Operational Support

• Introduction
• HSIN Mission Advocates
• Supporting Daily Operations
• Supporting Planned Events and Exercises
• Supporting Incident Management and Emergency Response

Supporting Daily Operations

Every day, homeland security professionals access HSIN to share information with partners, host training, collaborate, plan or evaluate lessons learned. In FY 2017, HSIN was used for daily operations, providing real-time information sharing, improving intelligence analysis business flow and decision-making capabilities. HSIN supported a variety of mission areas, including cybersecurity, border security, narcotics interdiction and human trafficking awareness. This type of steady-state use allows partners to maintain situational awareness for their respective operating environments. In response to the 2017 assessment, 45 percent of users reported that, among their multiple uses of HSIN, they used HSIN the most for daily operations.

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Cybersecurity

Cyber threats are not bound by geographic location or organization. When one organization is attacked, many different agencies and partners may need to take part in mitigation and response efforts. HSIN is playing an increasing role in America’s cybersecurity efforts as maintaining a safe and resilient cyberspace requires constant vigilance through daily monitoring, reporting and information sharing. In FY 2017, HSIN’s unique role in facilitating interagency collaboration helped integrate DHS cybersecurity efforts, facilitating real-time communication and increasing situational awareness for the National Cybersecurity and Communications Center (NCCIC), the Multi-State Information Sharing and Analysis Center (MS-SIAC) and fusion centers with capabilities such as the Cyber Intelligence Network situational awareness (CINAware) room.

NCCIC

This year, HSIN completed data and user migration for the NCCIC and federated with the National Cyber Protection System (NCPS), increasing DHS cyber participation on HSIN. NCCIC serves as the centralized hub at the federal level where a diverse set of partners coordinate and synchronize cybersecurity efforts—all enhanced by leveraging HSIN capabilities for secure information sharing with stakeholders. Cyber intelligence analysts across the country regularly post information to HSIN concerning current threats and discuss incidents that may impact organizations nationwide.

MS-ISAC

NCCIC collaborates with state and local governments through the MS-ISAC, which serves as a focal point for cyber threat prevention, protection, response and recovery for the nation’s state, local, tribal and territorial organizations. HSIN creates the environment needed to ensure that information about cyber threats and cybersecurity is getting to the right people. Within HSIN, more than 1,000 MS-ISAC members log into a single place and use secure, direct communications to share cybersecurity information. Community members benefit from cybersecurity threat early warnings, as well as a secure place to identify, develop, validate, promote and sustain best practices. With HSIN’s secure, trusted network, the nation’s cyber experts are able to effectively collaborate regardless of their organization or location.

CINAware

HSIN also provides the capability to leverage the resources of every fusion center to coordinate effective cybersecurity efforts year-round. The Cyber Intelligence Network’s situational awareness (CINAware) room, offered on HSIN, is used to bring together the expertise of more than 350 cyber analysts and investigators across the United States to collaborate in real time. CINAware is a vital resource for communicating local cyber threats to the NCCIC. Likewise, the NCCIC uses CINAware to share information identified at the federal level that local organizations need for analysis and response. On a daily basis, CINAware provides the platform needed for rapid analysis and response to critical cyber threats. Raw intelligence can be analyzed and vetted by specialists across the country in real time, which then enables public agencies to benefit from actionable intelligence that is instantly disseminated.

"We look to HSIN to establish our CINAware room. If there’s a major attack going on we can activate that room and so we’ll have analysts from across the nation getting on and sharing real-time information."

Elizabeth McCracken
Lead Cyber Analyst, Northern California Regional Intelligence Center

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Border Security

Much like protecting cyberspace, maintaining border security also requires constant vigilance and communication. With 17 states that border either Mexico or Canada and cover more than 7,500 miles, border security is a national priority that impacts human trafficking, drug trafficking, illegal contraband and arms trafficking. HSIN is a significant tool in this mission area as interagency and interjurisdictional coordination is vital to maintaining security across this vast geographical expanse. DHS Joint Task Forces, the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), border states, and other law enforcement and partners in the border security mission space leverage HSIN’s incident monitoring and situational awareness tools to strengthen their border security efforts.

In FY 2017, coordinating efforts over more than 7,500 miles of border was made easier as the program made significant user interface enhancements to the HSIN tool, SmartViz, increasing its capabilities and functionality as a map-based geospatial management tool. This solution enables rapid and secure exchange, giving users the power to share geographical data from various sources on one display, map incident scenes and planned event sites, and track movements and changes over time. Used by CBP to coordinate with state and local agencies and federal partners, including the U.S. Coast Guard (USCG), HSIN acts as a force multiplier, amplifying users’ virtual presence on the border, enabling real-time feedback from field patrols and reducing duplication of effort to more efficiently integrate border security efforts across agencies.

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Narcotics Interdiction

In the area of narcotics interdiction, the High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA) program relies on HSIN to support daily operations. HSIN solved a key problem for law enforcement by providing a central location for officers to find and contribute trend information—a need that wasn’t being met by existing intelligence databases and other technology. Officers now use HSIN daily to share information and photos depicting how criminals are modifying vehicles to conceal drugs, which directly leads to more apprehensions and confiscated narcotics.

"HSIN fills an information sharing niche that we couldn’t find anywhere else," remarked Mike Snyders, National Coordinator for Domestic Highway Enforcement at the HIDTA Assistance Center. "Our information sharing component brings awareness to officers during those millions of traffic stops that occur every year. The officers need to be aware; they need to have real-time information to allow them to know if they have a criminal, perhaps a drug trafficker or any other criminal, stopped during the roadside encounter."

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Human Trafficking Prevention

HSIN makes it possible for DHS to more effectively work with private-sector partners, law enforcement and other government agencies in its mission to prevent human trafficking, protect victims and arrest criminals involved in the illegal trade of human beings for exploitation or commercial gain. A critical part of prevention involves coordination and collaboration with law enforcement partners through daily operations. This includes transmitting sensitive information via HSIN’s secure network so that law enforcement officials can get tips and other information needed to identify victims and prosecute criminals.

Another critical component for prevention is awareness. DHS launched the Blue Campaign as the unified voice for the Department’s efforts to combat human trafficking by educating the public and law enforcement on how to prevent these crimes. In FY 2017, the partnership between the Blue Campaign and HSIN was launched to address a 2016 Federal Aviation Administration mandate that airline industry staff receive training on recognizing and responding to potential human trafficking victims. The Blue Lightning Initiative (BLI) provides training and information for individuals in the airline industry—pilots, flight attendants and others—so they can recognize signs of human trafficking. The partnership began in May 2017; only 30 days later, in July, the BLI site was launched, fully up and running with 20 BLI partners participating with Blue Campaign staff. Other HSIN sites have been set up for partners in the hospitality industry and law enforcement community to meet their unique needs. The increased awareness and training provided by the Blue Campaign via HSIN leads to more tips to law enforcement, which results in more victims being identified and more criminals being prosecuted.

"HSIN is a uniquely qualified partner for the Blue Campaign because it offers a full complement of resources for the secure transfer of information. Our law enforcement partners are benefiting from HSIN because we’re able to provide information they need, which in turn helps increase prosecution."

Kaitlin Seale
DHS Blue Campaign Program Manager