Category: NCTC Resources

Source: US Department of Homeland Security

WASHINGTON – The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) announces today the availability of the Repository for Software Attestation and Artifacts that software producers who partner with the federal government can use to upload software attestation forms and relevant artifacts. Last week, CISA and the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) announced the secure software development attestation form, which enables software producers serving the federal government to attest to implementation of specific security practices.  

Software integrity is key to protecting federal systems from malicious cyber actors seeking to disrupt our nation’s critical functions. This new repository will help federal agencies employ software from producers that attest to using sound secure development practices.  

“Software underpins nearly every service our government delivers on behalf of the American people. This is why CISA and our partners are working to transform federal cybersecurity practices by advancing strong software development security practices for the software upon which Americans depend,” said Executive Assistant Director for Cybersecurity Eric Goldstein. “The repository for software attestation and artifacts will enable a standardized process for agencies and software producers that provides transparency on the security of software development. We look forward to further refining the process to continue elevating software security across the federal enterprise.”   

OMB Memorandum M-22-18,” Enhancing the Security of the Software Supply Chain through Secure Software Development Practices,” and OMB Memorandum M-23-16, “Update to Memorandum M-22-18,” limit agencies’ ability to use software that is not developed using secure practices. The attestation form will allow software producers to confirm that they follow those practices. 

For more information, please visit: Secure Software Development Attestation Form. 

###

About CISA 

As the nation’s cyber defense agency and national coordinator for critical infrastructure security, the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency leads the national effort to understand, manage, and reduce risk to the digital and physical infrastructure Americans rely on every hour of every day.

Visit CISA.gov for more information and follow us on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram.   

Source: US Department of Homeland Security

DHS Will Launch Three Pilot Projects to Test AI Technology to Enhance Immigration Officer Training, Help Communities Build Resilience and Reduce Burden for Applying for Disaster Relief Grants, and Improve Efficiency of Law Enforcement Investigations 

WASHINGTON – Today, Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro N. Mayorkas and Chief Information Officer and Chief Artificial Intelligence Officer Eric Hysen announced the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) first “Artificial Intelligence Roadmap.” The roadmap details DHS’s 2024 plans, including to test uses of the technologies that deliver meaningful benefits to the American public and advance homeland security, while ensuring that individuals’ privacy, civil rights, and civil liberties are protected.  

As part of the roadmap, DHS announced three innovative pilot projects that will deploy AI in specific mission areas.  Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) will test AI to enhance investigative processes focused on detecting fentanyl and increasing efficiency of investigations related to combatting child sexual exploitation.  The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) will deploy AI to help communities plan for and develop hazard mitigation plans to build resilience and minimize risks.  And, United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) will use AI to improve immigration officer training.  

“The unprecedented speed and potential of AI’s development and adoption presents both enormous opportunities to advance our mission and risks we must mitigate,” said Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro N. Mayorkas. “The DHS AI roadmap and pilots will guide our efforts this year to strengthen our national security, improve our operations, and provide more efficient services to the American people, while upholding our commitment to protect civil rights, civil liberties, and privacy. What we learn from the pilot projects will be beneficial in shaping how the Department can effectively and responsibly use AI across the homeland security enterprise moving forward.” 

The roadmap lays out DHS’s initiatives in AI, describes the potential of AI technologies across the Department, and offers clearer visibility into the Department’s approach to AI, while underscoring the Department’s commitment to responsible utilization. 

The AI roadmap outlines three lines of effort DHS is using to guide its work:  

• Responsibly leverage AI to advance Homeland Security missions while protecting individuals’ privacy, civil rights, and civil liberties – DHS is committed to ensuring that its use of AI fully respects privacy, civil liberties, and civil rights, is rigorously tested to avoid bias, disparate impact, privacy harms, and other risks, and that it is understandable to the people we serve. 
   
• Promote Nationwide AI Safety and Security – Advances in AI will revolutionize the delivery of essential goods and services upon which Americans rely. AI can create tremendous efficiencies and benefits for citizens, but it can also present new and novel risks. To protect U.S. cyber networks and critical infrastructure, DHS will help govern the safe and responsible development and use of AI. 
   
• Continue to lead in AI through strong cohesive partnerships – DHS will foster strong relationships with private sector, academia, State, Local, Territorial, and Tribal  governments, international partners, non-government organizations, research institutions, and thought leaders to accelerate the development and deployment of AI solutions tailored to the unique challenges faced by the DHS. In line with the DHS’s commitment to transparency and visibility into the Department’s vision for AI and to ensuring responsible use, DHS will continue to share information and engage with communities, advocates, and partners to demonstrate responsible AI use.  

