From the Department of Homeland Security

Remarks by Secretary Michael Chertoff U.S. Department Of Homeland Security
at the Commonwealth Club of California

Santa Clara, California
Commonwealth Club of California
July 28, 2005
(Remarks as Prepared)

Thank you for that introduction and for the opportunity to be with all of you today. I’m honored to discuss our agenda for the future of homeland security at this distinguished forum.

For more than a century, the Commonwealth Club has been the scene of many spirited debates, a place where difficult but vital issues are identified and discussed in order to generate ideas for our best course forward.

Terrorism is the issue on the forefront of many people’s minds, and it is a subject that demands that type of frank debate and continuous evaluation. As the recent bombings in Egypt and London tragically showed; terrorism has not taken a recess.

To be sure, under the President’s leadership, since 9/11 we have struck back at the terrorists and averted a successful attack in the U.S., but we can not let ourselves be lulled into complacency or lose focus on our long term homeland security needs.

The terrorists are constantly at work, mutating and plotting -- driven by their evil ideology. So, we too must adapt, we must plan, we must work harder – driven by our determination that we will prevail.

When faced with the threat of his era, Abraham Lincoln offered this observation, “The dogmas of the quiet past are inadequate to the stormy present. The occasion is piled high with difficulty, and we must rise with the occasion. As our case is new, so we must think anew, and act anew. We must disenthrall ourselves, and then we shall save our country."

As we rise to meet the threat of terrorism, we must face each day with a similar mindset, a commitment to reject past dogmas, to “think anew” and “act anew.”

What we have been doing at the Department of Homeland Security is precisely that: Thinking anew and acting anew.

Soon after I arrived, I mandated a comprehensive review of our operations, policies and structures to answer these basic questions: Are we achieving the level of security we need? How do we correct gaps so that we meet our security objectives? How do we align our structure to best support our mission?

We launched a “Second Stage Review” of the Department with several core principles in mind. First, as I've said before, DHS must base its work on priorities that are driven by risk and pursued with balance. Our goal is to optimize our security, but not security "at any price." Our security strategy must promote Americans’ freedom, privacy, prosperity, mobility.

Second, our Department must drive improvement with a sense of urgency. The clock is ticking – as the events of the last few weeks have shown. Terrorism will not relent, and we can not afford to fall behind.

Third, DHS must be an effective steward of public resources – setting priorities, meeting those priorities, and fostering innovation.

Finally, our work must be guided by the understanding that effective security is built upon a network of systems that spans all levels of government and the private sector. DHS does not – and should not -- own or control all these systems. But we must set a clear national strategy, and design an architecture in which separate roles and responsibilities for security are fully integrated among public and private stakeholders.

In doing that, we must draw on the strength of our considerable network of assets, functioning as seamlessly as possible with state and local leadership, first responders, the private sector, our international partners, and most certainly, the general public.

Technology

Capitalizing on this network and the resources our partners have to bring to the table is an important priority for this Department, because it’s vital to our security success. No element of this partnership is more important than technology. Technology can provide tremendous added value in the quality of security across virtually every sector of the homeland – border enforcement, aviation security, passenger screening, information sharing – the list goes on.

With every imperative we identified in our review, technology is a major part of our strategic plan to achieve success in that area.

Let me give you a few examples: Technology can play a role in the detection of a threatened nuclear attack. Technology can be deployed in the form of biological sensors throughout our cities to detect the release of dangerous toxins. Technology provides the ability to screen passengers with just the simple swipe of a finger or screen cargo without ever opening a lid.

Of course to realize the full benefits technology has to offer, we are looking beyond the walls of DHS – to the private sector, to the high tech world. To the innovators who have made our world so much smaller, we are now looking to you to help make it that much safer.

On our end, we recognize our responsibility to support and aid these efforts in any way we can. For example, three years ago, Congress passed the SAFETY Act to enable our private sector partners to develop innovative technology to protect the homeland without the fear of unduly high transaction costs imposed by the possibility of frivolous lawsuits.

