastructure of the United States and (2) recommending measures to
protect the key resources and critical infrastructure of the United
States in coordination with other federal agencies and in cooperation
with state and local government agencies and authorities, the private
sector, and other entities.
Federal CIP policy has continued to evolve since the mid-1990s through
a variety of working groups, special reports, executive orders,
strategies, and organizations. In particular, Presidential Decision
Directive 63 (PDD 63) issued in 1998 established CIP as a national goal
and described a strategy for cooperative efforts by government and the
private sector to protect the physical and cyber-based systems
essential to the minimum operations of the economy and the government.
To accomplish its goals, PDD 63 established and designated
organizations to provide central coordination and support. These
included the Critical Infrastructure Assurance Office (CIAO), an
interagency office established to develop a national plan for CIP, and
NIPC, which was expanded to address national-level threat assessment,
warning, vulnerability, and law enforcement investigation/response.
The Homeland Security Act of 2002 transferred these and certain other
CIP entities and their functions (other than the Computer
Investigations and Operations Section of NIPC) to DHS's IAIP
directorate.
Federal CIP policy beginning with PDD 63 and reinforced through other
strategy documents, including the National Strategy for Homeland
Security issued in July 2002, called for a range of activities intended
to establish a partnership between the public and private sectors to
ensure the security of our nation's critical infrastructures. To ensure
coverage of critical infrastructure sectors, this policy identified
infrastructure sectors that were essential to our national security,
national economic security, and/or national public health and safety.
For these sectors, which now total 14, federal government leads (sector
liaisons) and private-sector leads (sector coordinators) were to work
with each other to address problems related to CIP for their sector. In
particular, they were to (1) develop and implement vulnerability
awareness and education programs and (2) contribute to a sectoral plan
by:
* assessing the vulnerabilities of the sector to cyber or physical
attacks;
* recommending a plan to eliminate significant vulnerabilities;
* proposing a system for identifying and preventing major attacks; and:
* developing a plan for alerting, containing, and rebuffing an attack
in progress and then, in coordination with the Federal Emergency
Management Agency as appropriate, rapidly reconstituting minimum
essential capabilities in the aftermath of an attack.
CIP policy also called for sector liaisons to identify and assess
economic incentives to encourage the desired sector behavior in CIP.
Federal grant programs to assist state and local efforts, legislation
to create incentives for the private sector and, in some cases,
regulation are mentioned in CIP policy.
Federal CIP policy also encourages the voluntary creation of
information sharing and analysis centers (ISACs) to serve as mechanisms
for gathering, analyzing, and appropriately sanitizing and
disseminating information to and from infrastructure sectors and the
federal government through NIPC. ISACs are critical since private-
sector entities control over 80 percent of our nation's critical
infrastructures. Their activities could improve the security posture of
the individual sectors, as well as provide an improved level of
communication within and across sectors and all levels of government.
While PDD 63 encouraged the creation of ISACs, it left the actual
design and functions of the ISACs, along with their relationship with
NIPC, to be determined by the private sector in consultation with the
federal government. PDD 63 did provide suggested activities, which the
ISACs could undertake, including:
* establishing baseline statistics and patterns on the various
infrastructures;
* serving as a clearinghouse for information within and among the
various sectors;
* providing a library for historical data for use by the private sector
and government; and:
* reporting private-sector incidents to NIPC.
As we reported in our April 8, 2003,[Footnote 13] testimony, table 3
shows the sectors identified in federal CIP policy, the lead agencies
for these sectors, and whether or not an ISAC has been established for
the sector.
Table 3: Lead Agencies and ISAC Status by CIP Sector:
Sectors: Sectors identified by PDD 63:
Sectors: Information and telecommunications; Designated lead agency:
Homeland Security*; ISAC established: No.
Sectors: Information technology; Designated lead agency: [Empty]; ISAC
established: Yes.
Sectors: Telecommunications; Designated lead agency: [Empty]; ISAC
established: Yes.
Sectors: Research and education networks; Designated lead agency:
[Empty]; ISAC established: Yes.
Sectors: Banking and finance; Designated lead agency: Treasury; ISAC
established: Yes.
Sectors: Water; Designated lead agency: Environmental Protection
Agency; ISAC established: Yes.
Sectors: Transportation; Designated lead agency: Homeland Security*;
ISAC established: No.
Sectors: Aviation; Designated lead agency: [Empty]; ISAC established:
[Empty].
Sectors: Surface transportation; Designated lead agency: [Empty]; ISAC
established: Yes.
Sectors: Maritime; Designated lead agency: [Empty]; ISAC established:
prospective.
Sectors: Trucking; Designated lead agency: [Empty]; ISAC established:
4.
Sectors: Emergency services**; Designated lead agency: Homeland
Security*; ISAC established: No.
Sectors: Emergency law enforcement; Designated lead agency: [Empty];
ISAC established: Yes.
Sectors: Emergency fire services; Designated lead agency: [Empty]; ISAC
established: Yes.
Sectors: Government **; Designated lead agency: Homeland Security*;
ISAC established: No.
Sectors: Interstate; Designated lead agency: [Empty]; ISAC established:
Yes.
Sectors: Energy; Designated lead agency: Energy; ISAC established: No.
Sectors: Electric power; Designated lead agency: [Empty]; ISAC
established: Yes.
Sectors: Oil and gas; Designated lead agency: [Empty]; ISAC
established: Yes.
Sectors: Public health; Designated lead agency: Health and Human
Services; ISAC established: No.
Sectors: Sectors identified by The National Strategy for Homeland
Security.
Sectors: Food; Meat and poultry
All other food products; Designated lead agency: ; Agriculture
Health and Human Services; ISAC established: Yes.
Sectors: Agriculture; Designated lead agency: Agriculture; ISAC
established: No.
Sectors: Chemical industry and hazardous materials; Designated lead
agency: Environmental Protection Agency; ISAC established: No.
Sectors: Chemicals; Designated lead agency: [Empty]; ISAC established:
Yes.
Sectors: Defense industrial base; Designated lead agency: Defense; ISAC
established: No.
Sectors: Postal and shipping; Designated lead agency: Homeland
Security; ISAC established: No.
Sectors: National monuments and icons; Designated lead agency:
Interior; ISAC established: No.
Sectors: Other communities that have established ISACs; Designated lead
agency: [Empty]; ISAC established: No.
Sectors: Real estate; Designated lead agency: [Empty]; ISAC
established: Yes.
*The lead agencies previously designated by PDD 63 were (from top to
bottom) the Department of Commerce, Department of Transportation,
Department of Justice/Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the Federal
Emergency Management Agency.
**PDD 63 identified as critical sectors (1) emergency law enforcement
and (2) emergency fire services and continuity of government. In the
National Strategy for Homeland Security, emergency law enforcement and
emergency fire services are both included in an emergency services
sector. Also, continuity of government, along with continuity of
operations, is listed as a subcomponent under the government sector.
[End of table]
As called for by the National Strategy for Homeland Security, on
February 14, 2003, the President also released the National Strategy to
Secure Cyberspace and the complementary National Strategy for the
Physical Protection of Critical Infrastructures and Key Assets. These
two strategies identify priorities, actions, and responsibilities for
the federal government (including lead agencies and DHS) as well as for
state and local governments and the private sector. These two
strategies also emphasize the importance of developing mechanisms for
the public and private sectors to share information about
vulnerabilities, incidents, threats, and other security data. For
example, the National Strategy to Secure Cyberspace calls for the
development of a National Cyberspace Security Response System. To be
coordinated by DHS, this system is described as a public/private
architecture for analyzing and warning, managing incidents of national
significance, promoting continuity in government systems and private-
sector infrastructures, and increasing information sharing across and
between organizations to improve cyberspace security. The system is to
include governmental and nongovernmental entities, such as private-
sector ISACs. The strategies also encourage the continued establishment
of ISACs and efforts to enhance the analytical capabilities of existing
ISACs.
As we previously reported, according to a DHS official, the department
is continuing to carry out the CIP activities of the functions and
organizations transferred to it by the Homeland Security Act of
2002.[Footnote 14] And although NIPC has experienced the loss of
certain senior leadership prior to its transition to the new department
and has identified some staffing needs, this official stated that the
department is able to provide the functions previously performed by
NIPC. Further, he stated that the department is enhancing those
activities as it integrates them within the new department and is
developing a business plan. The official also stated that the
department is continuing previously established efforts to maintain and
build relationships with other federal entities, including the FBI and
other NIPC partners, and with the private sector.
To fulfill its mission, the IAIP directorate will need to ensure
effective information sharing with other federal entities. For example,
information sharing with the recently formed Terrorist Threat
Integration Center (TTIC) is a central function of the directorate.
TTIC was created to merge and analyze terrorist-related information
collected domestically and abroad to enhance coordination, facilitate
threat analysis, and enable more comprehensive threat assessments. DHS
plans to provide staff to work at TTIC, and the center is to provide
DHS with a comprehensive assessment of threat information that will
guide the department's response to any potential attacks. In addition,
IAIP will need to establish effective information sharing with the
numerous CIP entities not transferred to DHS. In July 2002, we issued a
report identifying at least 50 organizations that were involved in
national or multinational cyber CIP efforts, including 5 advisory
committees, 6 Executive Office of the President organizations, 38
executive branch organizations associated with departments, agencies,
or intelligence organizations, and 3 other organizations.[Footnote 15]
Only 5 of the CIP organizations transferred to DHS.
The Directorate of Border and Transportation Security:
According to the act, the Border and Transportation Security
Directorate (BTS) is responsible for, among other things, (1)
preventing the entry of terrorists and the instruments of terrorism
into the United States; (2) securing the borders, territorial waters,
ports, terminals, waterways, and air, land, and sea transportation
systems, including managing and coordinating those functions
transferred to the department; (3) carrying out immigration enforcement
functions; (4) establishing and administering rules for granting visas,
and (5) administering customs laws. A number of federal entities are
under its responsibility, such as the Transportation Security
Administration, U.S. Customs Service, the border security functions of
the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS), Animal and Plant
Health Inspection Service, and the Federal Law Enforcement Training
Center.
To successfully protect the borders and transportation systems of the
United States, BTS faces the challenge of sharing information across
the various organizations under its responsibility. According to the
National Strategy for Homeland Security, to successfully prevent the
entry of contraband, unauthorized aliens, and potential terrorists, DHS
will have to increase the level of information available on inbound
goods and passengers to the border management component agencies under
the BTS. For example, the strategy discusses the need to increase the
security of international shipping containers--noting that 50 percent
of the value of U.S. imports arrives via 16 million containers. To
increase security, U.S. inspectors will need shared information so that
they can identify high-risk containers. In addition, protecting our
borders from the entry of unauthorized aliens and potential terrorists
will require the sharing of information between various law enforcement
and immigration services. For example, we recently reported on the use
of watch lists as important tools to help secure our nation's
borders.[Footnote 16] These lists provide decision makers with
information about individuals who are known or suspected terrorists and
criminals so that these individuals can either be prevented from
entering the country, apprehended while in the country, or apprehended
as they attempt to exit the country.
