The Department of Homeland Security has released the National Cyber Incident Response Plan that aims to boost the federal government’s capacity to manage cyber incidents.
DHS Secretary Jeh Johnson said Wednesday the plan describes the roles and responsibilities of federal, state, local, territorial and tribal entities as well as private sector and international stakeholders during a cyber incident.
NCIRP also identifies capabilities required to respond to a major cyber event and defines how the federal government will coordinate its activities with affected organizations, Johnson added.
DHS disseminated a draft of the document to stakeholders in September 2016 for final comment.
“[The plan] serves as the primary strategic framework for stakeholders when developing agency, sector, and organization-specific operational and coordination plans,” Johnson said.
Johnson noted NCIRP aims to unify emergency operations planning and explain to individuals affected by cyber incidents how federal departments, agencies and other partners can offer resources to aid mitigation and recovery.
DHS created the doctrine in coordination with the departments of Justice and Defense, Office of the Director of National Intelligence, sector-specific agencies and other interagency partners, private sector and state and local governments.
President Barack Obama issued a presidential policy directive in July 2016 that directed DHS to carry out a comprehensive review and update NCIRP within 180 days.
