Secretary Napolitano Highlights DHS’ Progress in 2011

January 6, 2012 Anthony DeRosa

In a retrospective analysis of 2011, DHS Secretary Janet Napolitano included two areas of particular interest to state drinking water programs – cybersecurity and natural disasters. There is every indication that these issues and initiatives will continue to receive significant Federal investments in 2012. The Secretary’s highlights about these two areas are as follows:

“To safeguard and secure cyberspace, DHS responded to over 100,000 incident reports and released more than 5,000 cybersecurity alerts and information products for federal, state, local, international and private sector partners; worked to combat electronic crimes such as identity theft, network intrusions and a range of financial crimes; launched law enforcement operations targeting those who prey on children online; announced newStop.Think.Connect.TM partnerships with DARE America, Boys & Girls Clubs of America, and YMCA; and released the Blueprint for a Secure Cyber Future: The Cybersecurity Strategy for the Homeland Security Enterprise, which outlines a coordinated effort for cybersecurity across the homeland security community.
To ensure resilience to disasters, DHS trained thousands of local, state and tribal responders released the country’s first-ever National Preparedness Goal, which identifies the core capabilities necessary to achieve preparedness; and awarded more than $2.1 billion in federal preparedness grants to assist states, urban areas, tribal and territorial governments, non-profit agencies, and the private sector in strengthening our nation’s ability to prevent, protect, respond to, recover from, and mitigate terrorist attacks, major disasters and other emergencies. In 2011, FEMA supported 96 major disaster declarations, 29 emergency declarations, and 116 fire management assistance declarations, including the response to Hurricane Irene, fires in the Southwest, severe flooding in North Dakota, and devastating tornadoes that hit the Midwest and South, including Joplin, Missouri.”