The Emergency Preparedness and Response Directorate:
According to the act, the Emergency Preparedness and Response
Directorate (EPR) ensures that the nation is prepared for, and able to
recover from, terrorist attacks, major disasters, and other
emergencies. In addition, EPR is responsible for building a
comprehensive national incident management system with federal, state,
and local governments and authorities to respond to such attacks and
disasters. This project will require developing an extensive program of
information sharing among federal, state and local governments.
Further, EPR is to develop comprehensive programs for developing
interoperable communications technology and helping to ensure that
emergency response providers acquire such technology. Among the
functions transferred to EPR are the Federal Emergency Management
Agency, the Integrated Hazard Information System of the National
Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and the Metropolitan Medical
Response System.
Information sharing is important to emergency responders to prepare for
and respond to terrorist attacks and other emergencies. For example, if
a biological attack were to occur, it would be important for health
officials to quickly and effectively exchange information with relevant
experts directly responding to the event in order to respond
appropriately. To support this type of exchange, the Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) created the Epidemic Information
Exchange (Epi-X), a secure, Web-based communications network that
serves as an information exchange between CDC, state and local health
departments, poison control centers, and other public health
professionals. According to CDC, Epi-X's primary goals include
informing health officials about important public health events,
helping them respond to public health emergencies, and encouraging
professional growth and the exchange of information. CDC has also
created an emergency operations center to respond to public health
emergencies and to allow for immediate secure communication between
CDC, the Department of Health and Human Services, federal intelligence
and emergency response officials, DHS, and state and local public
health officials.
Information Sharing Challenges:
GAO has made numerous recommendations over the last several years
related to information sharing functions that have been transferred to
DHS. One significant area of GAO work concerns the federal government's
CIP efforts, which is focused on the sharing of information on
incidents, threats, and vulnerabilities, and the providing of warnings
related to critical infrastructures both within the federal government
and between the federal government and state and local governments, and
the private sector. Although improvements have been made in protecting
our nation's critical infrastructures and continuing efforts are in
progress, further efforts are needed to address the following critical
CIP challenges that GAO has identified:
* developing a comprehensive and coordinated national plan to
facilitate CIP information sharing, which clearly delineates the roles
and responsibilities of federal and nonfederal CIP entities, defines
interim objectives and milestones, sets timeframes for achieving
objectives, and establishes performance measures;
* developing fully productive information sharing relationships within
the federal government and between the federal government and state and
local governments and the private sector;
* improving the federal government's capabilities to analyze incident,
threat, and vulnerability information obtained from numerous sources
and share appropriate timely, useful warnings and other information
concerning both cyber and physical threats to federal entities, state
and local governments, and the private sector; and:
* providing appropriate incentives for nonfederal entities to increase
information sharing with the federal government.
In addition, GAO recently identified challenges in consolidating and
standardizing watch list structures and policies, which are essential
to effectively sharing information on suspected criminals and
terrorists.
A Complete and Coordinated National CIP Plan Needs to Be Developed:
An underlying issue in the implementation of CIP is that no national
plan to facilitate information sharing yet exists that clearly
delineates the roles and responsibilities of federal and nonfederal CIP
entities, defines interim objectives and milestones, sets timeframes
for achieving objectives, and establishes performance measures. Such a
clearly defined plan is essential for defining the relationships among
all CIP organizations to ensure that the approach is comprehensive and
well coordinated. Since 1998, we have reported on the need for such a
plan and made numerous related recommendations.
In September 1998, we reported that developing a governmentwide
strategy that clearly defined and coordinated the roles of federal
entities was important to ensure governmentwide cooperation and support
for PDD 63.[Footnote 17] At that time, we recommended that the Office
of Management and Budget (OMB) and the Assistant to the President for
National Security Affairs ensure such coordination.
In January 2000, the President issued Defending America's Cyberspace:
National Plan for Information Systems Protection: Version 1.0: An
Invitation to a Dialogue as a first major element of a more
comprehensive effort to protect the nation's information systems and
critical assets from future attacks. The plan proposed achieving the
twin goals of making the U.S. government a model of information
security and developing a public/private partnership to defend our
national infrastructures. However, this plan focused largely on federal
cyber CIP efforts, saying little about the private-sector role.
In September 2001, we reported that agency questions had surfaced
regarding specific roles and responsibilities of entities involved in
cyber CIP and the timeframes within which CIP objectives were to be
met, as well as guidelines for measuring progress.[Footnote 18]
Accordingly, we made several recommendations to supplement those we had
made in the past. Specifically, we recommended that the Assistant to
the President for National Security Affairs ensure that the federal
government's strategy to address computer-based threats define:
* specific roles and responsibilities of organizations involved in CIP
and related information security activities;
* interim objectives and milestones for achieving CIP goals and a
specific action plan for achieving these objectives, including
implementing vulnerability assessments and related remedial plans; and:
* performance measures for which entities can be held accountable.
In July 2002 we issued a report identifying at least 50 organizations
that were involved in national or multinational cyber CIP efforts,
including 5 advisory committees, 6 Executive Office of the President
organizations, 38 executive branch organizations associated with
departments, agencies, or intelligence organizations, and 3 other
organizations.[Footnote 19] Although our review did not cover
organizations with national physical CIP responsibilities, the large
number of organizations that we did identify as involved in CIP efforts
presents a need to clarify how these entities coordinate their
activities with each other. Our report also stated that PDD 63 did not
specifically address other possible critical sectors and their
respective federal agency counterparts. Accordingly, we recommended
that the federal government's strategy also:
* include all relevant sectors and define the key federal agencies'
roles and responsibilities associated with each of these sectors, and:
* define the relationships among the key CIP organizations.
In July 2002, the National Strategy for Homeland Security called for
interim cyber and physical infrastructure protection plans that DHS
would use to build a comprehensive national infrastructure plan.
Implementing a well-developed plan is critical in effective
coordination in times of crises. According to the strategy, the
national plan is to provide a methodology for identifying and
prioritizing critical assets, systems, and functions, and for sharing
protection responsibility with state and local governments and the
private sector. The plan is also to establish standards and benchmarks
for infrastructure protection and provide a means to measure
performance. The plan is expected to inform DHS on budgeting and
planning for critical infrastructure protection activities and how to
use policy instruments to coordinate between government and private
entities to improve the security of our national infrastructures to
appropriate levels. The strategy also states that the DHS is to unify
the currently divided responsibilities for cyber and physical security.
According to the department's November 2002 reorganization plan, the
Assistant Secretary for Infrastructure Protection is responsible for
developing a comprehensive national infrastructure plan.
As discussed previously, in February 2003, the President issued the
interim strategies--The National Strategy to Secure Cyberspace and The
National Strategy for the Physical Protection of Critical
Infrastructures and Key Assets (hereafter referred to in this testimony
as the cyberspace security strategy and the physical protection
strategy). These strategies identify priorities, actions, and
responsibilities for the federal government, including federal lead
departments and agencies and the DHS, as well as for state and local
governments and the private sector. Both define strategic objectives
for protecting our nation's critical assets. The physical protection
strategy discusses the goals and objectives for protecting our nation's
critical infrastructure and key assets from physical attack. The
cyberspace security strategy provides a framework for organizing and
prioritizing the individual and concerted responsibilities of all
levels of government to secure cyberspace.
According to the physical protection strategy, across government, there
are inconsistent methodologies to prioritize efforts to enhance
critical infrastructure protection. This problem is compounded with
ineffective communication among the federal, state, and local
governments that has resulted in untimely, disparate, and at times
conflicting communication between those who need it most. DHS has been
given a primary role in providing cross-sector coordination to improve
communication and planning efforts and serves as the single point of
coordination for state and local governments on homeland security
issues. To fulfill its role as the cross-sector coordinator, DHS will
partner with state and local governments and the private sector to
institute processes that are transparent, comprehensive, and results-
oriented. This effort will include creating mechanisms for
collaborative national planning efforts between the private and public
sectors and for consolidating the individual sector plans into a
comprehensive plan that will define their respective roles,
responsibilities, and expectations.
The cyberspace security strategy is the counterpart to the physical
protection strategy and provides the framework for organizing and
prioritizing the individual and concerted responsibilities of all
levels of government to secure cyberspace. DHS serves as the focal
point for managing cybersecurity incidents that could impact the
federal government or the national information infrastructure, and
thus, plays a central role in executing the initiatives assigned in
this strategy. While the cyberspace security strategy mentions the
responsibility of DHS in creating a comprehensive national plan for
securing resources and key infrastructures, much of the strategy's
emphasis remains on coordinating and integrating various plans with the
private sector.
Neither strategy (1) clearly indicates how the physical and cyber
efforts will be coordinated; (2) defines the roles, responsibilities,
and relationships among the key CIP organizations, including state and
local governments and the private sector; (3) indicates time frames or
milestones for their overall implementation or for accomplishing
specific actions or initiatives; nor (4) establishes performance
measures for which entities can be held responsible. Until a
comprehensive and coordinated plan is completed that unifies the
responsibilities for cyber and physical infrastructures; identifies
roles, responsibilities, and relationships for all CIP efforts;
establishes time frames or milestones for implementation; and
establishes performance measures, our nation risks not having a
consistent and appropriate information sharing framework to deal with
growing threats to its critical infrastructure.
Better Information Sharing on Threats and Vulnerabilities Must Be
Implemented:
Information sharing is a key element in developing comprehensive and
practical approaches to defending against potential cyber and other
attacks, which could threaten the national welfare. Information on
threats, vulnerabilities, and incidents experienced by others can help
identify trends, better understand the risks faced, and determine what
preventive measures should be implemented. However, as we have reported
in recent years, establishing the trusted relationships and
information-sharing protocols necessary to support such coordination
can be difficult. In addition, the private sector has expressed
concerns about sharing information with the government and the
difficulty of obtaining security clearances. Both Congress and the
administration have taken steps to address information sharing issues
in law and recent policy guidance, but their effectiveness will largely
depend on how DHS implements its information sharing responsibilities.
A number of activities have been undertaken to build information-
sharing relationships between the federal government and the private
sector, such as InfraGard, the Partnership for Critical Infrastructure
Security, efforts by the CIAO, and efforts by lead agencies to
establish ISACs. For example, the InfraGard Program, which provides the
FBI and NIPC with a means of securely sharing information with
individual companies, has expanded substantially. By early January
2001, 518 entities were InfraGard members--up from 277 members in
October 2000. Members include representatives from private industry,
other government agencies, state and local law enforcement, and the
academic community. As of February 2003, InfraGard members totaled over
6,700.
