DHS Announces Strategy To Manage Cybersecurity Risks

U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced Tuesday (May 15) a new strategy to identify and manage national cybersecurity risk.

In a press release, the DHS said the strategy, directed by the National Defense Authorization Act of 2017, addresses the strategic and operational goals, as well as the priorities, of DHS to execute the full range of the agency’s responsibilities. The aim is to enable the prioritization of DHS planning, programming, budgeting and operational activities across all the cybersecurity missions at the agency. What’s more, it will also focus on coordinating departmental cybersecurity activities to ensure everyone is on the same page.

“The cyber threat landscape is shifting in real-time, and we have reached a historic turning point,” said Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen in the press release. “Digital security is now converging with personal and physical security, and it is clear that our cyber adversaries can now threaten the very fabric of our republic itself. That is why DHS is rethinking its approach by adopting a more comprehensive cybersecurity strategy. In an age of brand-name breaches, we must think beyond the defense of specific assets — and confront systemic risks that affect everyone from tech giants to homeowners. Our strategy outlines how DHS will leverage its unique capabilities on the digital battlefield to defend American networks and get ahead of emerging cyber threats.”

Under the plan, the DHS will focus on evolving national cybersecurity risk posturing to inform and prioritize risk management activities. This includes protecting the IT systems of the federal government by reducing vulnerabilities and national cyber threats by countering cybercriminals and organized crime operations, responding more effectively to cybersecurity incidents, and strengthening the security and reliability of the cyber ecosystem by supporting policies that enable improved global cybersecurity.