Napolitano: Cyber threat 'right in front of us'

 

Connecting state and local government leaders

Cybersecurity would get a 74 percent boost under DHS' 2013 budget request, but some senators question if the department should be securing critical infrastructure.

Cybersecurity is a top priority in the Homeland Security Department’s fiscal 2013 budget request, and spending for it would get a 74 percent boost while overall department funding would remain flat in the coming year.

“The cybersecurity threat, in my wheelhouse, is right in front of us,” DHS Secretary Janet Napolitano told the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee on March 21.

There was disagreement among the senators on what the role of DHS should be in protecting the nation’s critical infrastructure, however. Committee Chairman Sen. Joseph Lieberman (I-Conn.), who called cybersecurity “the most significant vulnerability we have in homeland security today,” has introduced a bill that would give the department oversight over the security of designated critical infrastructure. The panel's ranking Republican, Sen. Susan Collins of Maine, is a co-sponsor of the bill.


Related stories:

Cybersecurity research gets boost in 2013 budget request

DOD's 3 challenges in protecting cyber infrastructure


But Republican Sen. Ron Johnson of Wisconsin was skeptical of the cost and need for federal regulation of privately owned networks. He supports an alternative bill that focuses only on enabling better information sharing between the public and private sectors.

Napolitano said the two issues are not mutually exclusive. “We need the information sharing, and it needs to be real time,” she said. But she added that “it makes common sense” for DHS to be in charge of ensuring that critical infrastructure maintains a basic level of security and predicted possibly disastrous consequences within 18 months if steps are not taken soon to improve security.

“We will have suffered a major infiltration or attack and we will find some part of our critical infrastructure with a gap,” because the industry was not doing enough to protect itself on its own, she said. “What we know now is already enough to go ahead, and we should be moving forward.”

The department’s budget request for next year calls for $39.5 billion in discretionary spending, basically the same as the current year. But the budget would shift more than $850 million from administrative spending to mission support for core, front-line operational priorities. Cybersecurity, which is identified as one of the department’s five core missions, would be a major beneficiary of the shift, increasing that portion of the budget by $325.8 million to a total of about $770 million.

The money would go toward speeding the deployment of Einstein 3, the federal network monitoring system for intrusion detection and prevention, and boost the budgets for the U.S. Computer Emergency Readiness Team, which provides information sharing and incident response for intrusions in government and private-sector networks.

Priorities include:

  • $236 for federal network security: To help executive branch civilian departments and agencies in improve their cybersecurity posture under the Federal Information Security Management Act, and improve continuous monitoring of network activity and other capabilities to address evolving cyber threats.
  • $345 for the National Cybersecurity Protection System: This includes Einstein, an integrated intrusion detection, analytics, information-sharing, and intrusion prevention system. The program will continue to focus on intrusion prevention in 2013 while improving situational awareness of evolving cyber threats through a Managed Security Services solution. Under the MSS solution, each Internet service provider will use its own intrusion prevention services that conform to DHS-approved security, assurance and communication requirements.
  • $93 million for US-CERT operations: The operational arm of the National Cyber Security Division, US-CERT leads and coordinates efforts to improve cybersecurity posture, promote cyber information sharing, and manage cyber risks. It provides customer support and incident response, including 24-hour support in the National Cybersecurity and Communications Integration Center. As NCPS covers more federal network traffic, additional US-CERT analysts are required to ensure cyber threats are detected and the federal response is effective.
  • $12.9 million to increase the cybersecurity workforce: To provide high-quality, cost-effective virtual cybersecurity education and training to develop a robust cybersecurity workforce able to protect against and respond to national cybersecurity threats and hazards.
  • $64.5 million for cybersecurity research and development: Focused on strengthening the nation’s cybersecurity capabilities.

Other elements include funding for a multistate information-sharing and analysis center, and support for cyber investigations conducted through the Secret Service and Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

ICE provides computer forensics support for investigations of domestic and international criminal activities, including benefits fraud, arms and strategic technology, money laundering, counterfeit pharmaceuticals, child pornography, and human trafficking involving the Internet.

The Secret Service’s Financial Crimes Task Forces focuses on the prevention of cyberattacks against U.S. financial payment systems and other critical infrastructure.