 DHS’s three new pilot programs will allow the Department to assess the efficacy of AI in improving its mission capabilities. Each pilot team is partnering with privacy, cybersecurity, and civil rights and civil liberties experts throughout their development and evaluation process. This work will inform Department-wide policies on AI governance. DHS offices and agencies submitted dozens of proposals for consideration to the Chief AI Officer, who selected three pilots that would best support evaluating the effectiveness of Large Language Models (LLM) and Generative AI technology at DHS. 

The new pilot programs announced today will:   

• Transform Security Investigative Processes, Unlock Data-Driven Insights, and Improve Mission Outcomes – HSI’s pilot project will strengthen their investigative processes by introducing a LLM-based system designed to enhance the efficiency and accuracy of summaries investigators rely upon. The LLM-based system will leverage open-source technologies to allow investigators to more quickly summarize and search for contextually relevant information within investigative reports. The pilot could lead to increases in detection of fentanyl-related networks, aid in identification of perpetrators and victims of child exploitation crimes, and surface key patterns and trends that could further HSI’s vital work. 
   
• Bolster Planning Assistance for Resilient Communities – FEMA will launch a GenAI pilot to create efficiencies for the hazard mitigation planning process for local governments, including underserved communities. Hazard mitigation plans are not only a foundational step that communities can take to build their resilience but can be lengthy to produce and challenging for communities that lack resources to do so. The pilot will specifically support State, Local, Tribal, and Territorial governments’ understanding of how to craft a plan that identifies risks and mitigation strategies as well as generate draft plan elements—from publicly-available, well-researched sources — that governments could customize to meet their needs. This pilot could lead to more communities having the ability to submit grant applications for funding to become more resilient and reduce disaster risks.  
   
• Enhance Immigration Officer Training through Generative AI – United States Citizenship and Immigration Services is developing an interactive application that uses GenAI to improve the way the agency trains immigration officer personnel. USCIS will generate dynamic, personalized training materials that adapt to officers’ specific needs and ensure the best possible knowledge and training on a wide range of current policies and laws relevant to their jobs. The goal is to help enhance trainees’ understanding and retention of crucial information, increase the accuracy of their decisionmaking process, and limit the need for retraining over time.  

The roadmap and announcement of pilot programs are the latest in the Department’s ongoing AI initiatives.  

In February, Secretary Mayorkas and CIO Hysen announced the Department’s first-ever hiring sprint to recruit 50 AI technology experts to help build teams that will help better leverage AI responsibly across strategic areas of the homeland security enterprise. These include efforts to counter fentanyl, combat child sexual exploitation and abuse, deliver immigration services, secure travel, fortify our critical infrastructure, and enhance our cybersecurity. DHS has received a strong response to date and is in the process of reviewing. interviewing, and hiring AI technologists to support mission-enhancing initiatives. The Department continues to accept applications on dhs.gov/AI. 

Last year, DHS established the Department’s first AI Task Force and named CIO Hysen its first Chief AI Officer. Informed by the Task Force’s work over the past 11 months, DHS has identified areas where AI can enhance the effectiveness of the Department’s efforts — helping pave the way for this roadmap and these new projects. The Task Force’s focus is on DHS’s entire mission space. For instance, it is working to enhance the integrity of our supply chains and the broader trade environment by helping deploy AI to improve cargo screening, the identification of imported goods produced with forced labor, and risk management. The Task Force is also charged with using AI to better detect fentanyl shipments, identify and interdict the flow of precursor chemicals around the world, and disrupt key nodes in criminal networks.  

The Department’s latest efforts follow President Biden’s Executive Order (EO) “Safe, Secure, and Trustworthy Development and Use of Artificial Intelligence,” signed in October2023. The EO directed DHS to promote the adoption of AI safety standards globally, protect U.S. networks and critical infrastructure, reduce the risks that AI can be used to create weapons of mass destruction, combat AI-related intellectual property theft, and help the United States attract and retain skilled talent, among other missions. The President has directed DHS to establish an AI Safety and Security Advisory Board to support the responsible development of AI. This Board will bring together preeminent industry experts from AI hardware and software companies, leading research labs, critical infrastructure entities, and the U.S. government. This Board will issue recommendations and best practices for an array of AI use cases to ensure AI deployments are secure and resilient. 

To read the DHS AI Roadmap, visit: AI Roadmap | Homeland Security (dhs.gov).  

To learn more about how DHS uses AI technologies to protect the homeland, visit Artificial Intelligence at DHS.  

Source: US Department of Homeland Security

Public Awareness Blue Campaign Nearly Doubled National Partnerships in Last Fiscal Year 

DHS Center for Countering Human Trafficking Releases FY 2023 Annual Report

WASHINGTON – Today, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) released its third Center for Countering Human Trafficking (CCHT) Annual Report, highlighting the Department’s successful efforts to train more than 275,000 individuals, including aviation and transportation personnel, law enforcement partners, and nonprofit organizations, to recognize the indicators of human trafficking and take action to stop this heinous crime. The Annual Report outlines the Department’s role as a global leader in the fight against human trafficking through a wide range of efforts including victim identification and assistance, criminal investigations, civil enforcement actions, intelligence and analysis, training and public education, and external outreach.

