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Private-sector companies, state and local government entities and working groups comprised of government and private sector representatives are examples of organizations that can submit Critical Infrastructure Information (CII) for PCII protection.
Information related to the security of critical infrastructure or protected systems, including documents, records or other information concerning threats, vulnerabilities and operational experience may be submitted for PCII protection. Qualifying information must be:
Once a submission is evaluated and determined to meet all prescribed qualifications, the PCII Program Office will validate it and mark the information as PCII.
PCII protections only apply to the information in the hands of the government and not to the copy retained by the submitter.
Submitted information will retain PCII protections unless the PCII Program Office determines that the information, at the time of the submission, was customarily in the public domain, or the submitter requests in writing that the protections be removed.
Submissions that do not meet requirements are destroyed or returned, determined by the submitter's written preference.
The PCII Program Office will accept submissions of critical infrastructure information (CII) in consideration of the protections of the CII Act from any submitter who:
Examples of potential submitters include, but are not limited to:
Representatives of federal government entities may not submit information to the PCII Program in consideration of the protections of the CII Act.
Submitters should contact the PCII Program Office prior to submitting their information to ensure that the Program Office can accept the submission format and for any additional guidance.
Critical infrastructure information for PCII validation can be submitted in two ways:
Critical infrastructure information may be submitted to the Department of Homeland Security through approved partnerships with federal agencies. In these specific partnerships, the PCII Program Manager declares certain subject matter or types of information categorically protected as PCII and sets procedures for receiving and processing of this information.
Critical infrastructure information may be directly submitted to the PCII Program Office for protection via:
Phone submissions must be followed by a similar written statement within 15 calendar days after the submission.
The PCII Program Office or Designee will acknowledge receipt of the submission within 30 days of its receipt. Acknowledgement of receipt is not a determination of validation but only a notification to the submitter that the PCII Program Office or Designee has received the information accompanied by an Express Statement.
Once the submission is validated, the submitter will receive a validation letter or an email which will include a submission identification number.
All information submitted for PCII protection must include:
When accompanied by an Express Statement and a signed Certification Statement, the submission will be granted the presumption of protection throughout the entire validation process. If the Certification Statement is missing or incomplete, the information will have the presumption of protection but the PCII Program Office will request that the submitter provide a complete Certification Statement within 30 calendar days.
If the submitter does not remedy the deficiency within 30 days of the request, the PCII Program Office will either return the information to the submitter in accordance with the submitting person or entity's written preference or destroy the submission in accordance with the Federal Records Act and Department of Homeland Security regulations.
The PCII Program works with federal government partners to integrate PCII protections into data-collection processes. Examples of successful information-sharing partnerships within the Department include:
This page was last reviewed/modified on December 8, 2008.