Executive Summary
Networked technologies touch every corner of the globe and every facet of human life. They have driven innovation, nurtured freedoms, and spurred economic prosperity. Even so, the very technologies that enable these benefits offer new opportunities for malicious and unwanted cyber activities. The risks associated with the Nation’s dependence on these networked technologies led to the development of Presidential Policy Directive 41 (PPD-41): United States Cyber Incident Coordination, which sets forth principles governing the Federal Government’s response to any cyber incident, whether involving government or private sector entities.
PPD-41 recognizes that the frequency of cyber incidents is increasing, and this trend is unlikely to be reversed anytime soon. The most significant of these incidents, those likely to result in demonstrable harm to the national security interests, foreign relations, or economy of the United States or to the public confidence, civil liberties, or public health and safety of the American people, necessitate deliberative planning, coordination, and exercising of response activities, in order to minimize the threat and consequences to the Nation, infrastructure, and way of life.