In Fiscal Year (FY) 2023, the Department of Homeland Security expanded efforts to educate the public on human trafficking. CCHT led 135 training and outreach events for the DHS workforce and law enforcement partners with more than 14,000 participants. The Blue Campaign hosted 194 public awareness trainings with 19,626 participants from the federal government, non-governmental organizations, law enforcement, and general public – more than double the number conducted in the previous fiscal year. The Blue Campaign launched 63 new partnerships – a 46% increase over FY22 – including with higher education associations like Florida International University and Phoenix Dream Center, the nation’s largest human trafficking recovery program for young adults. 

By further expanding our trainings and partnerships and educating more of the public than the previous year, CCHT has better positioned DHS to improve its counter human trafficking efforts, including investigating and prosecuting perpetrators. DHS agencies arrested 2,610 individuals for human trafficking-related offenses and assisted 731 human trafficking victims. DHS personnel supported 1,044 human trafficking-related indictments and their work led to 519 convictions.

“Human trafficking is more than a violation of law; the exploitation of vulnerable people is also a violation of our basic humanity,” said Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro N. Mayorkas. “We are bringing the full weight of our Department’s resources to bear in our fight against this heinous crime, rescuing victims and holding perpetrators accountable. The work of our Center for Countering Human Trafficking brings all of us in the Department together with our partners in communities across the country and the world to achieve this critical mission.”

“The CCHT Annual report represents more than just statistics and accomplishments,” said CCHT Director Cardell T. Morant. “This report reflects the continuous commitment of DHS, and our ongoing collaboration with our partners to advance counter-human trafficking law enforcement operations, protect victims and enhance prevention efforts through training and outreach.”

In FY2023:

• DHS Blue Campaign conducted 194 trainings on the indicators of human trafficking and how to report suspected cases, reaching more than 19,000 individuals.
• DHS Blue Campaign facilitated the training of more than 260,000 aviation personnel through Blue Lightning Initiative partnerships.
• DHS Blue Campaign’s online resources led to over 2,200 calls to the National Human Trafficking Hotline and HSI Tip Line via its “Click to Call” campaign.
• Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) initiated 1,282 criminal investigations related to sex trafficking and forced labor, leading to 2,610 arrests.
• HSI approved Continued Presence for 382 individuals, allowing eligible trafficking victims to lawfully remain in the United States.
• U.S. Customs and Border Protection stopped 256 shipments of goods, valued at almost $7 million, suspected to have been made wholly or in part with forced labor.
• U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services granted T nonimmigrant status to 2,181 victims of human trafficking and to 1,495 family members of victims.
• The U.S. Secret Service significantly increased the number of Ambassadors for the Childhood Smart program. These employee volunteers made over 700 presentations to children and adults on personal and internet safety, reaching over 43,900 individuals — an increase of 122% over FY 2022.

Launched in 2020, the DHS Center for Countering Human Trafficking coordinates the efforts of 16 DHS offices and components to combat human trafficking through law enforcement operations, victim protection and support, intelligence and analysis, and public education and training programs. Through the Blue Campaign, the DHS Center for Countering Human Trafficking leads the Department’s national public awareness effort to combat human trafficking.

Anyone who suspects human trafficking is encouraged to report it to law enforcement – tips can be submitted anonymously online or by calling 866-347-2423. Individuals can also contact the National Human Trafficking Hotline at 888-373-7888 or humantraffickinghotline.org.

Source: US Department of Homeland Security

WASHINGTON – Today, Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro N. Mayorkas issued the following statement regarding the European Union’s adoption of a regulation that would prohibit products made with forced labor from being sold in the European Union market.

“I applaud the European Commission, the European Parliament, and the Council of the European Union for joining us in promoting responsible trade that protects and advances the rights of workers around the world. The regulation adopted across the European market will strengthen our joint enforcement efforts and make it harder for unscrupulous companies to profit from forced labor, while helping to ensure the resilience and predictability of our interconnected supply chains.

“Forced labor is a modern form of slavery, a monstrous affront to human rights and human decency that has no place in our supply chains or in those of our partners. The Department of Homeland Security is proud to lead the Biden-Harris Administration’s efforts to combat forced labor in our supply chains, help level the playing field for U.S. businesses, and work towards the eradication of forced labor across the world.

“DHS and our colleagues across the U.S. government will continue to work closely with our international partners to hold those who perpetrate forced labor practices accountable, and keep the global supply chain fair, just, and secure for all.” 