As stated above, PDD 63 encouraged the voluntary creation of ISACs to
serve as the mechanism for gathering, analyzing, and appropriately
sanitizing and disseminating information between the private sector and
the federal government through NIPC. In April 2001, we reported that
NIPC and other government entities had not developed fully productive
information-sharing relationships but that NIPC had undertaken a range
of initiatives to foster information sharing relationships with ISACs,
as well as with government and international entities. We recommended
that NIPC formalize relationships with ISACs and develop a plan to
foster a two-way exchange of information between them.
In response to our recommendations, NIPC officials told us in July 2002
that an ISAC development and support unit had been created, whose
mission was to enhance private-sector cooperation and trust so that it
would result in a two-way sharing of information. As shown previously
in table 3, as of April 8, 2003, DHS reported that there are 16 current
ISACs, including ISACs established for sectors not identified as
critical infrastructure sectors. DHS officials also stated that they
have formal agreements with most of the current ISACs.
In spite of progress made in establishing ISACs, additional efforts are
needed. All sectors do not have a fully established ISAC, and even for
those sectors that do, our recent work showed that participation may be
mixed and the amount of information being shared between the federal
government and private-sector organizations also varies. Specifically,
the five ISACs we recently reviewed[Footnote 20] showed different
levels of progress in implementing the PDD 63 suggested activities. For
example, four of the five reported that efforts were still in progress
to establish baseline statistics, which includes developing a database
on the normal levels of computer security incidents that would be used
for analysis purposes. Also, while all five reported that they serve as
the clearinghouse of information (such as incident reports and warnings
received from members) for their own sectors, only three of the five
reported that they are also coordinating with other sectors. Only one
of the five ISACs reported that it provides a library of incidents and
historical data that is available to both the private sector and the
federal government, and although three additional ISACs do maintain a
library, it is available only to the private sector. Table 4 summarizes
the reported status of the five ISACs in performing these and other
activities suggested by PDD 63.
Table 4: ISACs' Progress in Performing Activities Suggested by PDD 63:
Activity: Establish baseline statistics; ISAC: Telecommunications: In
progress; ISAC: Electricity: In progress; ISAC: Information Technology:
Yes; ISAC: Energy: In progress; ISAC: Water: In progress.
Activity: Serve as clearinghouse within and among sectors; ISAC:
Telecommunications: Yes; ISAC: Electricity: Yes; ISAC: Information
Technology: Yes; ISAC: Energy: Only within own sector; ISAC: Water:
Only within own sector.
Activity: Provide library to private sector and government; ISAC:
Telecommunications: In progress; ISAC: Electricity: Yes; ISAC:
Information Technology: Available only to private sector; ISAC: Energy:
Available only to private sector; ISAC: Water: Available only to
private sector.
Activity: Report incidents to NIPC; ISAC: Telecommunications: Yes;
ISAC: Electricity: Yes; ISAC: Information Technology: Yes; ISAC:
Energy: No; ISAC: Water: Yes.
Source: ISACs.
[End of table]
Some in the private sector have expressed concerns about voluntarily
sharing information with the government. Specifically, concerns have
been raised that industry could potentially face antitrust violations
for sharing information with other industry partners, have their
information subject to the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), or face
potential liability concerns for information shared in good faith. For
example, neither the IT nor the energy or the water ISACs share their
libraries with the federal government because of concerns that
information could be released under FOIA. And, officials of the energy
ISAC stated that they have not reported incidents to NIPC because of
FOIA and antitrust concerns.
There will be continuing debate as to whether adequate protection is
being provided to the private sector as these entities are encouraged
to disclose and exchange information on both physical and cyber
security problems and solutions that are essential to protecting our
nation's critical infrastructures. The National Strategy for Homeland
Security includes "enabling critical infrastructure information
sharing" in its 12 major legislative initiatives. It states that the
nation must meet this need by narrowly limiting public disclosure of
information relevant to protecting our physical and cyber critical
infrastructures in order to facilitate the voluntary submission of
information. It further states that the Attorney General will convene a
panel to propose any legal changes necessary to enable sharing of
essential homeland security related information between the federal
government and the private sector.
Actions have already been taken by the Congress and the administration
to strengthen information sharing. For example, the USA PATRIOT Act
promotes information sharing among federal agencies, and numerous
terrorism task forces have been established to coordinate
investigations and improve communications among federal and local law
enforcement.[Footnote 21] Moreover, the Homeland Security Act of 2002
includes provisions that restrict federal, state, and local government
use and disclosure of critical infrastructure information that has been
voluntarily submitted to DHS. These restrictions include exemption from
disclosure under FOIA, a general limitation on use to CIP purposes, and
limitations on use in civil actions and by state or local governments.
The act also provides penalties for any federal employee who improperly
discloses any protected critical infrastructure information. Last month
DHS issued for comment its proposed rules for how critical
infrastructure information volunteered by the public will be protected.
At this time, it is too early to tell what impact the act will have on
the willingness of the private sector to share critical infrastructure
information.
Information sharing within the government also remains a challenge. In
April 2001, we reported that NIPC and other government entities had not
developed fully productive information sharing and cooperative
relationships.[Footnote 22] For example, federal agencies had not
routinely reported incident information to NIPC, at least in part
because guidance provided by the federal Chief Information Officers
Council, which is chaired by OMB, directs agencies to report such
information to the Federal Computer Incident Response Center
(FedCIRC).[Footnote 23] Further, NIPC and Department of Defense
officials agreed that their information-sharing procedures needed
improvement, noting that protocols for reciprocal exchanges of
information had not been established. In addition, the expertise of the
U.S. Secret Service regarding computer crime had not been integrated
into NIPC efforts. The NIPC director stated in July 2002 that the
relationship between NIPC and other government entities had
significantly improved since our review, and that quarterly meetings
with senior government leaders were instrumental in improving
information sharing. Also, in testimony in 2002, officials from the
FedCIRC and the U.S. Secret Service
discussed the collaborative and cooperative relationships that were
subsequently formed between their agencies and NIPC.
Also, the private sector has expressed its concerns about the value of
information being provided by the government. For example, in July 2002
the President for the Partnership for Critical Infrastructure Security
stated in congressional testimony that information sharing between the
government and private sector needs work, specifically, in the quality
and timeliness of cyber security information coming from the
government.[Footnote 24] In March 2003 we also reported that the
officials from the chemical industry noted that they need better threat
information from law enforcement agencies, as well as better
coordination among agencies providing threat information.[Footnote 25]
They stated that chemical companies do not receive enough specific
threat information and that it frequently comes from multiple
government agencies. Similarly, in developing a vulnerability
assessment methodology to assess the security of chemical facilities
against terrorist and criminal attacks, the Department of Justice
observed that chemical facilities need more specific information about
potential threats in order to design their security systems and
protocols. Chemical industry officials also noted that efforts to share
threat information among industry and federal agencies will be
effective only if government agencies provide specific and accurate
threat information. Threat information also forms the foundation for
some of the tools available to industry for assessing facility
vulnerabilities. The Justice vulnerability assessment methodology
requires threat information as the foundation for hypothesizing about
threat scenarios, which form the basis for determining site
vulnerabilities.
The Homeland Security Act, the President's National Strategy for
Homeland Security, the National Strategy to Secure Cyberspace, and the
National Strategy for the Physical Protection of Critical
Infrastructures and Key Assets all acknowledge the importance of
information sharing and identify multiple responsibilities for DHS to
share information on threats and vulnerabilities. In particular:
* The Homeland Security Act authorizes the IAIP Under Secretary to have
access to all information in the federal government that concerns
infrastructure or other vulnerabilities of the United States to
terrorism and to use this information to fulfill their responsibilities
to provide appropriate analysis and warnings related to threats to and
vulnerabilities of critical information systems, crisis management
support in response to threats or attacks on critical information
systems, and technical assistance upon request to private sector and
government entities to respond to major failures of critical
information systems.
* The National Strategy for Homeland Security specifies the need for
DHS to work with state and local governments to achieve "seamless
communication" among all responders. This responsibility includes
developing a national emergency communication plan to establish
policies and procedures to improve the exchange of information.
Ensuring improved communications also involves developing systems that
help prevent attacks and minimize damage. Such systems, which would be
accessed and used by all levels of government, would detect hostile
intents and help locate individual terrorists as well as monitor and
detect outbreaks.
* The cyberspace security strategy encourages DHS to work with the
National Infrastructure Advisory Council and the private sector to
develop an optimal approach and mechanism to disclose vulnerabilities
in order to expedite the development of solutions without creating
opportunities for exploitation by hackers. DHS is also expected to
raise awareness about removing obstacles to sharing information
concerning cybersecurity and infrastructure vulnerabilities between
the public and private sectors and is encouraged to work closely with
ISACs to ensure that they receive timely and actionable threat and
vulnerability data and to coordinate voluntary contingency planning
efforts.
* The physical protection strategy describes DHS' need to collaborate
with the intelligence community and the Department of Justice to
develop comprehensive threat collection, assessment, and dissemination
processes that are distributed to the appropriate entity in a timely
manner. It also enumerates several initiatives directed to DHS to
accomplish to create a more effective information-sharing environment
among the key stakeholders, including establishing requirements for
sharing information; supporting state and local participation with
ISACs to more effectively communicate threat and vulnerability
information; protecting secure and proprietary information deemed
sensitive by the private sector; implementing processes for collecting,
analyzing, and disseminating threat data to integrate information from
all sources; and developing interoperable systems to share sensitive
information among government entities to facilitate meaningful
information exchange.
* The National Strategy for Homeland Security also describes DHS's need
to engage its partners around the world in cooperative efforts to
improve security. It states that DHS will increase information sharing
between the international law enforcement, intelligence, and military
communities.
Analysis and Warning Capabilities Need to Be Improved:
Analysis and warning capabilities should be developed to detect
precursors to attacks on the nation so that advanced warnings can be
issued and protective measures implemented. Since the 1990s, the
national security community and the Congress have identified the need
to establish analysis and warning capabilities to protect against
strategic computer attacks against the nation's critical computer-
dependent infrastructures. Such capabilities need to address both cyber
and physical threats and involve (1) gathering and analyzing
information for the purpose of detecting and reporting otherwise
potentially damaging actions or intentions and (2) implementing a
process for warning policymakers and allowing them time to determine
the magnitude of the related risks.
