DHS Official: Cybersecurity Mission Requires Teamwork

Greg Schaffer

The United States must be aware and focused on combating the threats in cyberspace, a DHS official told members of the House Committee on Homeland Security.

“As a nation, it is essential that we are aware of, and focused on, the cyber threat,” Greg Schaffer, assistant secretary at the Office of Cybersecurity and Communications at DHS, told committee members June 16. “Threats are becoming more targeted, more sophisticated and more numerous.”

The Department of Homeland Security is currently responsible for helping civilian agencies and departments to secure unclassified networks. DHS works closely with industry and government players to provide cyber protection for the critical infrastructure, according to Schaffer.

In order to meet the growing cyber threat, DHS is looking to expand its base of skilled cybersecurity professionals.

“We are moving aggressively to build a world-class cybersecurity team,” Schaffer said.

“We have identified three key priorities that enable and establish a ‘systems-of-systems’ approach encompassing the people, processes and technologies needed to create a front line of defense and grow the nation’s capacity to respond to new and emerging threats,” he added.

DHS is also responsible for informing the general public regarding the threats in cyberspace. Teamwork is essential to the cyber mission, so getting all players involved both in government and the private sector is vital, Schaffer said.

“Simply put, the cybersecurity mission cannot be accomplished by any one agency or even solely within the federal realm,” he said. “It requires teamwork and coordination across all sectors because it touches every aspect of our lives.”

DHS actively collaborates with the military, Intelligence Community, government and private sector to examine possible vulnerabilities and active threats that target the nation’s critical infrastructure.

“None of this is possible, however, without a comprehensive understanding of federal executive branch civilian networks from an enterprise perspective,” Schaffer said.

He also discussed two major initiatives, EINSTEIN 2 and 3. The EINSTEIN 2 program is currently deployed at 11 departments and agencies and is providing “on average, visibility into more than 278,000 indicators of potentially malicious activity per month,” Schaffer said.

“We are currently working with the private sector, the National Security Agency and a wide range of other federal partners to test the technology for the third phase of EINSTEIN,” he added.

DHS is also focused on expanding its messaging of creating a cyber-aware culture throughout the nation.

“We need to develop a cybersecurity culture that realizes that everyone – government, corporate or private – has a vested stake in all aspects of cybersecurity,” Schaffer said. “DHS is committed to working collaboratively with our public, private, academic and interagency partners to ensure that the cyber elements of our nation’s critical infrastructure are secure.”

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