From: FederalNewsRadio.com 1500AM
By Jason Miller
The Homeland Security Department’s Office of Cybersecurity and Communications is expanding to five divisions from three and creating a performance-management office.
DHS is reorganizing CS&C in light of its increased responsibilities and improved stature in the federal and private sector cyber communities.
“Our new structure will result in an organization more capable of agile operations; of forming stronger partnerships; and of professionally, efficiently, and effectively enhancing the security, resiliency, and reliability of the nation’s cyber and communications infrastructure,” wrote Mike Locatis, the assistant secretary of the Office of Cybersecurity and Communications, in an internal memo obtained by Federal News Radio. “This realignment also centralizes common support functions of budget, finance, and acquisitions, information management and human capital.”
DHS Secretary Janet Napolitano approved CS&C’s realignment plan earlier this week.
Locatis came to CS&C in April after spending 18 months as the Energy Department’s chief information officer.
A request for comment from DHS’s National Protection and Programs Directorate, which CS&C falls under, was not immediately returned.
Congress created the Cybersecurity and Communications Office in 2006 with three divisions:
- National Communications System
- National Cybersecurity Division
- Office of Emergency Communications
Federal Network Security
Under the realignment plan, Cybersecurity and Communications will elevate and rename two of the subdivisions. The Federal Network Security unit goes from being a branch of the National Cybersecurity Division to its own division, and DHS split its responsibilities into two new groups: the Federal Network Resilience (FNR) division and the Network Security Deployment (NSD) division.
John Streufert will lead FNR, which will oversee the continuous monitoring initiative and the operational aspects of the Federal Information Security Management Act (FISMA). Federal Network Resilience also will develop and deploy cybersecurity capabilities and standards with civilian agency partners, identify cybersecurity best practices and use automation tools, and perform audits and testing on federal networks.
Network Security Deployment
The Network Security Deployment (NSD) division will be led by Brendan Goode and includes the National Cybersecurity Protection System and the Cyberscope tool. Agencies submit continuous monitoring data into Cyberscope.
NSD also gathers requirements for CS&C technical programs and operating capabilities, and coordinates managed services with the private sector for functions such as continuous monitoring-as-a-service or other situational awareness services.
National Cybersecurity and Communications Integration Center
The National Cybersecurity and Communications Integration Center (NCIC), led by Larry Zelvin, will bring together the assorted operational offices, including the U.S. Computer Emergency Readiness Team (U.S. CERT), the Control Systems Security Program, the National Coordinating Center and national level exercises — all under one division.
The NCIC will provide full-time monitoring, information sharing, analysis and incident response capabilities, including running the Einstein 3A program. It coordinates with federal cyber centers and runs the “red and blue teams” to provide analysis on network, data, threats and vulnerabilities.
The Stakeholder Engagement and Cyber Infrastructure Resilience division
DHS created a new office to work with the private sector. The Stakeholder Engagement and Cyber Infrastructure Resilience division will be led by Jenny Menna and includes the National Security Telecommunications Advisory Committee, private-sector coordination efforts, education and cyber workforce initiatives and standards work.
The stakeholder-engagement office will ensure there is strategic alignment of all stakeholder and other outside group activities and provides customer relationship and logistical management.
Office of Emergency Communications
The fifth division, the Office of Emergency Communications, which is led by Ron Hewitt, keeps the same name, but expands its responsibilities by adding the functions of the National Communications System.
OEC will support public safety efforts including providing training and technical assistance to improve emergency communications readiness, coordinating public-private response activities and works on interoperability policy.
Additionally, the realignment plan creates the Enterprise Performance Management Office, led by a senior executive service member. It will be responsible for “strategic planning, performance planning and measurement that cuts across all CS&C programs,” Locatis wrote.
Leave a Reply