In April 2001,[Footnote 26] we reported on NIPC's progress and
impediments in developing analysis and warning capabilities for
computer-based attacks, which included the following:[Footnote 27]
Lack of a generally accepted methodology for analyzing strategic cyber-
based threats. For example, there was no standard terminology, no
standard set of factors to consider, and no established thresholds for
determining the sophistication of attack techniques. According to
officials in the intelligence and national security community,
developing such a methodology would require an intense interagency
effort and dedication of resources.
Prolonged leadership vacancies and inadequate staff expertise, in part
because other federal agencies had not provided the originally
anticipated number of detailees. For example, at the close of our
review in February 2001, the position of Chief of the Analysis and
Warning Section, which was to be filled by the Central Intelligence
Agency, had been vacant for about half of NIPC's 3-year existence. In
addition, NIPC had been operating with only 13 of the 24 analysts that
NIPC officials estimated were needed to develop analytical
capabilities.
Lack of industry-specific data on factors such as critical system
components, known vulnerabilities, and interdependencies. Under PDD 63,
such information is to be developed for each of eight industry segments
by industry representatives and the designated federal lead agencies.
However, at the close of our work, only three industry assessments had
been partially completed, and none had been provided to NIPC. In
September 2001, we reported that although outreach efforts had raised
awareness and improved information sharing, substantive, comprehensive
analysis of infrastructure sector interdependencies and
vulnerabilities had been limited.
Another challenge confronting the analysis and warning capabilities of
our nation is that, historically, our national CIP attention and
efforts have been focused on cyber threats. As we also reported in
April 2001, although PDD 63 covers both physical and cyber threats,
federal efforts to meet the directive's requirements have pertained
primarily to cyber threats, since this is an area that the leaders of
the administration's CIP strategy view as needing attention. However,
the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, have increased the
emphasis of physical threats. In addition, in July 2002, NIPC reported
that the potential for concurrent cyber and physical ("swarming")
attacks is an emerging threat to the U.S. critical infrastructure.
Further, in July 2002, the director of NIPC also told us that NIPC had
begun to develop some capabilities for identifying physical CIP
threats. For example, NIPC had developed thresholds with several ISACs
for reporting physical incidents and, since January 2002, has issued
several information bulletins concerning physical CIP threats. However,
NIPC's director acknowledged that fully developing this capability
would be a significant challenge. The physical protection strategy
states that DHS will maintain a comprehensive, up-to-date assessment of
vulnerabilities across sectors and improve processes for domestic
threat data collection, analysis, and dissemination to state and local
governments and private industry.
The administration and Congress continue to emphasize the need for
these analysis and warning capabilities. The National Strategy for
Homeland Security identified intelligence and warning as one of six
critical mission areas and called for major initiatives to improve our
nation's analysis and warning capabilities. The strategy also stated
that no government entity was then responsible for analyzing terrorist
threats to the homeland, mapping these threats to our vulnerabilities,
and taking protective action. The Homeland Security Act gives such
responsibility to the new DHS. For example, the IAIP Under Secretary is
responsible for administering the Homeland Security Advisory System,
and is to coordinate with other federal agencies to provide specific
warning information and advice to state and local agencies, the private
sector, the public, and other entities about appropriate protective
measures and countermeasures to homeland security threats.
An important aspect of improving our nation's analysis and warning
capabilities is having comprehensive vulnerability assessments. The
President's National Strategy for Homeland Security also states that
comprehensive vulnerability assessments of all of our nation's critical
infrastructures are important from a planning perspective in that they
enable authorities to evaluate the potential effects of an attack on a
given sector and then invest accordingly to protect it. The strategy
states that the U.S. government does not perform vulnerability
assessments of the nation's entire critical infrastructure. The
Homeland Security Act of 2002 states that the DHS's IAIP Under
Secretary is to carry out comprehensive assessments of the
vulnerabilities of key resources and critical infrastructures of the
United States.
Another critical issue in developing effective analysis and warning
capabilities is to ensure that appropriate intelligence and other
threat information, both cyber and physical, is received from the
intelligence and law enforcement communities. For example, there has
been considerable public debate regarding the quality and timeliness of
intelligence data shared between and among relevant intelligence, law
enforcement, and other agencies. Also, as the transfer of NIPC to DHS
organizationally separated it from the FBI's law enforcement activities
(including the Counterterrorism Division and NIPC field agents), it
will be critical to establish mechanisms for continued communication to
occur. Further, it will be important that the relationships between the
law enforcement and intelligence communities and the new DHS are
effective and that appropriate information is exchanged on a timely
basis. The act gives DHS broad statutory authority to access
intelligence information, as well as other information relevant to the
terrorist threat and to turn this information into useful warnings. For
example, DHS is to be a key
participant in the multi-agency TTIC[Footnote 28] that reportedly began
operations on May 1, 2003. According to a White House fact sheet, DHS's
IAIP is to receive and analyze terrorism-related information from the
TTIC.[Footnote 29] Although the purpose of TTIC and the authorities and
responsibilities of the FBI and Central Intelligence Agency (CIA)
counterterrorism organizations remain distinct, it has been reported
that many details of the new center have not yet been finalized,
including the types of reports that will be provided to other agencies.
In addition, according to NIPC's director, as of July 2002, a
significant challenge in developing a robust analysis and warning
function is the development of the technology and human capital
capacities to collect and analyze substantial amounts of information.
Similarly, the Director of the FBI testified in June 2002 that
implementing a more proactive approach to preventing terrorist acts and
denying terrorist groups the ability to operate and raise funds require
a centralized and robust analytical capacity that did not exist in the
FBI's Counterterrorism Division.[Footnote 30] He also stated that
processing and exploiting information gathered domestically and abroad
during the course of investigations requires an enhanced analytical and
data mining capacity that was not then available. According to DHS's
reorganization plans, the IAIP Under Secretary and the CIO of the
department are to fulfill their responsibilities as laid out by the act
to establish and utilize a secure communications and IT infrastructure.
This infrastructure is to include data-mining and other analytical
tools in order to access, receive, analyze, and disseminate data and
information.
Additional Incentives Are Needed to Encourage Increased Information
Sharing Efforts:
PDD 63 stated that sector liaisons should identify and assess economic
incentives to encourage sector information sharing and other desired
behavior. Consistent with the original intent of PDD 63, the National
Strategy for Homeland Security states that, in many cases, sufficient
incentives exist in the private market for addressing the problems of
CIP. However, the strategy also discusses the need to use all available
policy tools to protect the health, safety, or well-being of the
American people. It mentions federal grant programs to assist state and
local efforts, legislation to create incentives for the private sector,
and, in some cases, regulation. The physical protection strategy
reiterates that additional regulatory directives and mandates should
only be necessary in instances where the market forces are insufficient
to prompt the necessary investments to protect critical infrastructures
and key assets. The cyberspace security strategy also states that the
market is to provide the major impetus to improve cyber security and
that regulation will not become a primary means of securing cyberspace.
Last year, the Comptroller General testified on the need for strong
partnerships with those outside the federal government and that the new
department would need to design and manage tools of public policy to
engage and work constructively with third parties.[Footnote 31] We have
also previously testified on the choice and design of public policy
tools that are available to governments.[Footnote 32] These public
policy tools include grants, regulations, tax incentives, and regional
coordination and partnerships to motivate and mandate other levels of
government or the private sector to address security concerns. Some of
these tools are already being used, such as in the water and chemical
sectors.
Without appropriate consideration of public policy tools, private
sector participation in sector-related information sharing and other
CIP efforts may not reach its full potential. For example, we reported
in January 2003[Footnote 33] on the efforts of the financial services
sector to address cyber threats, including industry efforts to share
information and to better foster and facilitate sectorwide efforts. We
also reported on the efforts of federal entities and regulators to
partner with the financial services industry to protect critical
infrastructures and to address information security. We found that
although federal entities had a number of efforts ongoing, Treasury, in
its role as sector liaison, had not undertaken a comprehensive
assessment of the potential public policy tools to encourage the
financial services sector in implementing information sharing and other
CIP-related efforts. Because of the importance of considering public
policy tools to encourage private sector participation, we recommended
that Treasury assess the need for public policy tools to assist the
industry in meeting the sector's goals. In addition, in February 2003,
we reported on the mixed progress five ISACs had made in accomplishing
the activities suggested by PDD 63. We recommended that the responsible
lead agencies assess the need for public policy tools to encourage
increased private-sector CIP activities and greater sharing of
intelligence and incident information between the sectors and the
federal government.
The President's fiscal year 2004 budget request for the new DHS
includes $829 million for information analysis and infrastructure
protection, a significant increase from the estimated $177 million for
fiscal year 2003. In particular, the requested funding for protection
includes about $500 million to identify key critical infrastructure
vulnerabilities and support the necessary steps to ensure that security
is improved at these sites. Although it also includes almost $300
million for warning advisories, threat assessments, a communications
system, and outreach efforts to state and local governments and the
private sector, additional incentives may still be needed to encourage
nonfederal entities to increase their CIP efforts.
Consolidating and Standardizing Watch List Structures and Policies:
We recently reported on the terrorist and criminal watch list systems
maintained by different federal agencies.[Footnote 34] These watch
lists are important information-sharing tools for securing our nation's
borders against terrorists. Simply stated, watch lists can be viewed as
automated databases that are supported by certain analytical
capabilities. These lists contain various types of data, from
biographical data-such as a person's name and
date of birth-to biometric data such as fingerprints. Nine federal
agencies,[Footnote 35] which before the establishment of DHS spanned
five different cabinet-level departments,[Footnote 36] currently
maintain 12 terrorist and criminal watch lists. These lists are also
used by at least 50 federal, state, and local agencies.
We found that the watch lists include overlapping but not identical
sets of data, and that different policies and procedures govern whether
and how these data are shared with others. As a general rule, we found
that this information sharing is more likely to occur among federal
agencies than between federal agencies and either state and local
governments agencies or private entities. According to the National
Strategy for Homeland Security, in the aftermath of the September 11th
attacks, it became clear that vital watch list information stored in
numerous and disparate databases was not available to the right people
at the right time. In particular, federal agencies that maintained
information about terrorists and other criminals had not consistently
shared it. The strategy attributed these information-sharing
limitations to legal, cultural, and technical barriers that resulted in
the watch lists being developed in different ways, for different
purposes, and in isolation from one another. To address these
limitations, the strategy provides for developing a consolidated watch
list that would bring together the information on known or suspected
terrorists contained in federal agencies' respective lists.