Source: US Department of Homeland Security

The FY 2025 Budget provides critical resources to combat terrorism, secure our borders, strengthen disaster resilience, continue investment in cybersecurity and promote the responsible use of artificial intelligence, and much more 

DHS needs Congress to pass the Senate’s bipartisan border security agreement, enabling DHS to hire more CBP, ICE, and USCIS personnel and provide new tools to fix our broken immigration system and help secure the border  

WASHINGTON – The Biden-Harris Administration today submitted to Congress the President’s Budget for Fiscal Year (FY) 2025, which provides $62.2 billion in discretionary funding for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). In addition, the Budget provides $22.7 billion for the Disaster Relief Fund to respond to major disasters and emergencies, and $4.7 billion for the Southwest Border Contingency Fund to resource border security and immigration enforcement efforts along the Southwest border. When accounting for the effects of the Southwest Border Contingency Fund, the Budget request for DHS is an increase of 10 percent above FY 2023. The budget includes a Transportation Security Administration (TSA) fee proposal that, if enacted, would decrease the discretionary funding request by $1.6 billion. 

However, DHS’s border security and immigration enforcement efforts along the Southwest border desperately require the additional funds requested by the Administration and included in the Senate’s bipartisan border security legislation, which would provide DHS with approximately $19 billion to fund additional personnel, facilities, repatriation capabilities, and other enforcement resources.

“The President’s Budget, in combination with the Senate’s bipartisan border security legislation, is vital to meeting the needs of our workforce and the challenges we face. The President’s Budget prioritizes staying ahead of the diverse and complex threats facing the homeland and highlights our unwavering dedication to protecting the security of the American people,” said Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro N. Mayorkas. “This budget invests in our homeland security today and lays the groundwork to protect the American people well into the future. It supports efforts to advance the responsible use of Artificial Intelligence across DHS, as well as our work to protect against malicious cyber threats to Federal networks and critical infrastructure. The President’s Budget continues to invest in the security of our borders, even as we continue to call on Congress to pass the February bipartisan border security legislation to provide urgently needed resources and tools to our frontline personnel. It also includes funding to combat the trafficking of fentanyl and its precursors; protect the trade that is vital to our economic strength; build resilience to climate change and strengthen recovery from natural disasters; counter threats from the PRC and bolster our support for allies in the Indo-Pacific; and invest in the dedicated and professional workforce of the Department of Homeland Security.” 

At the Department of Homeland Security, the Budget will:  

Advance Our Mission to Combat Terrorism.  The President’s Budget supports the Department’s continued efforts to combat terrorism, both domestically and abroad.  The FY 2025 Budget funds the DHS Special Events Program, a critical program that gathers information on more than 57,000 special events, conducts risk assessments, coordinates Departmental and federal support thereto, and ensures that relevant information sharing occurs.  The FY 2025 Budget provides $25.9 billion to meet core budget requirements of critical funding to U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). This funding would support CBP’s mission to protect the Nation from acts of terrorism and criminality with constant vigilance at and between the Nation’s POEs. As the principal criminal investigative agency within the DHS, the funding would support ICE, Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) with overseeing its responsibility to investigate, disrupt, and dismantle terrorist networks threatening or exploiting the customs and immigration laws of the United States.  The President’s Budget also supports continued operational funding for the U.S. Coast Guard’s Maritime Security Operations, whose mission program encompasses activities to detect, deter, prevent, and disrupt terrorist attacks, and other criminal acts in the maritime domain. It includes antiterrorism, response, and select recovery operations.

Help Secure the Border and Facilitate Lawful Trade and Immigration. The President’s Budget provides critical resources to secure our border while enforcing immigration laws that safeguard Americans from national security and public safety threats and support a humane, orderly immigration system. The Budget provides $25.9 billion to meet core budget requirements of CBP and ICE. This funding provides $2.5 billion to ICE-HSI to enhance investigative capabilities to combat Transnational Criminal Organizations that engage in the smuggling of humans, narcotics including fentanyl, firearms, and money.  Additionally, the Budget invests $210 million to increase staffing capacity at the Southwest border, $86 million for CBP air and marine operational support, and $127 million for modernizing border security technology such as deploying new Integrated Surveillance Towers. The Budget also provides $145 million to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services to support timely processing of up to 125,000 refugee cases.  

DHS reiterates previously submitted funding requests that are critical to secure the border, build immigration enforcement capacity, combat fentanyl and address domestic needs like natural disaster response, which Congress has failed to act on.  Among them, the October funding request, which includes $8.7 billion for border, immigration, and counter fentanyl requirements and $9.2 billion for FEMA’s Disaster Relief Fund and Nonprofit Security Grant Program. Notably, the Administration’s border supplemental request includes funding to build capacity in the areas of border security, immigration enforcement, and countering fentanyl. DHS strongly supports the additional $19 billion in funding proposals included in the Senate’s bipartisan border legislation that would, among other things, enable DHS to hire more CBP agents and officers, ICE enforcement and investigative personnel, and USCIS asylum officers and provide new tools to bolster the Department’s efforts to secure and manage the border.  

