Brief: House Dems claim DHS IT lacking

Democrats on the House Homeland Security Committee said the Homeland Security Department is not doing enough to defend the nation's information infrastructure or leverage IT.

According to a recent report by the Democrats, DHS has failed to integrate back-office systems that could knit its 22 agencies together. The Democrats said they fear a central administrative system is years away.

The report called for:

• Appointing a senior cybersecurity official reporting to DHS Secretary Tom Ridge or the president


• Naming a chief security officer in the Office of Management and Budget


• Establishing a National Crisis Coordination Center to guide private-sector and government response to cyberevents.