What We Do

Whether it’s a planned event like the Super Bowl, or a catastrophic event such as a hurricane, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), National Protection and Programs Directorate's Office of Infrastructure Protection is ready to work with businesses, communities, and local governments across the United States to enhance the security and resilience of the nation's critical infrastructure and to prepare for and recover from any hazard facing us.

The strategy and concepts in the National Infrastructure Protection Plan (NIPP) 2013 guide DHS in its execution of Presidential Policy Directive 21: Critical Infrastructure and Resilience, which calls on the federal government to advance a unified national effort to strengthen and maintain secure, functioning, and resilient critical infrastructure.

To this end, DHS conducts assessments on infrastructure and communities to help businesses and local government officials make decisions about where to put resources to enhance security before an event and improve recovery after an event.

When an event or attack occurs that affects our nation’s critical infrastructure, every second makes a difference. Thus, DHS plays a vital role in sharing information with both public and private sector partners that is essential to the nation’s security and resilience.

Because the majority of our national critical infrastructure is owned and operated by private companies, DHS also works with businesses, communities, and local governments to provide training and other tools and resources to educate the broader community on the need for critical infrastructure security and resilience and to enhance their current efforts. Public-private partnerships, in particular, are vital to this effort as DHS relies on support from partners and stakeholders to accomplish the mission of ensuring critical infrastructure security and resilience.