Invest in Cybersecurity Protection and Emergency Communications. The President’s Budget continues to support the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency’s mission to secure cyberspace and protect against malicious threats capable of compromising and disrupting Federal networks and critical infrastructure. The Budget includes $3 billion for programs strengthening cybersecurity, infrastructure security, and emergency communications. Notably, $470 million is provided for the Continuous Diagnostics and Mitigation program that enhances the overall security posture of federal networks and $116 million towards implementing the Cyber Incident Reporting for Critical Infrastructure Act, which requires critical infrastructure entities to report cyberattacks. 

Responsibly Deploy Artificial Intelligence (AI) Technology. The FY 2025 Budget includes $5 million for the Department’s Chief AI Officer (CAIO). The CAIO is responsible for setting priorities and directing policies and oversight for the responsible use of AI across DHS. To support this work, last month, the Department announced its first-ever hiring sprint to recruit 50 AI technology experts in 2024. The new DHS “AI Corps” will leverage this new technology across priority missions of the homeland security enterprise including efforts to counter fentanyl, combat child sexual exploitation and abuse, secure travel, fortify our critical infrastructure, enhance our cybersecurity, and deliver immigration services.

Invest in a Disaster-Resilient Nation. The President’s Budget continues to support the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA) mission to help people before, during, and after disasters. In addition to the $22.7 billion allocated to the Disaster Relief Fund, the Budget provides $3.2 billion in FEMA grants to improve disaster resilience and preparedness strategies at the State, Local, Tribal, and Territorial government level. It also provides additional resources for community-wide climate resilience initiatives. This includes an increase of $51 million for Flood Hazard Mapping and Risk Analysis, which will further expand FEMA’s inventory and leverage those maps to help communities better prepare for future conditions. 

Protect the Homeland from Threats of Weapons of Mass Destruction. The President’s Budget supports the mission of the Countering Weapons of Mass Destruction Office (CWMD), which protects the country from chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear (CBRN) threats. The Budget provides $418 million to CWMD for its mission. This includes $181 million to fund programs supporting public and private sector organizations to improve technical capabilities and increase knowledge of CBRN threats. 

Increase Coast Guard Presence in the Indo-Pacific Region. The Budget provides $263 million to expand Coast Guard operations in the Indo-Pacific along three primary lines of effort: increased presence, maritime governance, and meaningful engagement. This investment supports acquisition of two Fast Response Cutters and increases training and engagement with partners, enabling the Service to transition from episodic to persistent presence in the region. 

Modernize TSA Pay and Workforce Policies. The President’s Budget continues to improve security effectiveness and efficiency and honor previous commitments to the Transportation Security Administration’s (TSA) workforce to continue to pay them at a level that is commensurate to their general schedule federal counterparts. The Budget includes $1.5 billion to ensure TSA employees do not suffer a pay differential. In anticipation of an increase in aviation passenger volume in FY 2025, the Budget also provides $356 million for additional Transportation Security Officers to staff airport checkpoints and $90 million for Checkpoint Property Screening System programs to more reliably detect aviation threats.  

Secure Special Events and the 2024 Presidential Campaign. The U.S. Secret Service (USSS) continuously evaluates threats and reallocates resources based on the changing threat environment. The Budget includes $70 million for Secret Service operations related to the 2024 Presidential Election to ensure the safety of major candidates, nominees, their spouses, and nominating conventions.  It also provides USSS $16 million to procure necessary assets, personnel, and establish cross-agency communication centers for the 2026 FIFA World Cup. Finally, the Budget includes $19 million for other planned NSSEs that Secret Service is charged with protecting. 

For more information on the President’s FY 2025 Budget, please visit: https://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/budget/  

### 

Source: US Department of Homeland Security

WASHINGTON – Today, Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro N. Mayorkas released the following statement on the death of U.S. Border Patrol Agent Chris Luna and two National Guardsmen.

“We are devastated by the tragic death of Border Patrol Agent Chris Luna, a heroic public servant who lost his life Friday in a helicopter crash while on a Border Patrol mission in Texas. Two National Guardsmen were also killed, and one National Guardsman was seriously injured.

“Every single day, our Border Patrol Agents place themselves in harm’s way so that the rest of us can be safe and secure. My thoughts, and the deepest condolences of our Department, are with Agent Luna’s family, loved ones, and colleagues, and with those of the National Guardsmen who lost their lives. We hope for the injured servicemember’s swift recovery, and hold our National Guard colleagues and their families in our thoughts as well.”

Source: US Department of Homeland Security

WASHINGTON – Today, Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro N. Mayorkas issued the following statement following U.S. District Judge Drew B. Tipton’s decision to allow the Biden-Harris Administration’s parole processes for Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans, and Venezuelans to continue.

