14 May 2013
NatSec Telecomms Panel Meet (CyberThreat Secret)
[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 93 (Tuesday, May 14, 2013)]
[Notices]
[Pages 28237-28238]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office
[www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-11324]
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DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY
[Docket No. DHS-2013-0022]
President's National Security Telecommunications Advisory
Committee
AGENCY: National Protection and Programs Directorate, DHS.
ACTION: Committee Management; Notice of Partially Closed Federal
Advisory Committee Meeting.
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SUMMARY: The President's National Security Telecommunications Advisory
Committee (NSTAC) will meet on Wednesday, May 22, 2013, in Washington,
DC. The meeting will be partially closed to the public.
DATES: The NSTAC will meet in a closed session on Wednesday, May 22,
2013, from 9:40 a.m. to 11:50 a.m. and
[[Page 28238]]
in an open session on Wednesday, May 22, 2013, from 12:40 p.m. to 4:00
p.m.
ADDRESSES: The meeting will be held at the Eisenhower Executive Office
Building, Washington, DC. Due to limited seating, the public portion of
the meeting will be streamed via webcast at http://www.whitehouse.gov/
live. For information on facilities or services for individuals with
disabilities or to request special assistance at the meeting, contact
nstac@dhs.gov as soon as possible. We are inviting public comment on
the issues the committee will consider, as listed in the
``Supplementary Information'' section below. Associated briefing
materials that will be discussed at the meeting will be available at
www.dhs.gov/nstac for review as of May 6, 2013. Comments must be
submitted in writing no later than May 13, 2013 and must be identified
by DHS-2013-0022 and may be submitted by one of the following methods:
Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov.
Follow the instructions for submitting comments.
Email: NSTAC@dhs.gov. Include the docket number in the
subject line of the message.
Fax: 703-235-4941, Attn: Helen Jackson.
Mail: Alternate Designated Federal Officer, National
Security Telecommunications Advisory Committee, National Protection and
Programs Directorate, Department of Homeland Security, 245 Murray Lane,
Mail Stop 0615, Arlington, VA 20598-0615.
Instructions: All submissions received must include the words
``Department of Homeland Security'' and the docket number for this
action. Comments received will be posted without alteration at
http://www.regulations.gov, including any personal information provided.
Docket: For access to the docket to read background documents or
comments received by the NSTAC, go to http://www.regulations.gov.
A public comment period will be held during the open portion of the
meeting on Wednesday, May 22, 2013, from 2:25 p.m. to 2:55 p.m., and
speakers are requested to limit their comments to three minutes. Please
note that the public comment period may end before the time indicated,
following the last call for comments. Contact Helen Jackson at 703-235-
5321 to register as a speaker by close of business on May 15, 2013.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Michael Echols, NSTAC Alternate
Designated Federal Officer, Department of Homeland Security, telephone
(703) 235-5469.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Notice of this meeting is given under the
Federal Advisory Committee Act, 5 U.S.C. App. (Pub. L. 92-463). The
NSTAC advises the President on matters related to national security and
emergency preparedness (NS/EP) telecommunications policy.
Agenda: The committee will meet in open session to receive a
briefing on the Federal Government's current research and development
priorities as they relate to cybersecurity and NS/EP communications.
Additionally, there will be a panel discussion on the nationwide public
safety broadband network (NPSBN). Panelists will discuss the current
implementation status of the NPSBN, including current initiatives
underway with the First Network Authority Board. The NSTAC members will
deliberate and vote on their report, NSTAC Report to the President on
the National Security and Emergency Preparedness Implications of the
Nationwide Public Safety Broadband Network, and will be briefed on the
committee's progress regarding its report on secure government
communications. Lastly, the NSTAC will receive feedback from the
Executive Office of the President regarding the progress of the
Government's implementation of NSTAC recommendations from the 2012
NSTAC Report to the President on Cloud Computing.
The committee will meet in a closed session to hear a classified
briefing regarding cybersecurity threats and to discuss future studies
based on Government's security priorities and perceived
vulnerabilities.
Basis for Closure: In accordance with 5 U.S.C. 552b(c), Government
in the Sunshine Act, it has been determined that two agenda items
require closure as the disclosure of the information would not be in
the public interest.
The first of these agenda items, the classified briefing, will
provide members with context on nation-state capabilities and strategic
threats. Such threats target national communications infrastructure and
impact industry's long-term competitiveness and growth, as well as the
Government's ability to mitigate threats. Disclosure of these threats
would provide criminals who wish to intrude into commercial and
Government networks with information on potential vulnerabilities and
mitigation techniques, weakening existing cybersecurity defense
tactics. This briefing will be classified at the Top Secret level,
thereby exempting disclosure of the content by statute. Therefore, this
portion of the meeting is required to be closed pursuant to 5 U.S.C.
Sec. 552b(c)(1)(A).
The second agenda item, the discussion of potential NSTAC study
topics, will address areas of critical cybersecurity vulnerabilities
and priorities for Government. Government officials will share data
with NSTAC members on initiatives, assessments, and future security
requirements across public and private networks. The data to be shared
includes specific vulnerabilities within cyberspace that affect the
nation's communications and information technology infrastructures and
proposed mitigation strategies. Disclosure of this information to the
public would provide criminals with an incentive to focus on these
vulnerabilities to increase attacks on our cyber and communications
networks. Therefore, this portion of the meeting is likely to
significantly frustrate implementation of proposed DHS actions and is
required to be closed pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 552b(c)(9)(B).
The FACA requires that notices of meetings of advisory committees
be announced in the Federal Register 15 days prior to the meeting date.
However, this notice of the NSTAC meeting is being published in the
Federal Register on May 10, 2013, 12 days prior to the meeting due to
the immediate need for NSTAC's members to receive a cyber-threat
briefing. Notwithstanding the difficulties that delayed publication,
this NSTAC meeting must occur. The national security threat that
Distributed Denial of Service/Destructive Malware represent is
increasing in sophistication and severity and the timing of this
information is critical. Although the meeting notice was published in
the Federal Register late, the agenda will be published on the DHS Web
site: www.dhs.gov/nstac and an email will be sent out to the NSTAC
Members.
Dated: May 8, 2013.
Michael A. Echols,
Alternate Designated Federal Officer for the NSTAC.
[FR Doc. 2013-11324 Filed 5-13-13; 8:45 am]
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