New DHS Cybersecurity Command to Protect U.S. from Cyber Attacks

Homeland Security has created a new command to help aid the U.S. in cybersecurity efforts.

• By Sydny Shepard
• Aug 03, 2018

In an effort to prevent and thwart cyberattacks, the United States Department of Homeland Security secretary Kirstjen Nielsen announced the creation of a new National Risk Management Center to help protect the nation's critical infrastructure.

The center's goal of protecting banking, communication and energy sectors was outlined at the National Cybersecurity Summit in New York this week.

Given the rise in cyber threats against the United States, Nielsen wanted to create a place where private companies can get assistance if they're experiencing a cyberattack. By creating a central authority where a company experiencing a cyberattack can seek the government's help early on, the center hopes to be able to learn about the attack to help protect others in the same sector or industry from becoming victims.

"An attack on a sing tech company can rapidly spiral into a crisis affecting the financial sector, energy systems and health care," Nielsen said. "Our goal is to simplify the process, to provide a single point of access to the full range of government activities to defend against cyber threats."

DHS will begin by conducting a number of 90-day "sprints" to identify key priorities and needs. The center will eventually run simulations and cross-sector analyses to identify threats and points of weaknesses in the U.S. infrastructure. The vision is to have the center be an emergency response team for public and private organizations undergoing cybersecurity threats.