[Presidential Decision Directives - PDD]

May 22, 1998

FACT SHEET

THE WHITE HOUSE

Office of the Press Secretary
(Annapolis, Maryland)

___________________________________________________________________________
___
For Immediate Release
May 22, 1998


                                FACT SHEET

          PROTECTING AMERICA'S CRITICAL INFRASTRUCTURES:  PDD 63


This Presidential Directive builds on the recommendations of the
President's Commission on Critical Infrastructure Protection.  In October
1997, the Commission issued its report calling for a national effort to
assure the security of the United States' increasingly vulnerable and
interconnected infrastructures, such as telecommunications, banking and
finance, energy, transportation, and essential government services.

Presidential Decision Directive 63 is the culmination of an intense,
interagency effort to evaluate those recommendations and produce a workable
and innovative framework for critical infrastructure protection.  The
President's policy:

Sets a goal of a reliable, interconnected, and secure information system
   infrastructure by the year 2003, and significantly increased security to
   government systems by the year 2000, by:

        Immediately establishing a national center to warn of and respond
          to attacks.

        Ensuring the capability to protect critical infrastructures from
          intentional acts by 2003.

Addresses the cyber and physical infrastructure vulnerabilities of the
   Federal government by requiring each department and agency to work to
   reduce its exposure to new threats;

Requires the Federal government to serve as a model to the rest of the
   country for how infrastructure protection is to be attained;

Seeks the voluntary participation of private industry to meet common goals
   for protecting our critical systems through public-private partnerships;

Protects privacy rights and seeks to utilize market forces.  It is meant to
   strengthen and protect the nation's economic power, not to stifle it.

Seeks full participation and input from the Congress.

PDD-63 sets up a new structure to deal with this important challenge:

     a National Coordinator whose scope will include not only critical
        infrastructure but also foreign terrorism and threats of domestic
        mass destruction (including biological weapons) because attacks on
        the US may not come labeled in neat jurisdictional boxes;

     The National Infrastructure Protection Center (NIPC) at the FBI which
        will fuse representatives from FBI, DOD, USSS, Energy,
        Transportation, the Intelligence Community, and the private sector
        in an unprecedented attempt at information sharing among agencies
        in collaboration with the private sector.  The NIPC will also
        provide the principal means of facilitating and coordinating the
        Federal Government's response to an incident, mitigating attacks,
        investigating threats and monitoring reconstitution efforts;

     Information Sharing and Analysis Centers (ISACs) are encouraged to be
        set up by the private sector in cooperation with the Federal
        government and modeled on the Centers for Disease Control and
        Prevention;

     A National Infrastructure Assurance Council drawn from private sector
        leaders and state/local officials to provide guidance to the policy
        formulation of a National Plan;

     The Critical Infrastructure Assurance Office will provide support to
        the National Coordinator's work with government agencies and the
        private sector in developing a national plan.  The office will also
        help coordinate a national education and awareness program, and
        legislative and public affairs.

For more detailed information on this Presidential Decision Directive,
contact the Critical Infrastructure Assurance Office (703) 696-9395 for
copies of the White Paper on Critical Infrastructure Protection.


                                   # # #