Close
  • Latest News
  • Artificial Intelligence
  • Big Data and Analytics
  • Cloud
  • Networking
  • Cybersecurity
  • Applications
  • IT Management
  • Storage
  • Sponsored
  • Mobile
  • Small Business
  • Development
  • Database
  • Servers
  • Android
  • Apple
  • Innovation
  • Blogs
  • PC Hardware
  • Reviews
  • Search Engines
  • Virtualization
Read Down
Sign in
Close
Welcome!Log into your account
Forgot your password?
Read Down
Password recovery
Recover your password
Close
Search
Logo
Logo
  • Latest News
  • Artificial Intelligence
  • Big Data and Analytics
  • Cloud
  • Networking
  • Cybersecurity
  • Applications
  • IT Management
  • Storage
  • Sponsored
  • Mobile
  • Small Business
  • Development
  • Database
  • Servers
  • Android
  • Apple
  • Innovation
  • Blogs
  • PC Hardware
  • Reviews
  • Search Engines
  • Virtualization
More
    Home Cybersecurity
    • Cybersecurity
    • Networking

    DHS Cyber-Security Staff Won’t Be Furloughed in Government Shutdown

    By
    Fahmida Y. Rashid
    -
    April 8, 2011
    Share
    Facebook
    Twitter
    Linkedin

      Department of Homeland Security personnel and contractors who work on cyber-security would be considered “essential” employees and would not be furloughed if the government shuts down, according to DHS officials.

      Federal agencies and departments are trying to determine which employees will have to stay at home when the current stopgap spending expires April 8. Congress has been locked in a battle for the past few weeks trying to negotiate agency funding levels for the federal budget. If it isn’t resolved by the end of the day, all non-essential government activities will cease.

      Federal law states the government must stop all activities except those “necessary for the safety of human life or protection of property” during a government shutdown.

      Neither the Office of Management and Budget nor the Office of Personnel Management would comment on how many IT staffers would be furloughed. The White House has estimated 800,000 federal employees may be affected.

      Most cyber-security employees will likely be reporting for work as usual even if Congress can’t come to an agreement. A bulk of DHS and its cyber-security operations will remain unaffected as the employees are considered exempt under statutory guidelines, DHS officials told NextGov. That includes incident-response personnel, network administrators, and security staff who monitor the network for potential intrusions.

      Of the 222,500 DHS employees, about 85 percent have been identified as exempt employees, according to the DHS guidance available on the department’s Website. About one-third of the exempt employees are considered law enforcement (such as border control) and another third are considered “necessary to protect life and property,” according to the department.

      There were concerns that cyber-attackers would view the shutdown as the perfect opportunity to infiltrate government systems because there will be less people monitoring the infrastructure.

      All DHS Websites will remain up and running but will not be maintained during the shutdown period, according to the department’s guidance. The availability of the agency Website is determined by each individual agency. While the Internal Revenue Service is expected to remain online, the transparency site Data.gov will not.

      The department has the authority to bring back essential employees even during the furlough if there is an emergency situation that requires personnel support, according to the guidance. That may include strategy-oriented personnel who could develop new lines of defense during an attack.

      The IT and cybersecurity operations for the Department of Defense and the military branches are also expected to be untouched.

      While government employees responsible for IT security will be largely exempt from the shutdown, work on future IT projects and cyber legislation will have to stop. Cameron F. Kerry, the Commerce Department’s general counsel, told the Judiciary Crime and Terrorism Subcommittee that a proposal for network defense legislation will be delayed despite the fact they are “very close” to finalizing it.

      One of the things the proposed legislation would address is which agency would have control over certain “critical infrastructure” in case of a national emergency, among other issues.

      “I hadn’t thought of it in the context of the government shutdown–pretty significant national security cost to precipitate with a government shutdown,” said the subcommittee chairman Sheldon Whitehouse.

      Funding for a number of cyber-security projects have already been axed or drastically reduced from temporary spending bills as well as next year’s budget.

      Fahmida Y. Rashid
      Get the Free Newsletter!
      Subscribe to Daily Tech Insider for top news, trends & analysis
      This email address is invalid.
      Get the Free Newsletter!
      Subscribe to Daily Tech Insider for top news, trends & analysis
      This email address is invalid.

      MOST POPULAR ARTICLES

      Latest News

      Zeus Kerravala on Networking: Multicloud, 5G, and...

      James Maguire - December 16, 2022 0
      I spoke with Zeus Kerravala, industry analyst at ZK Research, about the rapid changes in enterprise networking, as tech advances and digital transformation prompt...
      Read more
      Applications

      Datadog President Amit Agarwal on Trends in...

      James Maguire - November 11, 2022 0
      I spoke with Amit Agarwal, President of Datadog, about infrastructure observability, from current trends to key challenges to the future of this rapidly growing...
      Read more
      IT Management

      Intuit’s Nhung Ho on AI for the...

      James Maguire - May 13, 2022 0
      I spoke with Nhung Ho, Vice President of AI at Intuit, about adoption of AI in the small and medium-sized business market, and how...
      Read more
      Applications

      Kyndryl’s Nicolas Sekkaki on Handling AI and...

      James Maguire - November 9, 2022 0
      I spoke with Nicolas Sekkaki, Group Practice Leader for Applications, Data and AI at Kyndryl, about how companies can boost both their AI and...
      Read more
      Cloud

      IGEL CEO Jed Ayres on Edge and...

      James Maguire - June 14, 2022 0
      I spoke with Jed Ayres, CEO of IGEL, about the endpoint sector, and an open source OS for the cloud; we also spoke about...
      Read more
      Logo

      eWeek has the latest technology news and analysis, buying guides, and product reviews for IT professionals and technology buyers. The site’s focus is on innovative solutions and covering in-depth technical content. eWeek stays on the cutting edge of technology news and IT trends through interviews and expert analysis. Gain insight from top innovators and thought leaders in the fields of IT, business, enterprise software, startups, and more.

      Facebook
      Linkedin
      RSS
      Twitter
      Youtube

      Advertisers

      Advertise with TechnologyAdvice on eWeek and our other IT-focused platforms.

      Advertise with Us

      Menu

      • About eWeek
      • Subscribe to our Newsletter
      • Latest News

      Our Brands

      • Privacy Policy
      • Terms
      • About
      • Contact
      • Advertise
      • Sitemap
      • California – Do Not Sell My Information

      Property of TechnologyAdvice.
      © 2022 TechnologyAdvice. All Rights Reserved

      Advertiser Disclosure: Some of the products that appear on this site are from companies from which TechnologyAdvice receives compensation. This compensation may impact how and where products appear on this site including, for example, the order in which they appear. TechnologyAdvice does not include all companies or all types of products available in the marketplace.

      ×