Further, we found that the extent to which such information sharing is
accomplished electronically is constrained by fundamental differences
in the watch lists' systems architecture. Agencies have developed their
respective watch lists and managed their use in isolation from each
other, in recognition of each agency's unique legal, cultural, and
technological environments. The result is inconsistent and limited
information sharing. We found that federal agencies that shared their
watch list data with each other had developed and implemented their own
interfaces with other federal agencies' watch lists. The consequence is
the kind of overly complex, unnecessarily inefficient and potentially
ineffective network that is associated with unstructured and
nonstandard database environments. In particular, this environment
consists of nine agencies-with 12 watch lists-that collectively
maintain at least 17 interfaces. A simplified representation of the
number of watch list interfaces and the complexity of the watch list
environment is provided in figure 3.
Figure 3: Simplified Overview of the Border Security Process,
Departments and Agencies Involved, Watch Lists Used, and Sharing Among
Watch Lists:
[See PDF for image]
[End of figure]
As we recently reported, differences in agencies' cultures have been
and remain one of the principal impediments to integrating and sharing
information from watch lists and other information.
Finally, we found that not all of the nine agencies have policies and
procedures governing the sharing of watch lists. In addition, each
agency had different policies and procedures on memorandums of
understanding, ranging from one agency's not specifying any
requirements to others' specifying in detail that such agreements
should include how, when, and where information would be shared with
other parties. We recommended that the Secretary of DHS, in
collaboration with the heads of other departments and agencies that
have or use watch lists, lead an effort to consolidate and standardize
the federal government's watch list structures and policies to promote
better integration and information sharing. DHS generally agreed with
our findings and recommendations.
Effective Systems and Processes Need to Be Established to Facilitate
Information Sharing:
The success of homeland security relies on establishing effective
systems and processes to facilitate information sharing among
government entities and the private sector. In February 2003, the Chief
Information Officer (CIO) of DHS stated that a key goal to protecting
our nation is to put in place mechanisms that provide the right
information to the right people all the time. He further stated that IT
would provide homeland security officials throughout the United States
with complete awareness of threats and vulnerabilities as well as
knowledge of the personnel and resources available to conquer those
threats. We have identified potential barriers and critical success
factors to information sharing that DHS should consider. Also, in
addition to the need to develop technological solutions, key management
issues that DHS must overcome to achieve success include:
* integrating existing IT resources of 22 different agencies,
* making new IT investments,
* ensuring that sensitive information is secured,
* developing secure communications networks,
* developing a performance focus,
* integrating staff from different organizations and ensuring that the
department has properly skilled staff, and:
* ensuring effective oversight.
Addressing these issues will be critical to establishing the effective
systems and processes required to facilitate information sharing within
the new department.
Potential Barriers to Information Sharing:
GAO has previous reported numerous potential barriers to information
sharing. that DHS faces, examples of which are summarized in table
5.[Footnote 37] It will be important for the department to understand
these barriers, consider any related provisions of the Homeland
Security Act of 2002, and develop appropriate strategies to address
them.
Table 5: Potential Barriers to Information Sharing:
Where information sharing can potentially break down: Government
efforts to sponsor research and development efforts to develop new
homeland security technologies; Why: * Intellectual property concerns
may affect the willingness to contract with the government, including
poor definitions of what technical data are needed by the government
and unwillingness on the part of government officials to exercise the
flexibilities available to them concerning intellectual property
rights; * Concerns that inadvertent release of confidential business
material, such as attempted or successful attacks, gaps in security, or
trade secrets or proprietary information, could damage reputations,
lower consumer confidence, hurt competitiveness, and decrease market
shares of firms.
Where information sharing can potentially break down: Government
efforts to facilitate data sharing on critical infrastructures; Why: *
Concerns about potential antitrust violations may keep companies from
sharing information with other industry partners; * Concerns that
sharing information with the government could subject data to Freedom
of Information Act disclosures or expose companies to potential
liability may also prevent companies from sharing data with government
agencies; * Reluctance to disclose corporate information.
Where information sharing can potentially break down: Private sector
efforts to get data from the government on potential vulnerabilities
and threats; Why: * National security concerns may prevent agencies
from sharing data with the private sector; * The process of
declassifying and sanitizing data takes time-possibly too long to be of
use to private-sector time-critical operations; * Difficulty obtaining
security clearances for nonfederal personnel; * Quality (specific,
accurate, and actionable) and timeliness of information received from
the federal government.
Where information sharing can potentially break down: Coordinating law
enforcement and intelligence activities; Why: * Law enforcement and
intelligence agencies may operate in "distinct universes" separated by
jurisdictional, organizational, and cultural boundaries. At the same
time, however, roles and responsibilities at different levels of
government are not always clear and distinct; * Information may be
considered too sensitive to release to law enforcement colleagues
because it could compromise source and collection techniques; *
Certain laws and regulations as well as privacy concerns may prevent
information sharing between federal agencies, state, and local law
enforcement agencies; * Insufficient direction about what specific
steps should be taken when security alert status is increased; * Lack
of access to databases and problems with interconnectivity may impede
information sharing between agencies.
Where information sharing can potentially break down: Issuing attack
warnings and responding to attacks; Why: * Information-sharing
mechanisms and procedures for warning against attacks, especially
between different levels of government, may be inadequate; * Roles and
responsibilities between emergency, rescue, relief, and recovery
organizations may not always be clear, especially at different levels
of government.
Source: GAO.
[End of table]
Success Factors for Sharing Information:
In October 2001, we reported on information sharing practices of
organizations that successfully share sensitive or time-critical
information.[Footnote 38] We found that these practices include:
* establishing trust relationships with a wide variety of federal and
nonfederal entities that may be in a position to provide potentially
useful information and advice on vulnerabilities and incidents;
* developing standards and agreements on how shared information will be
used and protected;
* establishing effective and appropriately secure communications
mechanisms; and:
* taking steps to ensure that sensitive information is not
inappropriately disseminated.
Among the organizations we studied, we found some very good models to
learn from and build on. For example, CERT/CC is charged with
establishing a capability to quickly and effectively coordinate
communication between experts in order to limit damage, responding to
incidents, and building awareness of security issues across the
Internet community. In this role, CERT/CC receives Internet security-
related information from system and network administrators, technology
managers, and policymakers and provides them with this information
along with guidance and coordination to major security events. Further,
the Agora is a Seattle-based regional network that at the time of our
study had over 600 professionals representing various fields, including
information systems security; law enforcement; local, state, and
federal governments; engineering; IT; academics; and other specialties.
Members work to establish confidential ways for organizations to share
sensitive information about common problems and best practices for
dealing with security threats. They develop and share knowledge about
how to protect electronic infrastructures, and they prompt more
research specific to electronic information systems security.
In addition, we have previously reported on several other key
considerations in establishing effective information sharing,
including:
* identifying and agreeing on the types of information to be collected
and shared between parties,
* developing standard terms and reporting thresholds,
* balancing varying interests and expectations, and:
* determining the right format and standards for collecting data so
that disparate agencies can aggregate and integrate data sets.
Some efforts have already taken place in these areas. For example, NIPC
obtained information sharing agreements with most information sharing
and analysis centers, which included specific reporting thresholds for
physical and cyber incidents. Also, incident reporting thresholds have
been publicly issued. It will be important for DHS to incorporate these
considerations into its information sharing efforts.
Developing Technological Solutions:
Developing and implementing appropriate technological solutions can
improve the effectiveness and efficiency of information sharing. We
have previously reported on the lack of connectivity and
interoperability between databases and technologies important to the
homeland security effort.[Footnote 39] Databases belonging to federal
law enforcement agencies and INS, for example, are not connected, and
databases between state, local, and federal governments are not always
connected. The technological constraints caused by different system
architectures that impede the sharing of different agencies' watch
lists illustrate the widespread lack of interoperability of many
federal government information systems.
New technologies for data integration and interoperability could enable
agencies to share information without the need for radical structural
changes. This would allow the component agencies of DHS to work
together yet retain a measure of autonomy, thus removing some barriers
hindering agencies from embracing change. In August 2002,[Footnote 40]
we reported on various existing technologies that could be more widely
implemented to facilitate information sharing. We reported that
Extensible Markup Language (XML) is useful for better information
sharing. XML is a flexible, nonproprietary set of standards for
annotating or "tagging" information so that it can be transmitted over
a network such as the Internet and readily interpreted by disparate
computer systems. If implemented broadly with consistent data
definitions and structures, XML offers the promise of making it
significantly easier for organizations and individuals to identify,
integrate, and process information that may be widely dispersed among
systems and organizations. For example, law enforcement agencies could
potentially better identify and retrieve information about criminal
suspects from any number of federal, state, and local databases.
We also reported that various technologies could be used to protect
information in shared databases. For example, data could be protected
through electronically secured entry technology (ESET). ESET would
allow users of separate databases to cross check or "mine" data
securely without directly disclosing their information to others, thus
allowing agencies to collaborate as well as address their needs for
confidentiality or privacy. Such technology could, for example, allow
an airline to cross check a passenger or employee against data held by
government agencies in a single-step process without actually
disclosing the data to the airline. In checking an individual, the
airline would not receive any data from the agencies' databases, rather
it would receive a "yes or no" type response and/or a referral for
further action. Additionally, appropriate authorities could
automatically be notified.
We noted that intrusion detection systems could be used to prevent
unauthorized users from accessing shared information. Intrusion
detection uses normal system and network activity data as well as known
attack patterns. Deviations from normal traffic patterns can help to
identify potential intruders.
We also observed the need to simplify the process of analyzing
information to more efficiently and effectively identify information of
consequence that must be shared. Great emphasis has been placed upon
data mining and data integration, but the third and perhaps most
crucial component may be data visualization. The vast amount of
information potentially available to be mined and integrated must be
intelligently analyzed, and the results effectively presented, so that
the right people have the right information necessary to act
effectively upon such information. This may involve pinpointing the
relevant anomalies.
Before DHS was established, OHS had already begun several technological
initiatives to integrate terrorist-related information from databases
from different agencies responsible for homeland security. These
included (1) adopting meta-data standards for electronic information so
that homeland security officials understood what information was
available and where it could be found and (2) developing data-mining
tools to assist in identifying patterns of criminal behavior so that
suspected terrorists could be detained before they could act.
To address these technological challenges, the Homeland Security Act
emphasized investments in new and emerging technologies to meet some of
these challenges and established the Science and Technology
Directorate, making it responsible for establishing and administering
research and development efforts and priorities to support DHS
missions.
Improving Information Technology Management:
Improving IT management will be critical to transforming the new
department. DHS should develop and implement an enterprise
architecture, or corporate blueprint, to integrate the many existing
systems and processes required to support its mission. This
architecture will also guide the department's investments in new
systems to effectively support homeland security in the coming years.
Other key IT management capacities that DHS will need to establish
include investment and acquisition management processes, effective IT
security, and secure communications networks.
