It should come as no great surprise that the National Association of State Chief Information Officers (NASCIO) and the Metropolitan Information Exchange have expressed dissatisfaction with the Department of Homeland Security?s (DHS) efforts to secure cyberspace because there have already been numerous reported concerns with DHS?s approach to cybersecurity.

First, DHS has done a poor job in marketing its cybersecurity initiatives to state and local governments. According to the NASCIO report, as many as one-third of the officials surveyed said they were “generally unfamiliar” with federal cybersecurity plans. Moreover, slightly more than half of the respondents said they had never sought federal assistance during cybersecurity incidents. It is, therefore, not surprising that NASCIO recommended bolstering the existing efforts of InfraGard and the Multi-State ISAC. According to NASCIO, InfraGard and ISAC ?provide an underutilized foundation upon which to promote existing DHS cyber security programs as well as to develop and promulgate best practices, consistent methodologies, and tools for a variety of needs including risk assessments, continuity of operations planning, training, exercises, and contracting alliances.?