CISA Defines Critical Functions of Feds, Industry for National Security

The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency issued a list of national critical functions to guide the federal government and private sector partners in protecting critical infrastructures. The National Critical Functions document highlights the activities of agencies and organizations that significantly contribute to U.S. national security, CISA said in the document released Tuesday. 

Disruption, corruption or dysfunction of such functions could negatively affect the country’s security, economic security and public health or safety, the agency noted. CISA divided the functions into the areas of “supply” for those that provide resources to the public, “distribute” for movement of goods and people, “manage” for a variety of functions and “connect,” which focuses on telecommunications and internet services. 

“Ultimately, the set of National Critical Functions is a launching pad to execute a more advanced approach to cybersecurity and critical infrastructure security and resilience,” the agency said. 

The document “provides a risk management approach that focuses on better understanding the functions that an entity enables or to which it contributes, rather than focusing on a static sector-specific or asset world view.”