DHS seeks public comments on infrastructure protection plan

DHS is soliciting public comment on revisions to the National Infrastructure Protection Plan (NIPP), which is the framework for defending essential infrastructure, ranging from agriculture to transportation, against attack or natural disaster. The request for comment shows DHS’s interest in seeking to engage public interest and to invite public feedback on a matter of broad public policy. “We’re hoping to get inputs from across the country,” said Larry May of the DHS NIPP Program Management Office in an interview today, “and from everyone concerned with critical infrastructure protection.” The Federation of Amercian Scientists’ (FAS) Secrecy News reports that some of the NIPP policies that are under review are not that important, such as changes in terminology, but others are profound, such as the relative emphasis in the plan on “protection rather than resiliency.” Where “protection” seeks to anticipate, deter, and defend against particular threats that are intrinsically uncertain, “resilience” focuses on capabilities needed for rapid response and recovery from a broad range of hazards. They imply different strategies, including public information disclosure strategies.

Are there significant numbers of Americans who care enough about such issues to express their views to DHS? Apparently so. May said that the last time DHS conducted a review of the NIPP in 2006, some 10,000 comments were submitted. Why does DHS care what the public thinks? Basically, May said, “all of us are in this together, if you will.” Additional information on the NIPP, including the most recent 2006 iteration, may be found here.