Sec. 4. Roles and responsibilities
704 words·~3 min read·
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The Secretary shall establish and appoint a research working group that shall— study and make recommendations on how best to achieve and implement national unity of effort to protect against terrorism threats, through investigation of strategic guidance from existing laws, Presidential policy directives, and Executive orders; and investigate the security and resilience of the Nation’s information assurance components that provide protection against terrorism threats. The research working group shall also consider research by subject-matter experts on cyber security in-depth approaches that study the following, and make recommendations thereon to the Secretary:
The program of the Department of Homeland Security to secure Federal agencies and critical infrastructure to create resilient secure computer systems and networks. Cyber security preparedness of vendors, contractors, or nongovernment agency entities that provide computer-related support or services to critical infrastructure owners and operators as well as government agencies charged with securing them. Investigation of the feasibility of developing industry- or sector-specific computer emergency rapid response teams.
The feasibility of the agency developing a guest visiting security researchers program to provide instruction to private sector and civilian agency personnel responsible for cyber security. The research working group shall be comprised of individuals with expertise and day-to-day engagement from the sector-specific agency terrorism prevention, remediation, and response experts, as well as the specialized or support terrorism prevention capabilities of other Federal departments and agencies, as well as experts who engage in strong collaboration with critical infrastructure owners and operators and SLTTs, and academic researchers with in-depth knowledge in computing security.
The Secretary of Homeland Security shall establish a research program to provide strategic guidance, promote a national unity of effort, and coordinate the overall Federal effort to promote the security and resilience of the Nation’s critical infrastructure from terrorist threats. Additional roles and responsibilities for the Secretary of Homeland Security include the following: Identify and prioritize critical infrastructure, considering physical and cyber threats, vulnerabilities, and consequences of terrorist attacks, in coordination with SSAs and other Federal departments and agencies.
Maintain national terrorism critical infrastructure centers that shall provide a situational awareness capability that includes integrated, actionable information about potential terrorist trends, imminent terrorist threats, and the status of terrorist incidents that may impact critical infrastructure. In coordination with SSAs and other Federal departments and agencies, provide analysis, expertise, and other technical assistance to critical infrastructure owners and operators on terrorism prevention security protocols and facilitate access to and exchange of information and intelligence necessary to strengthen the security and resilience of critical infrastructure.
Conduct comprehensive assessments of the vulnerabilities of the Nation’s critical infrastructure in coordination with the SSAs and in collaboration with SLTTs and critical infrastructure owners and operators. Coordinate Federal Government responses to cyber or physical terrorism incidents affecting critical infrastructure consistent with statutory authorities. Support the Attorney General and law enforcement agencies with their responsibilities to investigate and prosecute threats to and terrorist attacks against critical infrastructure.
Coordinate with and utilize the expertise of SSAs and other appropriate Federal departments and agencies to map geospatially, image, analyze, and sort critical infrastructure by employing commercial satellite and airborne systems, as well as existing capabilities within other departments and agencies. Report annually to Congress on the status of national critical infrastructure efforts to meet the objectives of this section. Recognizing existing statutory or regulatory authorities of specific Federal departments and agencies, and leveraging existing sector familiarity and relationships, the head of each SSA shall carry out the following roles and responsibilities for their respective sectors:
Serve as a day-to-day Federal interface for the dynamic prioritization and coordination of sector-specific activities related to cyber security critical infrastructure protection from terrorism. Carry out terrorism incident management responsibilities consistent with statutory authority and other appropriate policies, directives, or regulations. Provide, support, or facilitate technical assistance and consultations for such sectors to identify vulnerabilities and help mitigate terrorism incidents, as appropriate.
The Secretary shall conduct research and submit a report to Congress not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act on the best practices for coordinating with civilian agencies, private sector critical infrastructure owners, local, State, tribal, and territorial agencies, other relevant Federal departments and agencies, where appropriate with independent regulatory agencies, and SLTTs, as appropriate, to implement this Act.