An Enterprise Architecture:
Effectively managing a large and complex endeavor requires, among other
things, a well-defined and enforced blueprint for operational and
technological change, commonly referred to as an enterprise
architecture. Developing, maintaining, and using enterprise
architectures is a leading practice in engineering both individual
systems and entire enterprises. Enterprise architectures include
several components, including a (1) current or "as is" environment, (2)
target or "to be" environment, and (3) transition plan or strategy to
move from the current to the target environment. Governmentwide
requirements for having and using architectures to guide and constrain
IT investment decisionmaking are also addressed in federal law and
guidance.[Footnote 41] Our experience with federal agencies has shown
that attempts to transform IT environments without enterprise
architectures often result in unconstrained investment and systems that
are duplicative and ineffective. Moreover, our February 2002 report on
the federal agencies' use of enterprise architectures found that their
use of enterprise architectures was a work in progress, with much to be
accomplished.[Footnote 42]
DHS faces tremendous IT challenges because programs and agencies have
been brought together in the new department from throughout the
government, each with their own information systems. It will be a major
undertaking to integrate these diverse systems to enable effective
information sharing among themselves, as well as with those outside the
department.
The Office of Homeland Security has acknowledged that an enterprise
architecture is an important next step because it can help identify
shortcomings and opportunities in current homeland-security-related
operations and systems, such as duplicative, inconsistent, or missing
information. Furthermore, the President's homeland security strategy
identifies, among other things, the lack of an enterprise architecture
as an impediment to DHS's systems interoperating effectively and
efficiently. Finally, the CIO of DHS has stated that the most important
function of his office will be to design and help implement a national
enterprise architecture that will guide the department's investment in
and use of IT. As part of its enterprise development efforts, the
department has established working groups comprising state and local
CIOs to ensure that it understands and represents their business
processes and strategies relevant to homeland security. In addition,
OMB, in its current review of DHS's redundant IT for consolidation and
integration, has taken an initial first step to evaluate DHS's
component systems.[Footnote 43] The CIO has set two milestones for
developing the enterprise architecture. By June 2003, he intends to
complete a baseline inventory of the department's current IT resources
and business processes, and by August 2003 he intends to complete the
future enterprise architecture. No target date has been provided for
the transition plan to move from the current to the target environment.
In June 2002, we recommended that the federal government develop an
architecture that defined the homeland security mission and the
information, technologies, and approaches necessary to perform the
mission in a way that was divorced from organizational parochialism and
cultural differences.[Footnote 44] Specifically, we recommended that
the architecture describe homeland security operations in both (1)
logical terms, such as interrelated processes and activities,
information needs and flows, and work locations and users, and (2)
technical terms, such as hardware, software, data, communications, and
security attributes and performance standards. We observed that a
particularly critical function of a homeland security architecture
would be to establish protocols and standards for data collection to
ensure that data being collected were usable and interoperable and to
tell people what they needed to collect and monitor.
The CIO Council, OMB, and GAO have collaborated to produce guidance on
the content, development, maintenance, and implementation of
architectures that could be used in developing an architecture for
DHS.[Footnote 45] In April, we issued an executive guide on assessing
and improving enterprise architecture management that extends this
guidance.[Footnote 46]
Investment and Acquisition Management Processes:
The Clinger-Cohen Act, federal guidance, and recognized best practices
provide a framework for organizations to follow to effectively manage
their IT investments. This involves having a single, corporate approach
governing how an organization's IT investment portfolio is selected,
controlled, and evaluated across its various components, including
assuring that each investment is aligned with the organization's
enterprise architecture. The lack of effective processes can lead to
cost, schedule, and performance shortfalls, and in some cases, to
failed system development efforts. GAO has issued numerous reports on
agency investment and acquisition management challenges, including INS,
which have been transferred into DHS.
INS has had long-standing difficulty developing and fielding
information systems to support its program operations. Since 1990, we
have reported that INS managers and field officials did not have
adequate, reliable, and timely information to effectively carry out the
agency's mission. For example, INS's benefit fraud investigations have
been hampered by a lack of integrated information systems.[Footnote 47]
Also, INS's alien address information could not be fully relied on to
locate many aliens who were believed to be in the country and who might
have knowledge that would assist the nation in its antiterrorism
efforts.[Footnote 48] Contributing to this situation was INS's lack of
written procedures and automated controls to help ensure that reported
changes of address by aliens are recorded in all of INS's automated
databases. Our work has identified weaknesses in INS's IT management
capacities as the root cause of its system problems, and we have made
recommendations to correct the weaknesses. INS has made progress in
addressing our recommendations.
In a briefing to the House Appropriations Committee in February, the
DHS CIO stated that his objective was to develop an IT investment
review process by March 2003. Moreover, he set March as the milestone
for finalizing the identification of all of DHS's mission-critical
applications and February of next year as the milestone for having
evaluated all major applications and investments in view of
prioritizing actions to either renew or retire them.
Sound acquisition management is also central to accomplishing the
department's mission. One of the largest federal departments, DHS will
potentially have one of the most extensive acquisition requirements in
government. The new department is expected to acquire a broad range of
technologies and services from private-sector companies.
Moreover, DHS is faced with the challenge of integrating the
procurement functions of many of its constituent programs and missions.
Inherited challenges exist in several of the incoming agencies. For
example, Customs has major procurement programs under way that must be
closely managed to ensure that it achieves expectations. Despite some
progress, we reported that Customs still lacks important acquisition
management controls.[Footnote 49] For its new import processing system,
Customs has not begun to establish process controls for determining
whether acquired software products and services satisfy contract
requirements before acceptance, nor to establish related controls for
effective and efficient transfer of acquired software products to the
support organization responsible for software maintenance. Agreeing
with one of our recommendations, Customs continues to make progress and
plans to establish effective acquisition process controls.
Getting the most from its IT investment will depend on how well the
department manages its acquisition activities. High-level attention to
strong system and service acquisition management practices is critical
to ensuring success.
Information Security Challenges:
The Federal Information Security Management Act of 2002 requires
federal agencies to provide information security protections
commensurate with the risk and magnitude of the harm resulting from
unauthorized access, use, disclosure, disruption, modification, or
destruction of information collected or maintained by or on behalf of
the agency, and information systems used or operated by an agency or by
a contractor of an agency or other organization on behalf of an
agency.[Footnote 50] Further, the Homeland Security Act specifically
requires DHS to establish procedures to ensure the authorized use and
the security and confidentiality of information shared with the
department, including information on threats of terrorism against the
United States; infrastructure or other vulnerabilities to terrorism;
and threatened interference with, attack on, compromise of, or
incapacitation of critical infrastructure or protected systems by
either physical or computer-based attack. However, establishing an
effective information security program may present significant
challenges for DHS, which must bring together programs and agencies
from throughout the government and integrate their diverse
communications and information systems to enable effective
communication and information sharing both within and outside the
department.
Since 1996, we have reported that poor information security is a
widespread problem for the federal government with potentially
devastating consequences.[Footnote 51] Further, we have identified
information security as a governmentwide high-risk issue in reports to
the Congress since 1997--most recently in January 2003.[Footnote 52]
Although agencies have taken steps to redesign and strengthen their
information system security programs, our analyses of information
security at major federal agencies have shown that federal systems were
not being adequately protected from computer-based threats, even though
these systems process, store, and transmit enormous amounts of
sensitive data and are indispensable to many federal agency operations.
For the past several years, we have analyzed audit
results for 24 of the largest federal agencies,[Footnote 53] and our
latest analyses, of audit reports issued from October 2001 through
October 2002, continued to show significant weaknesses in federal
computer systems that put critical operations and assets at
risk.[Footnote 54] In particular, we found that all 24 agencies had
weaknesses in security program management, which is fundamental to the
appropriate selection and effectiveness of the other categories of
controls and covers a range of activities related to understanding
information security risks, selecting and implementing controls
commensurate with risk, and ensuring that the controls implemented
continue to operate effectively. In addition, we found that 22 of the
24 agencies had weaknesses in access controls--weaknesses that can make
it possible for an individual or group to inappropriately modify,
destroy, or disclose sensitive data or computer programs for purposes
such as personal gain or sabotage, or in today's increasingly
interconnected computing environment, can expose an agency's
information and operations to attacks from remote locations all over
the world by individuals with only minimal computer and
telecommunications resources and expertise. In April 2003,[Footnote 55]
we also reported that many agencies still had not established
information security programs consistent with requirements originally
prescribed by government information security reform
legislation[Footnote 56] and now permanently authorized by the Federal
Information Security Management Act.
Considering the sensitive and classified information to be maintained
and shared by DHS, it is critical that the department implement federal
information security requirements to ensure that its systems are
appropriately assessed for risk and that adequate controls are
implemented and working properly. Federal information security
guidance, such as that issued by the National Institute of Standards
and Technology (NIST), can aid DHS in this process. For example, NIST
has issued guidance to help agencies perform self-assessments of their
information security programs, conduct risk assessments, and use
metrics to determine the adequacy of in-place security controls,
policies, and procedures.[Footnote 57] In addition, as we have
previously reported, agencies need more specific guidance on the
controls that they need to implement to help ensure adequate
protection.[Footnote 58] Currently, agencies have wide discretion in
deciding which computer security controls to implement and the level of
rigor with which to enforce these controls. One set of specific
controls will not be appropriate for all types of systems and data, but
our studies of best practices at leading organizations have shown that
more specific guidance is important.[Footnote 59] In particular,
specific mandatory standards for varying risk levels can clarify
expectations for information protection, including audit criteria;
provide a standard framework for assessing information security risk;
help ensure that shared data are appropriately protected; and reduce
demands for limited resources to independently develop security
controls. Responding to this need, the Federal Information Security
Management Act (FISMA) requires NIST to develop, for systems other than
national security systems, (1) standards to be used by all agencies to
categorize all of their information and information systems based on
the objectives of providing appropriate levels of information security
according to a range of risk levels; (2) guidelines recommending the
types of information and information systems to be included in each
category; and (3) minimum information security requirements for
information and information systems in each category.
DHS has identified implementing its information security program as a
year one objective. In continuing these efforts, it is important that
DHS consider establishing processes to annually review its information
security program and to collect and report data on the program, as
required by FISMA and OMB.
Secure Communications Networks:
The "Homeland Security Information Sharing Act," included in the
Homeland Security Act of 2002, provides for the President to prescribe
and implement procedures for federal agencies to share homeland
security and classified information with others, such as state and
local governments, through information sharing systems. Provisions of
the act depict the type of information to be shared as that which
reveals a threat of actual or potential attack or other hostile acts.
Grand jury information; electronic, wire, or oral information; and
foreign intelligence information are all included in these provisions.
The National Strategy for Homeland Security also refers to the need for
a secure intranet to increase the flow of classified federal
information to state and local entities. According to the strategy,
this network would provide a more effective way to share information
about terrorists. The strategy also refers to putting into place a
secure communications network to allow agencies to share information in
their existing databases.
