Cyberwarfare

Cyberwarfare raises issues of growing national interest and concern.

Cyberwarfare can be used to describe various aspects of defending and attacking information and computer networks in cyberspace, as well as denying an adversary’s ability to do the same. Some major problems encountered with cyber attacks, in particular, are the difficulty in determining the origin and nature of the attack and in assessing the damage incurred.

A number of nations are incorporating cyberwarfare as a new part of their military doctrine. Some that have discussed the subject more openly include the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Russia, and China. Many of these are developing views toward the use of cyberwarfare that differ from those of the United States, and in some cases might represent national security threats.

Cyberterrorism is also an issue of growing national interest. Many believe terrorists plan to disrupt the Internet or critical infrastructures such as transportation, communications, or banking and finance. It does seem clear that terrorists use the Internet to conduct the business of terrorism, but on closer inspection, however, it is not clear how or whether terrorists could use violence through the Internet to achieve political objectives.

Although the U.S. government is striving to consolidate responsibility for and focus more attention on cyberwarfare issues, it is not clear how successful those efforts will be. Congress may choose to examine critically the policies, organization, and legal framework that guides executive ranch decisionmaking on issues of cyberwarfare.

Saturday, October 17, 2009

NATIONAL CENTER FOR CRITICAL INFORMATION PROCESSING AND STORAGE

NATIONAL CENTER FOR CRITICAL INFORMATION PROCESSING AND STORAGE

The Committee recommends $46,130,000 within Security Activities for data center development. This includes the budget request level (which includes operation and maintenance costs for the National Center for Critical Information Processing and Storage [NCCIPS] and the second data center) and an additional $22,300,000 solely to be used to support transition of Department systems to NCCIPS, to support the dual cost of operation and maintenance during the transition, and to develop a sharable common operating environment. NCCIPS is a federally owned and managed facility established to reduce Federal data center costs and to protect critical Federal information.

The Committee also includes language in the bill withholding the availability of $200,000,000 for obligation until the Department of Homeland Security submits to the Committee the report on data center transition required by Senate Report 110-84, which is to include: (1) the schedule for data transition by Department component; (2) costs required to complete the transition by fiscal year; (3) identification of items associated with the transition required to be procured and the related procurement schedule; and (4) the identification of any transition costs provided in fiscal years 2007 and 2008. The report submitted should separate these requirements and costs by data center and include fiscal year 2009 data.

Consistent with section 888 of Public Law 107-296, the Committee instructs the Department to implement the consolidation plan in a manner that shall not result in a reduction to the Coast Guard's Operations Systems Center mission or its Government-employed or contract staff levels. A general provision is included for this purpose.

HOMELAND SECURE DATA NETWORK

Included in the amount recommended by the Committee is $47,673,000, as requested in the budget, for the Homeland Secure Data Network.

ANALYSIS AND OPERATIONS

Appropriations, 2008 1$306,000,000
Budget estimate, 2009333,262,000
Committee recommendation 2320,200,000
1 Excludes a rescission of $8,700,000 pursuant to Public Law 110-161.
2 Excludes a rescission of $2,500,000.

The account supports activities to improve the analysis and sharing of threat information, including activities of the Office of Intelligence and Analysis and the Office of Operations Coordination.

COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATIONS

The Committee recommends $320,200,000 for Analysis and Operations. This is an increase of $14,200,000 from the fiscal year 2008 level and a decrease of $13,062,000 from the budget request. The details of these recommendations are included in a classified annex accompanying this report.

DHS INTELLIGENCE EXPENDITURE PLAN

No later than 60 days after the date of enactment of this act, the Secretary shall submit a fiscal year 2009 expenditure plan for the Office of Intelligence and Analysis [I&A], including balances carried forward from prior years, that includes the following: (1) fiscal year 2009 expenditures and staffing allotted for each program, as identified in the March 2008 expenditure plan submitted to the Committee, as compared to each of years 2007 and 2008; (2) all funded versus on-board positions, including Federal full-time equivalents [FTE], contractors, and reimbursable and non-reimbursable detailees; (3) an explanation for maintaining contract staff in lieu of Government FTE; (4) a plan, including dates or timeframes for achieving key milestones, to reduce the office's reliance on contract staff in lieu of Federal FTE; (5) funding, by object classification, including a comparison to fiscal years 2007 and 2008; and (6) the number of I&A funded employees supporting organizations outside I&A and within DHS.

STATE AND LOCAL FUSION CENTERS

The Committee directs the Department's Chief Intelligence Officer to continue quarterly updates to the Committees on Appropriations that detail progress in placing DHS intelligence professionals in State and local fusion centers. These reports shall include: the qualification criteria used by DHS to decide where and how to place DHS intelligence analysts and related technology; total Federal expenditures to support each center to date and during the most recent quarter of the current fiscal year, in the same categorization as materials submitted to the Committees on Appropriations on March 23, 2007; the location of each fusion center, including identification of those with DHS personnel, both operational and planned; the schedule for operational stand-up of planned fusion centers and their locations; the number of DHS-funded employees located at each fusion center, including details on whether the employees are contract or government staff; the privacy protection policies of each center, including the number of facility personnel trained in Federal privacy, civil rights, and civil liberties laws and standards; and the number of local law enforcement agents at each center approved or pending approval to receive and review classified intelligence information.
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