Candidly, we have not done enough to take advantage of this powerful tool to spur new technologies and new systems. We are streamlining the application process and working to deploy incentives under the SAFETY Act more broadly, with the hope that these changes will motivate the private sector to take full advantage of this tool.

In addition, we are working closely with our outstanding national labs to promote and support their vital technological design and scientific work. Yesterday, I spent the day not too far from here at Lawrence Livermore National Lab and was able to see firsthand the resources our scientists at Livermore – as well as their partners at Sandia and the other national labs – are making available to aid our efforts to prevent and prepare for all manners of attack.

There is no denying the vital role of technology as we pursue our near-term security agenda. Since we are in Silicon Valley, today I’d like to focus on a few of the imperatives identified in our departmental review where technological development, paired with a systems approach to problem solving, can help us significantly advance our efforts to secure the homeland – areas such as – preparedness, border enforcement, transportation and cyber security.

Preparedness

First, preparedness. In the broadest sense, preparedness addresses the full range of our capabilities to prevent, protect against, and respond to acts of terror or other disasters.

At the outset, we must acknowledge this: Although we have substantial resources to provide security, these resources are not unlimited. Therefore, as a nation, we must make tough choices about how to invest finite human and financial capital to attain the optimal state of preparedness. To do this we will focus preparedness on objective measures of risk and performance.

Our risk analysis is based on these three variables: threat, vulnerability, and consequences. These variables are not equal.

For example, some infrastructure is quite vulnerable, but the consequences of an attack are relatively small; other infrastructure may be much less vulnerable, but the consequences of a successful attack are very high, even catastrophic.

That's why the Department’s recently released National Preparedness Goals -- and additional, risk-based planning -- will form our standard in allocating future DHS grants to our state and local partners so that we build the right capabilities in the right places at the right level. Just as important, our planning must be focused on the long run.

Bringing greater planning discipline to all risk scenarios is another dimension of our preparedness mission. Here, simple common sense counsels that we begin by concentrating on events with the greatest potential consequences. Current events should inform our strategic planning, but should not distract or displace it.

Some of the tools needed to prevent, respond or recover from such awful scenarios are already in place, but others do need improvement. And a number of these improvements require the integration of technology into our systems of prevention, protection, response, and recovery.

Of all the catastrophic threats that we face, a nuclear attack on our soil would be uniquely threatening to our society. The President’s budget asks Congress to establish and fund a Domestic Nuclear Detection Office to develop and deploy the next generation of systems that will allow us to intercept a nuclear threat. This means systems that can not be defended by shielding; that reduce false positives; that are mobile and not fixed.

Creating this kind of defense is a reverse Manhattan Project for the 21st century – one that will diminish the nuclear threat. We have already begun to take the steps to make this office a reality, and I again ask Congress to support this critical resource fully.

Strengthening the protection of our valued infrastructure does not rest solely in the hands of the federal government. Local government agencies have valuable resources and experience that allow them to share in the responsibility for security. So, too, does private industry. We must unleash these resources.

Borders and Immigration

Technology also figures prominently in our efforts to secure our borders. We must strengthen border security and interior enforcement, as well as improve our immigration system. We cannot have one approach without the other. As to the first, we must gain full control of our borders to prevent illegal immigration and security breaches. Flagrant violation of our borders undercuts respect for the rule of law and undermines our security. It also poses a particular burden to those in our border communities.

We are developing a new approach to controlling the border, one that includes an integrated mix of additional staff, new technology and enhanced infrastructure investment. And we are considering changes to the entire border security system, from initial detection and apprehension to detention and eventual removal.

A strategic, comprehensive approach demands that all elements of enforcement be designed and built in unified fashion, so that we attain the ultimate goal: Real control of our borders.

But, gaining control of the border will also require something more -- reducing the demand for illegal border migration by channeling migrants into regulated legal channels to seek work. I look forward to working with Congress, therefore, this year to improve border security significantly through the President’s Temporary Worker Program.

