Two New Federal Policy Documents on Critical Infrastructure Protection

Contributed by Lee Kim, Esq.

412.594.3915

The White House released two documents on February 12^th related to critical infrastructure protection and cybersecurity: the Presidential Policy Directive #21 on Critical Infrastructure and Resilience (PPD-21) which replaces the Homeland Security Presidential Directive (HSPD-7) which previously served as the policy basis for the national critical infrastructure protection enterprise.  Interestingly, PPD-21 provides a framework for federal government to work with private sector, states, and local partners to protect the national critical infrastructure.  The Executive Order builds on PPD-21 with a specific focus on the protection of critical infrastructure from cyber threats.