US DHS To Get Cyber Defence Agency

US DHS To Get Cyber Defence Agency

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A US House of Representatives committee has voted to create a new agency under the purview of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) that will be charged with protecting America’s cyber interests – the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Protection Agency (CIPA), Defense One reports.

The new agency would be formed from an existing DHS branch, the National Protection and Programs Directorate (NPDD). CIPA would become an “operational” agency, like the Transportation Security Administration (TSA). The overhaul is expected to take place in 2017, under the next White House administration.

CIPA would draw its powers from a 2015 legislation that gave the DHS new private sector cyber protection responsibilities, and the reorganisation is meant to ensure that the Department can “effectively carry out those authorities,” a House staffer told Nextgov.

This measure “realigns and streamlines the department’s cybersecurity and infrastructure protection missions to more effectively protect the American public against cyberattacks that could cripple the nation,” said Republican committee chair Michael McCaul.

“Every day, cyber criminals and nation states are looking for vulnerabilities to exploit in companies like Target and Sony, our critical infrastructure sectors and the federal government,” he continued. “And while the complexities of these assaults grows, the steps taken today are crucial towards ensuring our homeland remains ready to defend against these attacks.”

Suzanne Spaulding, current NPDD Undersecretary, said in March that the proposed merger signals a recognition that our digital and physical lives are now intertwined. CIPA units would coordinate through working groups to ensure protection in the cyber domain, of critical infrastructure and emergency communication, without coalescing all DHS duties in the physical and digital arenas under one umbrella.