Federal Support For Homeland Security Information Sharing

Federal support for homeland security information sharing: role of the Information Sharing Program Manager: hearing before the Subcommittee on Intelligence, Information Sharing, and Terrorism Risk Assessment of the Committee on Homeland Security, House of Representatives, One Hundred Ninth Congress, first session, November 8, 2005.

Federal support for homeland security information sharing : role of the Information Sharing Program Manager : hearing before the Subcommittee on Intelligence, Information Sharing, and Terrorism Risk Assessment of the Committee on Homeland Security, House of Representatives, One Hundred Ninth Congress, first session, November 8, 2005.

Contents: (1) The Need for a Nat. Strategy; Guiding Principles; Linkage with Other Nat. Strategies; (2) Background and the Current Environment: What Has Been Accomplished Since 9/11?; Continuing Challenges; Legislative and Regulatory Background; (3) Sharing Info. at the Fed. Level; (4) Sharing Info. with State and Local Gov¿ts.; Interagency Threat Assessment and Coordination Group; State and Major Urban Area Fusion Centers; (4) Sharing Info. with the Private Sector; (5) Sharing Info. with Foreign Partners; (6) Protecting Privacy and Other Legal Rights in the Sharing of Info.: Core Privacy Principles; Privacy Governance; (7) Institutionalizing the Strategy for Long-Term Success: Protecting the Info. Privacy and Legal Rights of Amer.

Following 9/11, state and local gov¿ts. formed fusion centers, collaborative efforts to detect, prevent, investigate, and respond to criminal or terrorist activity. Recognizing that the centers are a critical mechanism for sharing info., the fed. gov¿t. -- incl. the Dept. of Homeland Security, Dept. of Justice, and the Program Manager for the Info. Sharing Environ. -- is taking steps to partner with fusion centers. This testimony focuses on: (1) the characteristics of fusion centers as of 9/07; and (2) fed. efforts to help alleviate challenges centers identified. This report is based on an 10/07 report on 58 fusion centers and related fed. efforts to support them as well as updated info. obtained by reviewing plans describing selected fed. efforts. Includes recommend. Illus.

This is a print on demand edition of a hard to find publication. Recent terrorist activity, such as the attempted Times Square bombing, underscores the need for terrorism-related information sharing. Since 2001, all 50 states and some local governments have established fusion centers, where homeland security, terrorism, and other intelligence information is shared. The fed. gov¿t. recognizes the importance of fusion centers; however, as reported in October 2007, centers face challenges in sustaining their operations. This report assesses the extent to which: (1) the Dept. of Homeland Security (DHS) has taken action to support fusion centers' efforts to maintain and grow their operations; and (2) DHS and the Dept. of Justice have supported fusion centers in establishing privacy and civil liberties protections. Illustrations.