The Department of Homeland Security’s Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) on Wednesday announced its has stood up CISA Central, which consolidates people, processes and technologies to integrate its approach tosh sharing information about cyber and physical security.
In a letter to CISA’s partners and colleagues, Chris Krebs, the agency’s director, said that “under the hood, CISA Central consolidates the people, process, and technology for operations and information sharing activities within CISA under a single team. This includes parts of the National Cybersecurity and Communications Integration Center (NCCIC), National Infrastructure Coordinating Center (NICC), and National Coordinating Center for Communications (NCC). Rather than name the combined organization the ‘NCCICNICCNCC,’ we kept it simple—CISA Central.”
Krebs adds that his is the easiest and “centralized way to interact with CISA.”
The need for a more streamlined information sharing effort has been reinforced by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and Iranian cyber attacks earlier this year, Krebs says. These events require “coordinated, frequent, and effective communications with the critical infrastructure community,” he says.
The new streamlined and consolidated approach to information sharing within the agency follows its standup more than a year ago as it transitioned from an awkwardly named directorate, the former National Protection and Programs Directorate, to CISA, which reflects its operational mission to help the nation better prepare for and respond to cyber and physical attacks against critical infrastructures.
“This is what Congress, our partners, and the American public expect of CISA as the Nation’s risk advisor—an integrated, all-risks, cross-functional center, purpose-built to break down legacy stovepipes and enable more effective understanding, sharing, and coordination of activities across the critical infrastructure community,” Krebs says in the letter. “Cyber, communications, or physical, CISA Central is the one-stop-shop for information sharing and situational awareness monitoring.”
Krebs also provided a new email for stakeholders and partners to contact his agency: [email protected].