To ensure the safe transmittal of sensitive, and, in some cases,
classified, information vertically among everyone from intelligence
entities, including the CIA, to local entities, such as those involved
in emergency response and law enforcement, as well as horizontally
across the same levels of government, requires developing and
implementing communications networks with adequate security to protect
the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of the transmitted
information. Furthermore, these communications networks must be
accessible to a variety of parties, from federal agencies to state and
local government entities and some private entities.
There appear to be many efforts under way to implement secure networks.
For example, according to the recently published the cyberspace
security strategy, DHS intends to develop a national cyberspace
security response system, the Cyber Warning Information Network (CWIN),
to provide crisis management support to government and non-government
network operation centers. CWIN is envisioned as providing private and
secure network communications for both government and industry for the
purpose of sharing cyber alert and warning information. Moreover, the
National Communications System, one of the 22 entities that were merged
into the DHS, has implemented a pilot system, the Global Early Warning
Information System (GEWIS), which will measure how critical areas of
the Internet are performing worldwide and then use that data to notify
government, industry, and allies of impending cyberattacks or possible
disturbances.
Other agencies are also engaged in efforts to provide homeland security
networking and information management support for crisis management
activities. Earlier, in 2001, the President's Advisor for Cyberspace
Security outlined the high-level functional requirements for a private,
secure network called GovNet. Department of Defense officials have also
stated that the Army National Guard's network GuardNet, which was used
to communicate among the states and the District of Columbia during the
9/11 terrorist attacks, is being considered for homeland security
mission support.
It was also recently reported that the Justice Department and the FBI
are expanding two existing sensitive but unclassified law enforcement
networks to share homeland security information across all levels of
government. When fully deployed, their Antiterrorism Information
Exchange (ATIX) will provide law enforcement agencies at all levels
access to information. Law enforcement agencies also can use ATIX to
distribute security alerts to private-sector organizations and public
officials who lack security clearances. Users, who will have different
access levels on a need-to-know basis, will include a broad range of
public safety and infrastructure organizations, including businesses
that have homeland security concerns and duties. They will have access
to a secure e-mail system via a secure Intranet, which the FBI and DHS
will use to deliver alerts to ATIX users. The FBI and other federal
agencies, including DHS, will link to ATIX via Law Enforcement Online,
the bureau's system for sensitive-but-unclassified law enforcement data
that provides an encrypted communications service for law enforcement
agencies on a virtual private network. The second Department of Justice
and FBI network, the Multistate Antiterrorism Regional Information
Exchange System, will enable crime analysts working on terrorism
investigations to quickly check a broad range of criminal databases
maintained by federal, state, and local agencies.
In March of this year, it was also reported that DHS's CIO had
announced that DHS is opening up a network for secure videoconferencing
to communicate with the nation's governors in the event of another
terrorist attack. The CIO has also stated that a major initiative in
implementing the department's IT strategy for providing the right
information to the right people at all times is establishing the DHS
Information Sharing Network Pilot project. Moreover, he sets 2005 as a
milestone for DHS to build a "network of networks." However, no
specifics on the latter two projects have been provided.
Managing Performance:
As we have previously reported,[Footnote 60] the new department has the
challenge of developing a national homeland security performance focus,
which relies on related national and agency strategic and performance
planning efforts of the OHS, OMB, and the other departments and
agencies. Indeed, the individual planning activities of the various
component departments and agencies represent a good start in the
development of this focus. However, our past work on implementation of
the Government Performance and Results Act (GPRA) has highlighted
ongoing difficulty with many federal departments and agencies setting
adequate performance goals, objectives, and targets. Accordingly,
attention is needed to developing and achieving appropriate performance
expectations and measures for information sharing and in ensuring that
there is linkage between DHS's plans, other agencies' plans, and the
national strategies regarding information sharing. Ensuring these
capabilities and linkages will be vital in establishing comprehensive
planning and accountability mechanisms that will not only guide DHS's
efforts but also help assess how well they are really working.
As we previously reported to this committee,[Footnote 61] one of the
barriers the new department faces in establishing effective homeland
security is interagency cooperation, which is largely attributed to
"turf" issues among the 22 component agencies subsumed by the new
department. Strong and sustained commitment of agency leaders would
provide performance incentives to managers and staff to break down
cultural resistance and encourage more effective information sharing
pertaining to homeland security. Moreover, agency leaders have a wide
range of tools at their disposal for enforcing and rewarding
cooperative efforts, including performance bonuses for senior
executives and incentive award programs for staff.
Our studies of other cross-cutting federal services with similar "turf"
problems have also shown that agency performance plans, which are
required by GPRA, offer a good avenue for developing incentives to
cooperate. Specifically, agencies can set up goals in their performance
plans for participation in cross-cutting programs and report on their
progress in meeting these goals to Congress. Congress could also build
similar incentives into budget resolutions.
Shared programmatic goals and metrics would also encourage cooperation
and coordination. Agencies subsumed by DHS should all participate in
the development of goals, milestones, and metrics to measure progress
and success, and such indicators should be clearly articulated and
endorsed by senior management. Such goals and metrics must be carefully
chosen since how performance is measured greatly influences the nature
of the performance itself; poorly chosen metrics may lead to unintended
or counter-productive results. However, visible, clearly articulated
and carefully chosen shared goals and metrics can effectively overcome
"turf" issues. Developing metrics to measure the success of these
activities is critical to ensuring a successful effort. Similar
indicators more directly related to information sharing could be
developed.
Emphasizing Human Capital:
Human capital is another critical ingredient required for ensuring
successful information sharing for homeland security. The cornerstones
to effective human capital planning include leadership; strategic human
capital planning; acquiring, developing, and retaining talent; and
building results-oriented organizational cultures. The homeland
security and intelligence communities must include these factors in
their management approach in order to benefit from effective
collaboration in this critical time.
As we have previously reported, the government-wide increase in
homeland security activities has created a demand for personnel with
skills in areas such as IT, foreign language proficiencies, and law
enforcement, without whom critical information has less chance of being
shared, analyzed, integrated, and disseminated in a timely, effective
manner.[Footnote 62] We specifically reported that shortages in
staffing at some agencies had exacerbated backlogs in intelligence and
other information, adversely affecting agency operations and hindering
U.S. military, law enforcement, intelligence, counterterrorism, and
diplomatic efforts.[Footnote 63]
We have also previously reported that some of the agencies that moved
into DHS have long-standing human capital problems that will need to be
addressed. One of these challenges has been the ability to hire and
retain a talented and motivated staff. For example, we reported that
INS has been unable to reach its program goals in large part because of
such staffing problems as hiring shortfalls and agent
attrition.[Footnote 64] We also reported that several INS functions
have been affected by the lack of a staff resource allocation model to
identify staffing needs.[Footnote 65] We concluded then that it was
likely that increased attention to the enforcement of immigration laws
and border control would test the capacity of DHS to hire large numbers
of inspectors for work at our nation's border entry points. Moreover,
we reported that other agencies being integrated into DHS were also
expected to experience challenges in hiring security workers and
inspectors. For example, we reported
that the Agriculture Department, the Customs Service, INS, and other
agencies were all seeking simultaneously to increase the size of their
inspections staffs.[Footnote 66]
To overcome its significant human capital shortfalls, DHS must develop
a comprehensive strategy capable of ensuring that the new department
can acquire, develop, and retain the skills and talents needed to
prevent and protect against terrorism. This requires identifying skill
needs; attracting people with scarce skills into government jobs;
melding diverse compensation systems to support the new department's
many needs; and establishing a performance-oriented, accountable
culture that promotes employee involvement and empowerment. In
February, the DHS CIO acknowledged the lack of properly skilled IT
staff within the component agencies. Challenges facing DHS in this
area, he stated, include overcoming political and cultural barriers,
leveraging cultural beliefs and diversity to achieve collaborative
change, and recruiting and retaining skilled IT workers. He
acknowledged that the department would have to evaluate the talent and
skills of its IT workforce to identify existing skill gaps. He further
stated that a critical component of DHS's IT strategic plan would
address the actions needed to train, reskill, or acquire the necessary
skills to achieve a world-class workforce. He committed to working
closely with the department's Chief Human Capital Officer and with the
Office of Personnel Management to achieve this goal. He set July 2003
as a milestone for developing a current inventory of IT skills,
resources, and positions and September 2003 as the targeted date for
developing an action plan.
Ensuring Institutional Oversight:
It is important to note that accountability is also a critical factor
in ensuring the success of the new department. The oversight entities
of the executive branch-including the Inspectors General, OMB and OHS-
have a vital role to play in ensuring expected performance and
accountability. Likewise, congressional committees and GAO, as the
investigative arm of the legislative branch, with their long-term and
broad institutional roles, also have roles to play in overseeing that
the new department meets the demands of its homeland security mission.
:
In conclusion, our country is at a critical point in its history where
information sharing with and between all levels of government and the
private sector must become an integral part of everyday operations if
we are to be able to identify terrorist threats and protect against
attack. As such, information sharing is an essential part of DHS's
responsibilities and is critical to achieving its mission. To implement
these responsibilities, DHS will need to develop effective information
sharing systems and other information sharing mechanisms, as well as
develop strategies to address other challenges in establishing its
organization and information architecture and in developing effective
working relationships, cooperation, and trust with other federal
agencies, state and local governments, and the private sector.
Mr. Chairman, this concludes my statement. I would be happy to answer
any questions that you or members of the committee may have at this
time.
Contacts and Acknowledgement:
If you should have any questions about this testimony, please contact
Robert F. Dacey at (202) 512-3317 or daceyr@gao.gov or Randolph C. Hite
at (202) 512-3439 or hiter@gao.gov.
(310191):
FOOTNOTES
[1] The White House, The National Strategy for Homeland Security
(Washington, D.C.: July 2002); The National Strategy to Secure
Cyberspace (Washington, D.C.: February 2003); The National Strategy for
the Physical Protection of Critical Infrastructures and Key Assets
(Washington, D.C.: February 2003); and The National Strategy for
Combating Terrorism (Washington, D.C.: February 2003).
[2] Public Law 107-296.
[3] Watch lists are automated databases that contain various types of
data on individuals, from biographical data--such as a person's name
and date of birth--to biometric data such as fingerprints.
[4] A weapon of mass destruction is a chemical, biological,
radiological, or nuclear agent or weapon.
[5] Testimony of Director of Central Intelligence George J. Tenet
before Senate Select Committee on Intelligence on The Worldwide Threat
2003: Evolving Dangers in a Complex World (Feb. 11, 2003).
