Category Archives: National Protection and Programs Directorate

The key to protecting the midterms is resilience for election systems, experts say

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With less than three weeks until the midterm elections, a lot of work has gone into preparing for the threat of election interference. But experts speaking at the CyberTalks conference on Thursday acknowledged that disaster could still strike, and that the officials who run U.S. elections have to be armed with proper resources and resilient systems. “We’re not seeing activity right now relating to direct election hacking. We’re not seeing anything right now along the lines of 2016, and that frankly makes me a little nervous,” said Homeland Security Undersecretary Chris Krebs. “So we’re working aggressively with our partners, the state and local [officials] to work through what an adversary could do with a two-and-a-half-week lead-up to the midterm elections.” U.S. intelligence officials have stressed over the past two years that Russia attempted to interfere in the 2016 election. Krebs said the hope is now to avoid a “failure of […]

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DHS’s top cyber office is about to get a name that reflects its mission

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The point office on cybersecurity in the Department of Homeland Security is on track for a rebrand. The Senate on Wednesday passed the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency Act, which would both codify the office into law and give it a more relevant name. Under the bill, DHS’s National Protection and Programs Directorate (NPPD) would become the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA). DHS established the NPPD in 2007; the legislation is essentially Congress’ official seal of approval. The House is expected to hold a final vote soon, sending the bill to President Donald Trump. NPPD leads the U.S. government’s efforts to secure federal networks and critical infrastructure. The office has also been spearheading the federal government’s election security efforts since the threats that became apparent in 2016. The office coordinates with state and local election offices on information sharing and cybersecurity best practices. “It is ridiculous that DHS needs an act of […]

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Sen. Wyden blocks Krebs nomination over Stingray demands

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Democratic Sen. Ron Wyden has blocked Christopher Krebs’s nomination to be undersecretary for the Department of Homeland Security’s National Protection and Programs Directorate until the department is more forthcoming about its detection of unauthorized mobile surveillance devices, commonly known as Stingrays, in the United States. In a congressional notice Thursday, Wyden said he was objecting to Senate floor consideration of the nomination until the department makes public a presentation it gave to federal employees on Stingrays in February.  “That presentation included important information that I believe the American people have a right to know,” the Oregon senator wrote. Krebs is currently NPPD’s acting head. A Department of Homeland Security spokesperson declined to comment on Wyden’s move. In a March letter to Wyden, Krebs acknowledged the presence of apparently unauthorized mobile surveillance devices in the Washington, D.C., area and elsewhere in the country that could be exploited by foreign spies to track and […]

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DHS security unit makes another big hire from elsewhere in government

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The federal agency charged with protecting U.S. infrastructure — including its computer networks — has hired Daniel Kroese, the chief of staff for Republican Rep. John Ratcliffe, as a senior adviser. The National Protection and Programs Directorate (NPPD), part of the Department of Homeland Security, brings on Kroese as the Trump administration and Congress are seeking to harden U.S. cybersecurity, including its elections systems. Kroese, who announced the hire in an email to colleagues, will arrive at NPPD with close contacts throughout Congress. The move follows NPPD’s addition of Matthew Masterson, the former chairman of the Election Assistance Commission (EAC), as another senior adviser. Masterson’s role is focused on election security. It’s not clear yet what Kroese will specialize in at NPPD. “After a remarkable 4+ years, today will be my last day working for Congressman John Ratcliffe,” Kroese said in an email to colleagues. “I will soon be starting as Senior Advisor […]

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Senate panel gives go-ahead to bill that would hit reset on DHS

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Congress is moving forward with a plan to reauthorize the Department of Homeland Security for the first time since its 2002 creation and establish a permanent, dedicated cyber office within the agency. The Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Government Affairs approved the legislation Wednesday. The current bill is a version of what the House passed in July. If it passes in the full Senate, it would still need to see action in the House, even though that side of Congress already passed two attempts to reauthorize DHS last year. The Senate bill would reorganize DHS’s National Protection and Programs Directorate into a dedicated cyber agency, called the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency. NPPD was established in 2007 by DHS and therefore isn’t officially deputized by Congress. The new office would be headed by an department undersecretary. “Passing the Department of Homeland Security Authorization Act is an important step to strengthen DHS and to establish a process […]

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Rep. Mike McCaul: It’s taken too long to reauthorize NPPD

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Representatives on the House Committee on Homeland Security stressed the need for attention to cybersecurity issues at an event addressing the state of national security on Monday at George Washington University. Committee Chairman Rep. Michael McCaul, R-Texas, painted a bleak picture when it comes to the cybersecurity threats the U.S. faces from foreign adversaries. He also promoted ongoing Congressional efforts to reorganize the office inside the Department of Homeland Security that oversees national cybersecurity infrastructure. “Our adversaries, both nation-state and non-state actors, threaten us around the clock in cyberspace,” McCaul said. “Whether it’s North Korea launching a global cyberattack crippling infrastructure, to China stealing our nation’s valuable intellectual property, to Russia conducting disinformation warfare campaigns to sow discord among our people, to Iran attacking our financial institutions, to terrorists spreading evil propaganda over the internet, to criminals taking our financial and personal information, we are all exposed to harm.” McCaul touted […]

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