“We are pleased that today’s court ruling means that the parole processes for individuals from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua, and Venezuela will continue. These processes — a safe and orderly way to reach the United States — have resulted in a significant reduction in the number of these individuals encountered at our southern border.  It is a key element of our efforts to address the unprecedented level of migration throughout our hemisphere, and other countries around the world see it as a model to tackle the challenge of increased irregular migration that they too are experiencing.

“We will continue to deliver strengthened consequences for those who attempt to circumvent lawful pathways on land or at sea. Do not believe the lies of smugglers. Those who do not have a legal basis to remain in the United States will be subject to prompt removal, a minimum five-year bar on admission, and potential criminal prosecution for unlawful reentry. Migrants should continue to use safe and orderly lawful pathways and processes that have been expanded under the Biden-Harris Administration.” 

Source: US Department of Homeland Security

Wildfire sensor technology aims to detect fires and alert earlier to save lives

WASHINGTON – The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Science and Technology Directorate (S&T) and U.S. Fire Administration (USFA) – along with Hawaiʻi Governor Josh Green, M.D., Maui County Mayor Richard Bissen, and state of Hawai‘i Department of Defense Adjutant General Kenneth Hara – announced the planned deployment of 80 wildfire sensors and 16 wind sensors across the Hawaiian Islands. The initiative reflects the Department’s continued commitment to supporting long-term recovery efforts following the unprecedented August 2023 wildfires on Maui, Hawaiʻi and driving innovative responses to extreme weather events. As wildfires become more frequent and severe, advanced sensors will allow first responders to suppress an initial blaze before it spreads and grant time needed for communities to make life-saving evacuation decisions

“In the aftermath of the devastating wildfires that struck Maui last summer, the Biden-Harris Administration and the Department of Homeland Security vowed not just to help Hawaiʻi  recover, but also to help safeguard it against the tragic destruction of another such fire,” said Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro N. Mayorkas. “We continue to execute on that promise. Today we are deploying dozens of state-of-the-art fire and wind sensors in strategic locations across the Hawaiian Islands to enable local officials and firefighters to quickly target an initial blaze and initiate evacuation procedures. As wildfires and other climate change-driven challenges increase in frequency and severity, our Department will continue working every day to develop innovative solutions and deploy them across the country for the safety and security of our communities.”

“Wildfire risk continues to increase across the nation as we live through unprecedented heat waves and drought spurred by climate change,” said Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Administrator Deanne Criswell. “This collaboration between the U.S. Fire Administration, the Department of Homeland Security, and S&T to deploy these new wildfire and wind sensors is a huge step forward in the work we’re doing to prevent and mitigate against future wildfires in Hawaii. Ultimately, this technology will help our firefighters respond faster, save lives, and keep residents safe from future fire events.”

“We welcome this early alert system and are grateful to our federal partners for providing these wildfire and wind sensors to help keep our residents safe,” said Hawaiʻi Governor Josh Green. “We have seen how rapid and devastating wildfires can be. No community, in our islands or elsewhere, should ever have to experience so much suffering and loss. This technology will help save the lives of Hawaiʻi residents and visitors.”

“Reflecting on the tragedy our people have endured, fire mitigation remains at the forefront of our recovery efforts,” said Maui County Mayor Richard Bissen. “With this new technology, detecting fires at the very early phases will save lives. We are already exploring ways to rebuild Lahaina safer, and the introduction of an early detection system will give our emergency responders a critical advantage in protecting our community.”

“The wildfire challenge we face as a nation today, and the solutions to it, are complex,” said U.S. Fire Administrator Dr. Lori Moore Merrell. “Protecting our nations’ homelands against fire and hazardous threats requires continued collaborative research and development in the field of firefighting. The deployment of these sensors marks a major step forward in wildfire prevention and mitigation, enhancing our capabilities for predicting the incidence and spread of large-scale fires.”

“DHS S&T’s research and development is laying the groundwork for breakthroughs that have the potential to improve fire safety and firefighting efforts,” said Dr. Dimitri Kusnezov, Under Secretary for Science and Technology. “The sensors deployed today are more effective than traditional optical cameras or thermal imaging sensors as they ‘sniff’ out the fires as soon as they start. This announcement today reflects our continued commitment to utilizing the latest advancements in technology and data-driven insights to ensure communities have the resources needed to respond in real time to wildfires.”

Hawaiʻi will be the first location to receive the new Beta wildfire sensors developed by DHS S&T and USFA in coordination with small business N5 Sensors Inc. These wildfire detection sensors identify changes in conditions before wildfires start, providing 24-hour sensing and alerting capabilities. The sensors continuously transmit information and send an email or text notification to a pre-programmed contact when these components are detected. The system housing the sensors is small and compact, able to sit on a utility pole or a traffic light and can work in all weather conditions.

