Transportation sector lags in joining infrastructure protection effort
Some industries formed councils as early as 2002 to better coordinate security efforts with the government
The transportation industry is lagging behind others that have formed councils to better coordinate with the government on protection of national resources, auditors said in a recent report.
"Sector councils" established under the Homeland Security Department's National Infrastructure Protection Plan are aimed at ensuring businesses are linked to one another and to the government, and can perform essential functions in the event of an emergency. Private sector participation is voluntary, but encouraged by DHS.
"Some sectors reported being further along in developing a plan than others," and Transportation Security Administration officials said in August they had "only begun drafting plans for each transportation mode such as aviation, rail and ports," the Government Accountability Office stated in the report.
Other industries involved in the infrastructure protection plan include agriculture, information technology and telecommunications. Some sector councils formed as early as 2002, and GAO touted the progress of "mature" councils that have moved on to address complex infrastructure protection issues. But the report (GAO-07-39) also noted that six councils were formed within the last 18 months.
"More remains to be done to ensure the adequate protection of our nation's critical infrastructure," the report said. "A number of sectors still need to identify their most critical assets across their sectors, assess their risks and agree on protective measures."
GAO said TSA officials are "working with contractors to help each transportation mode establish its own sector council" and, once those are organized, the transportation systems sector council will be formed.
"TSA officials attributed the delay to the heterogeneous nature of the transportation sector - ranging from aviation to shipping to trucking," the report said.
The report did not offer a date by which the transportation sector council was expected to be formed and a TSA spokeswoman did not respond to a request for comment Tuesday afternoon.