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Executive Order 13231 Broadens NCS Role in Critical Infrastructure Protection

Washington D.C., January 31, 2002 - The National Communications System (NCS) will have a vital role in President Bush’s push for increased protection of the Nation’s critical infrastructures, thanks to an Executive Order the President signed October 16, 2001.

Executive Order (E.O.) 13231 – “Critical Infrastructure Protection in the Information Age” (http://www.ncs.gov/ncs/html/eo-13231.htm) -- highlights the President’s efforts to “ensure protection of information systems for critical infrastructure, including emergency preparedness communications, and the physical assets that support such systems.”

President Bush said the information technology revolution has changed the way business is transacted, government operates, and national defense is conducted. “Those three functions now depend on an interdependent network of critical information infrastructures,” he said. “Protection of these systems is essential to the telecommunications, energy, financial services, manufacturing, water, transportation, health care, and emergency services sectors.”

The President said that it is the policy of the United States to “…protect against disruption of the operation of information systems for critical infrastructure protection and thereby help to protect the people, economy, essential human and government services and national security of the United States and to ensure that any disruptions that occur are infrequent, or minimal duration, and manageable, and cause the least damage possible.” He said the policy’s implementation shall include a “voluntary public-private partnership, involving corporate and non-government organizations.”

The E.O. established the Presidential Critical Infrastructure Protection (CIP) Board to coordinate and have cognizance of Federal efforts and programs that relate to protecting information systems. The NCS Manager -- currently Lt Gen Harry D. Raduege, Jr. -- has a seat on that board and serves with other senior government officials from the Executive Branch and other Federal agencies. In addition, the Manager is also a member of Board’s Coordination Committee.

The President’s Critical Infrastructure Protection Board will recommend policies and coordinate programs in support of information systems for critical infrastructure, including emergency preparedness communications and the physical assets that support such systems. The President indicated in the E.O. that the CIP board would:

• Conduct outreach efforts to the private sector, as well as State and local governments;
• Work with industry, State and local governments, and non-governmental organizations on ways to share information, creating systems to share threat warning, analysis, and recovery information;
• Coordinate programs to respond to information security incidents that threaten critical infrastructure systems;
• Recruit, train, and retain executive branch security professionals;
• Coordinate with the President’s Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) to hold research and development programs on the protection of critical information infrastructure protection;
• Promote programs dealing with educating the public on cyber crime and assist Federal law enforcement in gaining necessary cooperation from executive branch agencies to investigate cyber crime issues involving critical infrastructures;
• Support State Department efforts for international information infrastructure protection issues;
• Advise Office of Management and Budget (OMB), executive agencies, and the President on information security legislation before Congress; and
• Coordinate with the Office of Homeland Security on information infrastructure issues.

Section 11 of E.O. 13231 specifically contains language about the NCS and its critical role. President Bush said that changes in technology are causing the convergence of much of telephony, data relay, and Internet communications networks into an interconnected network of networks. “The NCS and its National Coordinating Center for Telecommunications shall support use of telephony, converged information, voice networks, and next generation networks for emergency preparedness and national security communications functions assigned to them in Executive Order 12472,” said the President. “All authorities and assignments of responsibilities to departments and agencies in that order, including the role of the Manager of NCS, remain unchanged except as explicitly modified by this order."

One key role the NCS plays under E.O. 13231 is chairing one of the CIP Board’s standing committees – the Committee for National Security and Emergency Preparedness Communications. The NS/EPC – formerly the NCS Committee of Principals -- consists of Government telecommunications executives representing 22 Federal agencies. The NS/EPC, in addition to its responsibilities to the NCS in accordance with E.O. 12472 (http://www.ncs.gov/ncs/html/EO12472.htm), shall report fully and regularly on the activities of the NS/EPC to the President’s Critical Infrastructure Protection Board.

There are currently 11 standing committees:

• Private Sector and State/Local Government Outreach
• Executive Branch Information Systems Security
• National Security Systems
• Incident Response and Coordination
• Research and Development
• National Security and Emergency Preparedness Communications
• Physical Security
• Infrastructure Interdependencies
• International Affairs
• Banking and Finance Information Infrastructure
• Education and Workforce

The Board will also work with Presidential Advisory Panels -- comprised of senior experts from outside of Government that advise the President. This includes the President's National Security Telecommunications Advisory Committee (NSTAC), a 30-member advisory committee which provides advice to the President on the security and continuity of communications systems essential for national security and emergency preparedness established by E.O. 12382 (http://www.ncs.gov/ncs/html/EO12382.html). Administrative and staff support for NSTAC comes from the National Communications System.

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