DHS S&T, in collaboration with FEMA and USFA, undertook wildfire sensor research after a successful five-year effort to test and develop flood sensors. In 2023, the wildfire sensor initiative deployed 200 initial Alpha phase pilot sensors in collaboration with state and local government stakeholders throughout the U.S. and Canada. Those sensors continue to provide fire alerts and warnings and have collected over 1,000,000 hours of data in the field to enhance the Artificial Intelligence (AI) learning algorithms now being deployed in the Beta version, which requires less solar power to recharge, is equipped with wind sensors to increase the accuracy of wildfire location prediction, and has better ability to operate in areas with limited cellular coverage. The Department will deploy 200 Beta wildfire sensors to high-risk areas across the U.S. in 2024 for operational testing and evaluation, including the 80 sensors across the Hawaiian Islands. This first round of fire sensors is being provided at no cost to the state of Hawaiʻi.

DHS is driving federal efforts to prepare and equip communities to address the increased risk of fires and other natural disasters. In addition to deploying wildfire sensors, the Department is advancing research to increase the effectiveness and reliability of fire warnings, develop new types of personal protective equipment to keep our firefighters safe, and work on new capabilities for tracking and predicting fire behavior, among other initiatives. Learn more about the steps the Department has taken to promote wildfire preparedness and resilience at DHS.gov and S&T’s work on wildfire sensor technology at DHS.gov/Science-And-Technology.

Source: US Department of Homeland Security

WASHINGTON— Today, Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro N. Mayorkas issued the following statement on President Biden’s State of the Union address:

“Tonight, President Biden recognized the incredible work the men and women of the Department of Homeland Security do every day, often at great personal risk, to help keep the American people safe and secure. We have made historic efforts to seize more fentanyl and bring more smugglers to justice than ever before. To further those efforts and save more lives, this Administration worked across party lines to negotiate the strongest border security bill in decades.

“I join President Biden and urge Congress to bring this bill to a vote. Only Congress can address our desperate need to hire more Border Patrol Agents and Officers and equip them with state-of-the-art security technology. Only Congress can provide the funds necessary to hire more asylum officers and immigration judges, charter more removal flights, and build more facilities.

“Congress must put partisan politics aside and work with this Administration to pass common-sense, effective solutions to the challenges at our border and across our country.” 

Source: US Department of Homeland Security

Underscores Collaboration with the Open Source Community

WASHINGTON – Yesterday, the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) concluded a two-day Open Source Software (OSS) Security Summit convening OSS community leaders and announced key actions to help secure the open source ecosystem. Recognizing that OSS underpins the essential services and functions of modern life, the Summit sought to catalyze progress in advancing security of this critical ecosystem. This urgency was underscored by security flaws such as the Log4Shell vulnerability in 2021.

CISA Director Jen Easterly opened the summit with keynote remarks and was followed by a panel discussion with Office of National Cyber Director (ONCD) Assistant National Cyber Director for Technology Security Anjana Rajan, CISA Open Source Security Section Chief Aeva Black, and CISA Senior Technical Advisor Jack Cable. The summit also featured a tabletop exercise on open source vulnerability response and a roundtable discussion on package manager security.

During the summit, OSS community leaders, including open source foundations, package repositories, civil society, industry and federal agencies explored approaches to help strengthen the security of the open source infrastructure we all rely upon. As part of this collaborative effort, CISA announced several initial key actions that CISA will take to help secure the open source ecosystem in partnership with the open source community:

• CISA, as detailed below, is working closely with package repositories to foster adoption of the Principles for Package Repository Security Developed by CISA and the Open Source Security Foundation’s (OpenSSF) Securing Software Repositories Working Group, this framework was published recently and outlines voluntary security maturity levels for package repositories.
• CISA has launched a new effort to enable voluntary collaboration and cyber defense information sharing with open source software infrastructure operators to better protect the open source software supply chain.
• Materials from the summit’s tabletop exercise will be published by CISA so that the lessons learned can be used by any open source community to improve their vulnerability and incident response capabilities.