X
This website uses cookies to enhance user experience and to analyze performance and traffic on our website. We also share information about your use of our site with our social media, advertising and analytics partners. Learn More / Do Not Sell My Personal Information
Accept Cookies
X
Cookie Preferences Cookie List

Do Not Sell My Personal Information

When you visit our website, we store cookies on your browser to collect information. The information collected might relate to you, your preferences or your device, and is mostly used to make the site work as you expect it to and to provide a more personalized web experience. However, you can choose not to allow certain types of cookies, which may impact your experience of the site and the services we are able to offer. Click on the different category headings to find out more and change our default settings according to your preference. You cannot opt-out of our First Party Strictly Necessary Cookies as they are deployed in order to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting the cookie banner and remembering your settings, to log into your account, to redirect you when you log out, etc.). For more information about the First and Third Party Cookies used please follow this link.

Allow All Cookies

Manage Consent Preferences

Strictly Necessary Cookies - Always Active

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Sale of Personal Data, Targeting & Social Media Cookies

Under the California Consumer Privacy Act, you have the right to opt-out of the sale of your personal information to third parties. These cookies collect information for analytics and to personalize your experience with targeted ads. You may exercise your right to opt out of the sale of personal information by using this toggle switch. If you opt out we will not be able to offer you personalised ads and will not hand over your personal information to any third parties. Additionally, you may contact our legal department for further clarification about your rights as a California consumer by using this Exercise My Rights link

If you have enabled privacy controls on your browser (such as a plugin), we have to take that as a valid request to opt-out. Therefore we would not be able to track your activity through the web. This may affect our ability to personalize ads according to your preferences.

Targeting cookies may be set through our site by our advertising partners. They may be used by those companies to build a profile of your interests and show you relevant adverts on other sites. They do not store directly personal information, but are based on uniquely identifying your browser and internet device. If you do not allow these cookies, you will experience less targeted advertising.

Social media cookies are set by a range of social media services that we have added to the site to enable you to share our content with your friends and networks. They are capable of tracking your browser across other sites and building up a profile of your interests. This may impact the content and messages you see on other websites you visit. If you do not allow these cookies you may not be able to use or see these sharing tools.

If you want to opt out of all of our lead reports and lists, please submit a privacy request at our Do Not Sell page.

Save Settings
Cookie Preferences Cookie List

Cookie List

A cookie is a small piece of data (text file) that a website – when visited by a user – asks your browser to store on your device in order to remember information about you, such as your language preference or login information. Those cookies are set by us and called first-party cookies. We also use third-party cookies – which are cookies from a domain different than the domain of the website you are visiting – for our advertising and marketing efforts. More specifically, we use cookies and other tracking technologies for the following purposes:

Strictly Necessary Cookies

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Functional Cookies

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Performance Cookies

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Sale of Personal Data

We also use cookies to personalize your experience on our websites, including by determining the most relevant content and advertisements to show you, and to monitor site traffic and performance, so that we may improve our websites and your experience. You may opt out of our use of such cookies (and the associated “sale” of your Personal Information) by using this toggle switch. You will still see some advertising, regardless of your selection. Because we do not track you across different devices, browsers and GEMG properties, your selection will take effect only on this browser, this device and this website.

Social Media Cookies

We also use cookies to personalize your experience on our websites, including by determining the most relevant content and advertisements to show you, and to monitor site traffic and performance, so that we may improve our websites and your experience. You may opt out of our use of such cookies (and the associated “sale” of your Personal Information) by using this toggle switch. You will still see some advertising, regardless of your selection. Because we do not track you across different devices, browsers and GEMG properties, your selection will take effect only on this browser, this device and this website.

Targeting Cookies

We also use cookies to personalize your experience on our websites, including by determining the most relevant content and advertisements to show you, and to monitor site traffic and performance, so that we may improve our websites and your experience. You may opt out of our use of such cookies (and the associated “sale” of your Personal Information) by using this toggle switch. You will still see some advertising, regardless of your selection. Because we do not track you across different devices, browsers and GEMG properties, your selection will take effect only on this browser, this device and this website.