Category: IA News

In June, the Atlantic Council published a report on the organization and performance of the National Security Council (NSC) system. The report provides insight and advice intended to help the next administration build an effective national security structure and clear up “strategic confusion.” The report is the result of multiple interviews and seminars with over sixty senior foreign […]

The Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) inspector general and the Department of Justice (DOJ) have launched a probe looking into the toxic water spill at Gold King mine last year. The agencies are investigating whether any federal officials engaged in criminal activity in the buildup to and aftermath of a leak of wastewater at an abandoned mine. […]

A group of students from the U.S. Army War College’s Peacekeeping and Stability Operations Institute (PKSOI) recently traveled to Port-au-Prince, Haiti where they saw first-hand the ongoing recovery after the 2010 earthquake that devastated the county. While in Haiti, the PKSOI students had a front row seat to the whole-of-government coordination required for long-term development efforts. […]

Earlier this month, the State Department provided an update on their Global Engagement Center, which was established this spring after the signing of Executive Order 13721.  The Center is an interagency entity charged with coordinating U.S. counterterrorism messaging to foreign audiences, and replaced the Center for Strategic Counterterrorism Communications. The Center is staffed by detailees from several […]

Last week the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced a new partnership between their Blue Campaign and the Virginia Office of the Attorney General to raise awareness about human trafficking. Blue Campaign Chair Maria Odom, said “The Blue Campaign is honored to work alongside the Virginia Office of the Attorney General. Partnerships like this are important to our […]

Today the White House released a Presidential Policy Directive (PPD-41) focused on U.S. cyber incident coordination. PPD-41 sets forth principles governing the federal government’s response to any cyber incident, whether involving government or private sector entities. The new directive also establishes lead federal agencies, lays a structure for coordinating broader federal government response, and requires the Departments […]

On Tuesday, members of the  Financial and Banking Information Infrastructure Committee (FBIIC) met to discuss cybersecurity policy issues in the financial sector. The FBIIC is made up of 18 federal and state financial regulatory organizations, and is chaired by the Treasury Department. The FBIIC meets regularly to coordinate cybersecurity strategy and policy developments, adopting cybersecurity best […]

On July 13, the State Department hosted a public-private sector roundtable discussion on the Zika virus. Deputy Secretary of State for Management and Resources Heather Higginbottom and Deputy Homeland Security Adviser Amy Pope opened the discussion. Higginbottom and Pope both spoke on the “growing public health emergency” that is already effecting tens of thousands of lives. In her […]

In June, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) published a report assessing federal agencies’ efforts to combat human trafficking. The report, GAO-16-555, focuses on the prevalence of human trafficking, victim issues, and avoiding grant duplication. Many U.S. federal agencies lead efforts to address human trafficking. The Departments of Justice and Homeland Security lead federal investigations and prosecutions of trafficking crimes. The […]

The State Department has announced that they will host a series of working discussions to encourage private-public partnerships to combat the Zika virus on July 13. The event will bring together over 100 participants from the government and the private sector, and will be lead by senior representatives from the Departments of State and Homeland Security. During the discussions, […]