Network Security Deployment

The Department of Homeland Security's (DHS) Office of Cybersecurity and Communications (CS&C) works collaboratively with public, private, and international entities to secure cyberspace and America’s cyber assets. CS&C established the Network Security Deployment (NSD) division to serve as the cybersecurity engineering and acquisition "Center of Excellence" within CS&C. In support of that role, NSD provides development, acquisition, deployment, operational, and customer support to satisfy the Department’s mission requirements under the Comprehensive National Cybersecurity Initiative (CNCI).

Overview

NSD’s mission is to improve cybersecurity to federal departments, agencies, and partners by developing the technologies and establishing the services needed to fulfill CS&C’s cybersecurity mission. To meet that mission need, NSD designs, develops, deploys, and sustains the National Cybersecurity Protection System (NCPS), which provides intrusion detection, advanced analytics, information sharing, and intrusion prevention capabilities that combat and mitigate cyber threats to the Federal Executive Branch information and networks. NSD is also responsible for managing the Continuous Diagnostics and Mitigation (CDM) program, which provides federal departments and agencies with capabilities and tools that identify cybersecurity risks on an ongoing basis, prioritize these risks based upon potential impacts, and enable cybersecurity personnel to mitigate the most significant problems first.

Activities

NSD conducts the following activities:

• Performs strategic planning for the NCPS and CDM programs, as well as any other programs that come into NSD.
  • Investigates technologies, processes, concepts, end items, or system demonstrations, based on cyber needs, used to support the computer network defense missions of both CDM and NCPS.
  • Plans for future technical road maps for NSD programs.
• Develops capabilities that support the DHS cyber mission at multiple levels through the use of technology demonstration, integration of existing solutions, and development of new tactics to employ solutions.
• Harnesses current and emerging technologies to provide immediate solutions to the urgent challenges of CS&C’s cyber mission.
• Serves as the Program Management Office for the NCPS and CDM programs.
• Operates and maintains NCPS and the federal dashboard of the CDM Program.