DHS To Gain Autonomy Under Obama Cybersecurity Plan

The agency will be tasked with protecting federal civilian networks in the same way the DOD protects military and other critical U.S. infrastructure.

INL cybersecurity researcher Wikimedia Image

Elizabeth Montalbano
Information Week 

The Obama administration’s cybersecurity legislative proposal gives the Department of Homeland Security more power than ever to protect federal networks against cyberthreats and breaks down the department’s communication barriers with the Department of Defense to do so, officials told a Senate panel this week.

White House officials testified Monday before the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs about the comprehensive plan laid out by the administration nearly two weeks ago to create legislation to protect U.S. critical infrastructure and networks. A video of the hearing is available online.

One key aspect of the plan is to put the DHS’s mission to protect U.S. federal civilian networks on par with the DOD’s mission to protect U.S. military networks, giving the DHS more autonomy to act against cyberthreats on behalf of the government than before.

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