Additionally, five of the most widely used package repositories are taking steps in line with the Principles for Package Repository Security framework:

• The Rust Foundation is working on implementing Public Key Infrastructure for the Crates.io package repository for mirroring and binary signing and plans to issue a Request for Comment. The Rust Foundation also published a detailed threat model for Crates.io and has created tooling to identify malicious activity. Further steps are highlighted in the Rust Foundation’s Security Initiative Report.
• The Python Software Foundation is working to add additional providers to PyPI for credential-less publishing (“Trusted Publishing”), expanding support from GitHub to include GitLab, Google Cloud and ActiveState as well. Work is ongoing to provide an API and related tools for quickly reporting and mitigating malware, with the goal of increasing PyPI’s ability to respond to malware in a timely manner without consuming significant resources. Finally, the Python ecosystem is finalizing PEP 740 (“Index support for digital attestations”) to enable uploading and distributing digitally signed attestations and metadata used to verify these attestations on a Python package repository, like PyPI.
• Packagist and Composer have recently introduced vulnerability database scanning and measures to prevent attackers from taking over packages without authorization. Further work to increase security in line with the Principles for Package Repository Security framework is in progress, and a thorough security audit of existing codebases will take place this year.
• The package repository npm requires maintainers of high-impact projects to enroll in multifactor authentication. Additionally, npm has introduced tooling that allows maintainers to automatically generate package provenance and SBOMs, giving consumers of those open source packages the ability to trace and verify the provenance of dependencies.
• Maven Central (maintained by Sonatype) is the largest open source repository for Java and JVM languages, and enforces validation and metadata requirements with clear namespaces. Since 2021, all staged repositories have automatically been scanned for vulnerabilities when published, and developers receive a report with any security issues. In 2024, Maven Central is transitioning publishers to a new publishing portal that has enhanced repository security, including planned support for multifactor authentication. Upcoming key initiatives include Sigstore implementation, Trusted Publishing evaluation, and access control on namespaces. This includes Maven Central benchmarking the maturity of its security processes against best practices, which will also guide backlog prioritization.

“Open Source Software is foundational to the critical infrastructure Americans rely on every day,” said CISA Director Jen Easterly. “As the national coordinator for critical infrastructure security and resilience, we’re proud to announce these efforts to help secure the open source ecosystem in close partnership with the open source community, and are excited for the work to come.”

“Open source software is a mission-critical foundation of cyberspace that the U.S. Government must continue to defend,” says Anjana Rajan, Assistant National Cyber Director for Technology Security. “Ensuring that we have a secure and resilient open source software ecosystem is a national security imperative, a technology innovation enabler, and an embodiment of our democratic values. As the chair of the Open Source Software Security Initiative (OS3I), ONCD is committed to ensuring this remains a priority for the Biden-Harris Administration and commends CISA’s leadership in convening this important forum.”

“OpenSSF’s mission is to improve the security of open source software. Package repositories are critical infrastructure for the open source community. We thank CISA for facilitating this Open Source Software (OSS) Security Summit to help secure package repositories. Through continued cooperation in activities such as this summit and the Principles for Package Repository Security, we will improve the security of open source package repositories for everyone,” Omkhar Arasaratnam, General Manager, OpenSSF.

“Securing the open source software supply chain is crucial for protecting global economic infrastructure,” said Mike Milinkovich, Executive Director of the Eclipse Foundation. “CISA is working to improve open source security, focusing on both current issues and future application development. We’re proud to contribute to this vital work, helping CISA improve the global development ecosystem and supporting its vision for the future.”

“OSI and the Open Policy Alliance commend CISA for engaging with the open source software community and appreciate the opportunity to participate in this week’s Open Source Security Summit.  Including less represented, small open source non-profits into the discussion will facilitate workable, practical policies and practices, building upon the strength of the collaborative model of Open Source,” said Deb Bryant, US Policy Director, Open Source Initiative.

The federal government has coordinated its efforts around open source software security through the ONCD Open Source Software Security Initiative. Last year, ONCD, CISA, the National Science Foundation, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, and the Office of Management and Budget published a Request for Information (RFI) on open source software security and memory safe languages, which received more than 100 substantive responses. The issuing agencies are currently reviewing responses and will publish a summary of the RFI submissions.

In 2023, CISA released its Open Source Software Security Roadmap to help secure the federal government’s use of open source software and support the global open source ecosystem. It lays out four key goals: establishing CISA’s role in supporting the security of open source software, driving visibility into open source software usage and risks, reducing risks to the federal government, and hardening the open source software ecosystem. The actions announced today from the summit represent key steps in fulfillment of the Roadmap’s goals, including Objective 1.1. Partner With OSS Communities and Objective 1.2. Encourage Collective Action From Centralized OSS Entities.

Open source community members interested in getting involved with CISA’s work can contact OpenSource@cisa.dhs.gov.

For more information, please visit: cisa.gov/OSS.

About CISA 

As the nation’s cyber defense agency and national coordinator for critical infrastructure security, the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency leads the national effort to understand, manage, and reduce risk to the digital and physical infrastructure Americans rely on every hour of every day.

Visit CISA.gov for more information and follow us on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram. 

Disclaimer: CISA does not endorse any commercial entity, product, company, or service, including any entities, products, or services linked or referenced within this press release. Any reference to specific commercial entities, products, processes, or services by service mark, trademark, manufacturer, or otherwise, does not constitute or imply endorsement, recommendation, or favoring by CISA.