Originially posted by the Information Sharing Environment (ISE)
Information sharing between federal, state, local, tribal and territorial partners is critical to our nation’s security. Today, I am pleased to announce that the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has updated our Information Sharing Segment Architecture (ISSA) that will serve as a road map to guide our implementation and investment efforts in information sharing.
This update, known as ISSA Version 3.0, introduces a standard set of information sharing capabilities and the technical capabilities necessary to enhance information sharing across DHS and our partners. It takes into consideration the continued maturity of the Department and focuses on improving our network of trust, enhancing our ability to securely and efficiently share information with stakeholders—especially the Intelligence Community— and providing information proficiently across the Department.
The ISSA serves as the guide to describe and implement the “To-Be,” or target architecture, of the DHS Information Sharing Environment (DHS ISE). This cross-cutting architecture will provide the entire DHS mission and enterprise functions with the business policies, strategies, leadership, architecture, and governance needed to provide a consistent set of services and capabilities for the sharing of information.
The ISSA is intended to direct the target DHS ISE and transition strategy so that data and information is secure and:
- Accessible – Available in a convenient form with intuitive tools;
- Understandable – Able to be used efficiently, leveraging common terminology;
- Interoperable – Easily combined and compared with other data and information;
- Trusted – Available to users with accuracy and currency, including the source of the data and information;
- Repeatable – Consistently delivered over time; and
- Safeguarded – Protected from loss or misuse.
The ISSA provides a blueprint for establishing a target DHS ISE designed to ensure that access to information does not hinder, but rather strengthens, our homeland security mission. Effective information sharing supports the core mission of DHS and serves as a valuable component of a comprehensive risk mitigation plan to keep our nation safe. Through the implementation of the ISSA Version 3.0, DHS will able to:
- Achieve interoperability through common standards;
- Identify redundancies and potential technological conflicts;
- Locate opportunities to leverage and/or collaborate;
- Identify information sharing gaps and shortfalls;
- Align technology to mission goals and objectives; and
- Gain a more thorough understanding of the complete functionality being provided by a specific target or technology for information sharing.
This architecture is a result of collaboration among mission and business owners across the Department, and helps us make great strides in establishing the target architecture necessary for the DHS ISE.
I look forward to the next phase of this critical work. The value of this architecture lives in its implementation by all DHS systems that share data and information with internal and external partners. Operating together under this road map, our Department has the ability to operate as “One DHS”, to ensure a safer, more secure and more resilient nation.