Of course, immigration policy is about more than keeping illegal migrants out. Our heritage and national character inspire us to create a more welcoming society for those who lawfully come to our shores to work, learn and visit. For example, we want to ensure a visa process that is both secure and streamlined. In this way, those who seek to come to the United States with good intention are not deterred by undue processing burdens.

With this and other needs in mind, Secretary Rice and I will, in the near term, announce a detailed agenda of work and innovation that the Department of State and DHS have already begun together, to ease the path for those who wish to visit, study, and conduct business in the United States.

Transportation Security

Creating better systems to move people and goods more securely and efficiently into the country and around the country was a core objective in founding the Department of Homeland Security. It remains so today. Some would say that to achieve this goal there must be a trade-off between security and efficiency.

But we believe that with the proper security vetting, the proper technology, the proper travel documents, and the proper tracking of cargo, we can ultimately achieve a system that is both more efficient and does a better job of preserving privacy.

To do so, we must take advantage of technologies that can improve both our passenger and cargo screening. Right now, in many ways we are using the most basic kind of passenger screening -- screening for names to match to lists of terrorists and criminals. And of course, names are not the best way to identify people. Names can be changed and identification documents can be forged.

Biometric identifiers will reduce that type of fraud and protect the identity of the visa holder by making it much more difficult to impersonate someone. Computer chips and wireless communication can allow prompt and effective screening at even remote ports of entry.

In the area of cargo, we screen all inbound containers and inspect those that merit further scrutiny. But we can do more here as well. By deploying a combination of sophisticated tracking and detection protocols – along with the best available equipment such as non-invasive inspection technology – we can secure the global supply chain without slowing it down.

Ultimately, with greater use of technology, increased information sharing, and more targeted intelligence gathering – we will have a high degree of confidence and trust, so that low-risk passengers and cargo don't have to be stopped at every point along the way to be re-vetted and rechecked.

And as these low-risk travelers and cargo move through the system more smoothly and efficiently, our resources can be more effectively directed in terms of the kind of in-depth analysis and vetting that is necessary to stop a dangerous cargo shipment or terrorist from slipping through the cracks.

Mass Transit

The tragic events in London serve as a reminder of the terrorist threat against innocent civilians in our mass transit systems. We have done a great deal as a nation since 9/11 and the Madrid bombings to increase protection of our transportation systems, including mass transit.

State and local authorities have received more than $8 billion in Homeland Security grants that can be used for mass transit security and related purposes, and President Bush has proposed an additional $2.4 billion in his 2006 budget. Already, the Federal government has provided more than $255 million targeted specifically for state and local transit authorities to increase protection through hardening of assets, greater police presence during high alerts, additional detection and surveillance equipment, increased inspections, and expanded use of explosives-sniffing dog teams.

We add additional – often unheralded assistance – in the form of research and development that benefits mass transit security. But again, technology is an area where the federal government can add real value to our mass transit security efforts. While securing our subways, buses and rail systems is a critical national concern, it has never been solely or even primarily dominated by the Federal government.

State and local officials rightly control almost all of the law enforcement “boots-on-the-ground” used to provide security for mass transit. These highly-trained law enforcement personnel understand the unique design characteristics of their hometown subway, light rail, bus, and ferry systems better than anyone.

To make mass transit systems more secure, we need an effective partnership between Federal, state, and local officials that builds on the strengths and resources that each can offer – and that understands the unique architecture of each local system.

One element of federal contribution to mass transit security emerges from the recognition that catastrophic attacks on mass transit infrastructure have the potential to kill thousands – and preventing them must be a primary focus of Federal resources. We already have biological and chemical sensing systems in transit stations in different parts of the country.

We must expedite the research and development process for the deployment of more advanced biological, chemical, and radiological detection equipment so we can stay ahead of the terrorist’s intent to unleash mass casualty attacks.

We must continue to apply enhanced resources to the groundbreaking work of explosives detection, seeking systems that work with – not against – the architecture of mass transit. And, as we have been doing, we will continue to apply our sophisticated tools to aid localities in identifying and strengthening specific vulnerabilities in their transportation networks.

