Department of Homeland Security, Under Secretary for National Protection and Programs Directorate

Department/Agency: Department of Homeland Security

Position:

Under Secretary for National Protection and Programs Directorate

Executive Schedule: Executive Level III - Presidential Appointment with Senate Confirmation

Major Responsibilities:

Coordinates efforts to reduce risk of physical and virtual threats
Promotes cyber security and reliable communications
Leads effort to protect critical infrastructure
Integrates federal, state, local and territorial plans to protect national security
Coordinates risk management and analysis operations
Offers biometrics-based technological solutions, including digital fingerprints, to critical decision-makers

Key Competencies and Preferred Qualifications:

Previous large-scale security experience
Background in coordinating disaster response

Insight:

The Department of Homeland Security has identified the security of the nation’s cyber systems as one of its top priorities. The Under Secretary for National Protection and Programs Robert D. Jamison highlighted the critical nature of cyber security in testimony to Congress.

“As our economy, critical infrastructure, and national security become more reliant on technology, it is essential that we take proactive measures to enhance the security and resiliency of the information technology (IT) systems and networks on which we rely,” Jamison said. “We face increasing global threats to our cyber infrastructure, and the exploitation of vulnerabilities is facilitated by the widespread availability of tools, techniques, and information.”

But independent and congressional observers have expressed doubts that the DHS is the right department to spearhead cyber security initiatives. The Commission on Cyber Security for the 44th Presidency, a project of the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), advised both the McCain and Obama campaigns on cyber security. The commission recommended stripping DHS of cyber security oversight and returning the program to White House control.

"The conclusion we've reached is that only the White House has the authority to be effective," said James Lewis, director and senior fellow of the Technology and Public Policy Program at CSIS, at a hearing of the House Subcommittee on Emerging Threats. "I think DHS has struggled for a number of reasons. One of the most important is that it doesn't have the authority to direct other agencies. I began by thinking we should strengthen DHS and I did not receive much encouragement when we put that forward. There are things that only DHS can do, but our view is that many of these functions need to move to the White House. This is now a serious national security problem and needs to be treated as such. Cyber security now needs to receive White House attention."

Commission members also pointed to infighting among Jamison and his staff, as well as a reluctance to heed input from non-DHS advisers, as causes of the ineffectiveness of current cyber security programs.

The commission’s findings echo congressional concerns. Leading senators on the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee issued a letter to Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff in May 2008 urging reform of the department’s cyber initiatives, beginning with greater transparency.

The next under secretary for national protection and programming may lose authority over cyber security efforts, but he or she must demonstrate the capacity to coordinate other national protection goals, including guarding against dangerous people and goods, protecting critical infrastructure, and building a streamlined emergency response system.

A key component of meeting these goals is crafting a “flexible and robust” risk management system that is at once specialized enough to provide useful information for each relevant actor and broad enough to lend itself to the development of an overarching preparedness strategy, Jamison has told to Congress. “In the context of homeland security, estimating risk includes characterization of three key factors: threats, vulnerabilities, and consequences,” he said.

Key Relationships – Within the Department or Agency:

Secretary of Homeland Security
National Communications System
National Cyber Security Division
Office of Emergency Communications
Director, Customs and Border Protection
Director, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service
Assistant Secretary, Immigration and Customs Enforcement
Commandant, U.S. Coast Guard

Key Relationships – Within the Government:

Assistant Secretary of Defense for Homeland Defense
Department of Justice
National Cyber Response Coordination Group
Department of State’s BioVisa Program
Intelligence Community
Trusted Internet Connections Initiative, Office of Management and Budget

Key Relationships – Outside the Government:

State and local first responders
Security industry

Nomination Referred to:

Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs

Current Position Profile:

1. Rand Beers (Confirmed: June 19, 2009). Former American counterterrorism adviser who served on the National Security Council under U.S. Presidents Ronald Reagan, George H.W. Bush, Bill Clinton, and George W. Bush. He also served as Assistant Secretary of State and International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs under both President Clinton and President George W. Bush. Beers resigned in protest from the NSC in March 2003, five days before commencement of the U.S. invasion of Iraq.

Recent Position Profiles:
2. Robert D. Jamison (2007 - 2009). Former deputy administrator and chief operating officer for the Transportation Security Administration. Former deputy administrator of the Federal Transit Administration in the U.S. Department of Transportation, where he led the post-9/11 Lower Manhattan transportation recovery operation. Former acting administrator of the Federal Railroad Administration. Former senior operations officer for the American Red Cross and manager for the United Parcel Service domestically and abroad.