The DHS is setting up the cybersecurity center under the auspices of the Multi-State Information Sharing and Analysis Center (MS-ISAC) in East Greenbush, New York. The cybersecurity operations center will provide 24-hour watch and warning services as well as cybersecurity risk, vulnerability, and mitigation data to state and local governments. MS-ISAC will also have a permanent representative at the NCCIC.
State and local governments have been pushing for increased cybersecurity cooperation with DHS. One effort, reported by Infosecurity, involves a push by state chief information officers to receive more DHS funding for cybersecurity initiatives at the state and local government levels.
DHS is also expanding cybersecurity cooperation between NCCIC and the Information Technology Information Sharing and Analysis Center (IT-ISAC), which represents IT stakeholders from the private sector. IT-ISAC will have a full-time cybersecurity analyst at the NCCIC, who will serve as a liaison with DHS.
These agreements follow one signed last month between DHS and the Department of Defense (DoD) expanding cybersecurity cooperation between the two agencies. This includes deploying a DoD support team to the NCCIC and a DHS support team to the National Security Agency.
This enhanced intergovernmental and industry cooperation grew out of the recent Cyber Storm III cyber incident response exercise held at the end of September. That event involved participation of seven federal agencies, 11 states, 60 private companies, and 12 international partners in a large-scale simulation of a cyberattack against US infrastructure.