[6] Virus: a program that "infects" computer files, usually executable
programs, by inserting a copy of itself into the file. These copies are
usually executed when the "infected" file is loaded into memory,
allowing the virus to infect other files. Unlike the computer worm, a
virus requires human involvement (usually unwitting) to propagate.
Trojan horse: a computer program that conceals harmful code. A Trojan
horse usually masquerades as a useful program that a user would wish to
execute. Worm: an independent computer program that reproduces by
copying itself from one system to another across a network. Unlike
computer viruses, worms do not require human involvement to propagate.
Logic bomb: in programming, a form of sabotage in which a programmer
inserts code that causes the program to perform a destructive action
when some triggering event occurs, such as terminating the programmer's
employment. Sniffer: synonymous with packet sniffer. A program that
intercepts routed data and examines each packet in search of specified
information, such as passwords transmitted in clear text.
[7] The CERT Coordination Center (CERT/CC) is a center of Internet
security expertise at the Software Engineering Institute, a federally
funded research and development center operated by Carnegie Mellon
University.
[8] "Administrative Oversight: Are We Ready for A Cyber Terror Attack?"
Testimony before the Senate Committee on the Judiciary, Subcommittee on
Administrative Oversight and the Courts, by Richard A. Clarke, Special
Advisor to the President for Cyberspace Security and Chairman of the
President's Critical Infrastructure Protection Board (Feb. 13, 2002).
[9] Testimony of George J. Tenet, Director of Central Intelligence,
before the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, Feb. 6, 2002.
[10] Testimony of Richard D. Pethia, Director, CERT Centers, Software
Engineering Institute, Carnegie Mellon University, before the House
Committee on Government Reform, Subcommittee on Government Efficiency,
Financial Management and Intergovernmental Relations, Nov. 19, 2002.
[11] National Infrastructure Protection Center, Swarming Attacks:
Infrastructure Attacks for Destruction and Disruption (Washington,
D.C.: July 2002).
[12] The Homeland Security Advisory System uses five levels (Severe,
High, Elevated, Guarded, and Low) to inform federal, state, and local
government agencies and authorities, the private sector, and the public
of the nation's terrorist threat conditions.
[13] U.S. General Accounting Office, Information Security Progress
Made, But Challenges Remain to Protect Federal Systems and the Nation's
Critical Infrastructures, GAO-03-564T (Washington, D.C.: Apr. 8, 2003).
[14] GAO-03-564T.
[15] U.S. General Accounting Office, Critical Infrastructure
Protection: Federal Efforts Require a More Coordinated and
Comprehensive Approach for Protecting Information Systems, GAO-02-474
(Washington, D.C.: July 15, 2002).
[16] U.S. General Accounting Office, Information Technology: Terrorist
Watch Lists Should Be Consolidated to Promote Better Integration and
Sharing, GAO-03-322 (Washington, D.C: Apr. 15, 2003).
[17] U.S. General Accounting Office, Information Security: Serious
Weaknesses Place Critical Federal Operations and Assets at Risk, GAO/
AIMD-98-92 (Washington, D.C.: Sept. 23, 1998).
[18] U.S. General Accounting Office, Combating Terrorism: Selected
Challenges and Related Recommendations, GAO-01-822 (Washington, D.C.:
Sept. 20, 2001).
[19] GAO-02-474.
[20] U.S. General Accounting Office, Critical Infrastructure
Protection: Challenges for Selected Agencies and Industry Sectors, GAO-
03-233 (Washington, D.C.: Feb. 28, 2003).
[21] The Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate
Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism (USA PATRIOT) Act,
Public Law No. 107-56, October 26, 2001.
[22] U.S. General Accounting Office, Critical Infrastructure
Protection: Significant Challenges in Developing National
Capabilities, GAO-01-323 (Washington, D.C.: April. 24, 2001).
[23] The Federal Computer Incident Response Center has been
incorporated into the new Department of Homeland Security (DHS).
[24] Testimony of Kenneth C. Watson, President, Partnership for
Critical Infrastructure Security, before the Subcommittee on Oversight
and Investigation of the Energy and Commerce Committee, U.S. House of
Representatives, July 9, 2002.
[25] U. S. General Accounting Office, Homeland Security: Voluntary
Initiatives Are Under Way at Chemical Facilities, but the Extent of
Security Preparedness is Unknown, GAO-03-439 (Washington D.C.: Mar. 14,
2003).
[26] GAO-01-323.
[27] Pursuant to the Homeland Security Act of 2002, the functions of
NIPC (except for computer investigations and operations) were
transferred over to DHS from the FBI.
[28] The center was formed from elements of the Department of Homeland
Security, the FBI's Counterterrorism Division, the Director of Central
Intelligence's Counterterrorist Center, and the Department of Defense.
[29] The White House, Fact Sheet: Strengthening Intelligence to Better
Protect America (Washington, D.C.: Jan. 28, 2003).
[30] Testimony of Robert S. Mueller, III, Director Federal Bureau of
Investigation, before the Subcommittee for the Departments of Commerce,
Justice, and State, the Judiciary, and Related Agencies, Committee on
Appropriations, U.S. House of Representatives, June 21, 2002.
[31] U.S. General Accounting Office, Homeland Security: Proposal for
Cabinet Agency Has Merit, But Implementation Will Be Pivotal to
Success, GAO-01-886T (Washington, D.C.: June 25, 2002).
[32] U.S. General Accounting Office, Combating Terrorism: Enhancing
Partnerships Through a National Preparedness Strategy, GAO-02-549T
(Washington, D.C.: Mar. 28, 2002).
[33] U.S. General Accounting Office, Critical Infrastructure
Protection: Efforts of the Financial Services Sector to Address Cyber
Threats, GAO-03-173 (Washington, D.C.: Jan. 30, 2003).
[34] GAO-03-322.
[35] The nine agencies are the State Department's Bureau of
Intelligence and Research and Bureau of Consular Affairs; the Justice
Department's Federal Bureau of Investigation, Immigration and
Naturalization Service, U.S. Marshals Service, and the U.S. National
Central Bureau for Interpol; the Department of Defense's Air Force
Office of Special Investigations; the Transportation Department's
Transportation Security Administration; and the Treasury Department's
U.S. Customs Service. Of these, the Immigration and Naturalization
Service, the Transportation Security Administration, and the U.S.
Customs Service have been incorporated into the new DHS.
[36] These departments are the Departments of State, Treasury,
Transportation, Justice, and Defense.
[37] U.S. General Accounting Office, National Preparedness: Integrating
New and Existing Technology and Information Sharing into an Effective
Homeland Security Strategy, GAO-02-811T (Washington, D.C.: June 7,
2002), GAO-02-24, and GAO-03-233.
[38] U.S. General Accounting Office, Information Sharing: Practices
That Can Benefit Critical Infrastructure Protection, GAO-02-24
(Washington, D.C.: Oct. 15, 2001).
[39] GAO-02-811T
[40] U.S. General Accounting Office, National Preparedness: Technology
and Information Sharing Challenges, GAO-02-1048R (Washington, D.C.:
Aug. 30, 2002).
[41] U.S. General Accounting Office, Business Systems Modernization:
Longstanding Management and Oversight Weaknesses Continue to Put
Investments at Risk, GAO-03-553T (Washington, D.C.: Mar. 31, 2003).
[42] U.S, General Accounting Office, Information Technology: Enterprise
Architecture Use across the Federal Government Can Be Improved, GAO-02-
6 (Washington, D.C.: Feb.19, 2002).
[43] Office of Management and Budget, Reducing Redundant IT
Infrastructure Related to Homeland Security, Memorandum for the Heads
of Selected Departments and Agencies, July 19, 2002, M-02-12.
[44] GAO-02-811T.
[45] See Chief Information Officer Council, A Practical Guide to
Federal Enterprise Architecture, Version 1.0, (Washington, D.C.: Feb.
2001).
[46] U.S. General Accounting Office, Information Technology: A
Framework for Assessing and Improving Enterprise Architecture
Management (Version 1.1), GAO-03-584G (Washington, D.C.: Apr. 2003).
[47] U.S. General Accounting Office, Immigration Benefit Fraud: Focused
Approach Is Needed to Address Problems, GAO-02-66 (Washington, D.C.:
Jan. 31, 2002).
[48] U.S. General Accounting Office, Homeland Security: INS Cannot
Locate Many Aliens Because It Lacks Reliable Address Information, GAO-
03-188 (Washington, D.C.: Nov. 21, 2002).
[49] U.S. General Accounting Office, Customs Service Modernization:
Management Improvements Needed on High-Risk Automated Commercial
Environment Project, GAO-02-545 (Washington, D.C.: May 13, 2002).
[50] Title III--Federal Information Security Management Act of 2002, E-
Government Act of 2002, P.L. 107-347, December 17, 2002. This act
superseded an earlier version of FISMA that was enacted as Title X of
the Homeland Security Act of 2002.
[51] U.S. General Accounting Office, Information Security:
Opportunities for Improved OMB Oversight of Agency Practices, GAO/
AIMD-96-110 (Washington, D.C.: Sept. 24, 1996).
[52] U.S. General Accounting Office, High-Risk Series: Protecting
Information Systems Supporting the Federal Government and the Nation's
Critical Infrastructures, GAO-03-121 (Washington, D.C.: January 2003).
[53] U.S. General Accounting Office, Information Security: Serious
Weaknesses Place Critical Federal Operations and Assets at Risk, GAO/
AIMD-98-92 (Washington, D.C.: Sept. 23, 1998); Information Security:
Serious and Widespread Weaknesses Persist at Federal Agencies, GAO/
AIMD-00-295 (Washington, D.C.: Sept. 6, 2000); Computer Security:
Improvements Needed to Reduce Risk to Critical Federal Operations and
Assets, GAO-02-231T (Washington, D.C.: Nov. 9, 2001), and Computer
Security: Progress Made, but Critical Federal Operations and Assets
Remain at Risk, GAO-02-303T (Washington, D.C.: Nov. 19, 2002).
[54] GAO-03-303T.
[55] GAO-03-564T.
[56] Title X, Subtitle G--Government Information Security Reform, Floyd
D. Spence National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2001,
P.L.106-398, October 30, 2000.
[57] National Institute of Standards and Technology, Security Self-
Assessment Guide for Information Technology Systems, NIST Special
Publication 800-26, November 2001; Risk Management Guide for
Information Technology Systems - Recommendations of the National
Institute of Standards and Technology, Special Publication 800-30,
January 2002; Security Metrics Guide for Information Technology
Systems, NIST Draft Special Publication 800-55 (October 2002).
[58] GAO-03-121.
[59] U.S. General Accounting Office, Information Security Management:
Learning From Leading Organizations, GAO/AIMD-98-68 (Washington, D.C.:
May 1998).
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