DHS cyber agency details priorities

The Department of Homeland Security’s Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) plans to prioritize election security, cybersecurity at federal agencies, and the “persistent threat” posed by China, among its many goals.

The agency laid out its key priorities in a new “strategic intent” document released on Thursday, which CISA Director Christopher Krebs described in the introduction as the “keystone” for the agency.

Among Krebs’ operational priorities is addressing Chinese threats to U.S. supply chains and to the rollout of 5G networks, bolstering election security efforts at the state and local level, and protecting the cybersecurity of industrial control systems.

Other priorities are protecting federal networks against cyber attacks, such as ransomware incidents that have increasingly spread across the country, and defending “soft targets” and crowded venues from physical threats.

Why it matters: CISA is the primary agency responsible for assisting state and local governments with securing elections, replacing the former National Protection and Programs Directorate in a law that took effect last year.

Krebs, who is the agency’s first director, laid out the strategic plan during a speech on Thursday at Auburn University’s Center for Cyber and Homeland Security in Auburn, Ala. He emphasized CISA’s core mission of “defend today, secure tomorrow.”

“I know what the Russians did in 2016, I know what they tried to do in 2018, I need to know what they’re going to try to do in 2020,” Krebs said.