Cyber Security

We know the private sector and high tech world’s technological expertise must play a role in deterring these kinds of physical attacks. However, when it comes to securing the cyber systems that connect and control much of our infrastructure, we depend on our technology providers to take a direct role and partner with us in cyber risk assessment and mitigation to achieve the measure of security we all desire.

Our cyber systems have linked us together – nationally, globally – in dramatic and remarkable ways. It’s particularly remarkable for those of us who remember what it was like in the dark ages back when you had to actually mail letters, watch movies in a theater, and wait for the newspaper to be delivered – a time some call “prehistoric.”

Securing our cyber systems is critical not only to ensure a way of life to which we’ve grown accustomed, but more importantly to protect the vast infrastructure these systems support and operate. During our review, cyber security was one of the issues we evaluated to determine how we could improve the protective measures already in place and elevate our preparedness in this essential area.

There are several steps we must take. These include maintaining and enhancing a robust cyberspace response system, furthering information sharing and supporting working partnerships between government and industry – operationally and on strategic issues such as software assurance and corporate governance.

In addition, we must work to integrate cyber priorities into our infrastructure protection plans and prepare ourselves to respond to new technology threats.

Currently, we are working to finalize a National Infrastructure Protection Plan that will offer baseline preparedness plans and response protocols for seventeen critical infrastructure sectors and resources including Information Technology, Agriculture, Water, and Energy.

We’re working closely with a variety of stakeholders to develop our plan for the IT portion, but we’re also looking at the kind of impact IT has on other infrastructures.

For example, power grids, water treatment facilities, financial institutions all of these utilize computer systems and software to operate, so we have to coordinate closely to ensure the systems that are making our infrastructure assets more efficient do not expose them to vulnerabilities a terrorist could exploit.

As such, we are looking at all aspects of cyber in our risk management approach to identify threats, reduce vulnerabilities, and provide protective measures to mitigate and manage the consequences of an attack.

From standing up a 24/7 cyber threat watch and analysis center, to establishing a cyber alert system, to providing resources to counter the latest virus, worm, or other intrusion, there is a lot government has done and more we can do to increase cyber security.

However, the reality is that the vast majority of our cyber assets are privately owned and operated. It therefore follows that security cannot take the form of government dictates, but must be the product of strong partnership work and disciplined collaboration.

That being said, we must continue to ask ourselves: How can we facilitate that collaboration? What are the barriers to public/private partnership? What can we do as a government to help industry implement enhanced security measures? Incentives? More Resources? These are the questions we are working with industry to answer and act upon together.

During our review of the Department, it was evident that to address these issues, we needed to elevate cyber security within our organizational structure. To accomplish this, as well as enhance the coordination of our efforts to protect our technological infrastructure, we created a new Assistant Secretary for Cyber and Telecommunications Security.

This position will serve to support the security of the resources so critical to our nation and so fundamental to the work many of you do here in Silicon Valley. This is a position the tech community has recommended and asked for – we listened to that input and acted upon it – and we will continue to be open to your suggestions so we can better work together on our shared challenges.

Going forward, the Assistant Secretary for Cyber and Telecom will play an integral part as we implement our information technology infrastructure protection plan, as well as prepare for a large scale cyber security exercise this November to test our preparedness.

In protecting the homeland, we will always seek reasonable balance. Security is an overriding reality, but we must fight the urge to clamp down in fear and bring our society to a standstill.

Our anti-terrorism efforts must be based on assessments of risk not reaction to attacks. In the face of terror, there will always be a temptation to panic, to react, but we must be steady, unwavering -- dedicated to the task at hand – committed to “think anew” as Lincoln called us.

If anything, we can draw great wisdom and strength from Lincoln’s example. He remained a calm and reassuring presence when civil war threatened to tear our nation apart.

We, too, must remain calm, yet resolved – resolved to make difficult decisions, to adapt when necessary, and to never relinquish our commitment to the values of hope, freedom, and democracy that have defined our character through many past storms and will sustain us through those to come.

Thank you.

http://www.dhs.gov/dhspublic/interapp/speech/speech_0258.xml