[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 80 (Wednesday, April 25, 2012)]
[Notices]
[Pages 24728-24729]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-9979]


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DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY

[Docket No. DHS-2012-0016]


President's National Security Telecommunications Advisory 
Committee

AGENCY: National Protection and Programs Directorate, DHS.

ACTION: Committee Management; Notice of Partially Closed Federal 
Advisory Committee Meeting.

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SUMMARY: The President's National Security Telecommunications Advisory 
Committee (NSTAC) will meet on Tuesday, May 15, 2012, in Washington DC. 
The meeting will be partially closed to the public.

DATES: The NSTAC will meet in closed session on Tuesday, May 15, 2012, 
from 9:45 a.m. to 12 p.m. and in closed session on Tuesday, May 15, 
2012, from 1:45 p.m. to 5:10 p.m.

ADDRESSES: The public portion of the meeting will be held at the Ronald 
Reagan Building and International Trade Center, 1300 Pennsylvania 
Avenue NW., Atrium Hall, Washington DC. All visitors attending the open 
sessions must pre-register. Please provide your name, telephone number, 
and email address by 5 p.m. on Wednesday May 9, 2012, to Helen Jackson 
at 703-235-4957 or to [email protected]. The closed portion of the meeting 
will be held at the Eisenhower Executive Office Building at 725 17th 
Street NW., Washington DC.
    For information on facilities or services for individuals with 
disabilities or to request special assistance at the meeting, contact 
[email protected] or Helen Jackson at 703-235-4957 as soon as possible.
    We are inviting public comment on the issues to be considered by 
the committee as listed in the

[[Page 24729]]

``SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION'' section below. Associated briefing 
materials that will be discussed at the meeting will be available at 
www.ncs.gov/nstac for review as of May 4, 2012. Comments must be 
submitted in writing no later than May 11, 2012, and must be identified 
by DHS-2012-0016 and may be submitted by one of the following methods:
     Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov. 
Follow the instructions for submitting comments.
     Email: [email protected]. Include the docket number in the 
subject line of the message.
     Fax: 703-235-4941, Attn: Helen Jackson.
     Mail: Deputy Manager, National Communications System, 
National Protection and Programs Directorate, Department of Homeland 
Security, 245 Murray Lane, Mail Stop 0615, Arlington, VA 20598-0615.
    Instructions: All submissions received must include the words 
``Department of Homeland Security'' and the docket number for this 
action. Comments received will be posted without alteration at http://www.regulations.gov, including any personal information provided.
    Docket: For access to the docket to read background documents or 
comments received by the NSTAC, go to http://www.regulations.gov.
    A public comment period will be held during the open portion of the 
meeting on Tuesday, May 15, 2012, from 3:25 p.m. to 3:55 p.m., and 
speakers are requested to limit their comments to 3 minutes. Speakers 
will be accommodated in order of registration. Please note that the 
public comment period may end before the time indicated, following the 
last call for comments. Contact Helen Jackson at 703-235-4957 to 
register as a speaker.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Allen F. Woodhouse, NSTAC Alternate 
Designated Federal Officer, Department of Homeland Security, telephone 
(703) 235-4214.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Notice of this meeting is given under the 
Federal Advisory Committee Act, 5 U.S.C. App. (Pub. L. 92-463). The 
NSTAC advises the President on matters related to national security and 
emergency preparedness telecommunications policy.
    Agenda: The committee will meet in open session to receive a 
briefing on the Federal Government's current technology priorities, 
including initiatives to further implement the 25Point Implementation 
Plan to reform Federal Information Technology Management, such as 
progress made towards implementing the Government's Cloud First Policy. 
Additionally, the NSTAC will receive a briefing on the Department of 
Commerce's current initiatives with respect to the National Public 
Safety Broadband Network. The NSTAC Members will then deliberate and 
vote on their Report to the President on Cloud Computing. The members 
will also discuss and vote on the National Public Safety Broadband 
Network Subcommittee's Scoping Recommendations Report. Lastly, the 
NSTAC will hear from the Executive Office of the President regarding 
potential new taskings for future examination and receive feedback 
regarding NSTAC open recommendations. Both reports to be deliberated 
and discussed will be available for review at www.ncs.gov/nstac as of 
May 4, 2012.
    The committee will meet in a closed session to hear a classified 
briefing regarding supply chain threats and activities. Additionally, 
the members will discuss with senior government officials incentives 
for public-private collaboration and the adoption of interoperable, 
standards-based products for enterprise-level cybersecurity.
    Basis for Closure: In accordance with the Government in the 
Sunshine Act, 5 U.S.C. 552b(c), two meeting agenda items are determined 
to require closure as the disclosure of the information would not be in 
the public interest.
    The first of these agenda items relates to issues and concerns 
surrounding the threats and risks posed by supply chain management 
within the telecommunications sector. The briefing provided will 
discuss threats and vulnerabilities in addressing all aspects of the 
telecommunications supply chain. In examining these risks, the NSTAC 
will address sector vulnerabilities and how the Government can best 
plan to mitigate these vulnerabilities without impeding commerce. 
Disclosure of these vulnerabilities would provide a road map to 
criminals who wish to increase threats to the telecommunication 
sector's supply chain system and exacerbate or exploit vulnerabilities 
that Government and the private sector are currently working to reduce. 
Therefore, this portion of the meeting is required to be closed 
pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 552b(c)(1)(A)(B) and(9)(B).
    The second agenda item will address cybersecurity public-private 
collaboration and adoption of interoperable standards-based products 
for enterprise-level cybersecurity. Government officials will share 
data with NSTAC members on initiatives, assessments, and future policy 
requirements for cybersecurity across public and private networks. The 
data to be shared includes information on cyber risk assessments, 
identified network vulnerabilities and potential plans to address those 
vulnerabilities and is not public information. Disclosure of this 
information to the public would provide criminals with the means to 
exploit cyber and physical weaknesses that might inhibit response, 
recovery, and reconstitution from a degraded network. Additionally, 
disclosure of this information may provide incentive to increase 
attacks on networks in areas deemed to be vulnerable. Since this would 
undermine the ability of the United States to continue ongoing work 
with private sector partners to mitigate network vulnerabilities and 
obtain advice from NSTAC, this portion of the meeting is required to be 
closed pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 552b(c)(9)(B).
    In accordance with 5 U.S.C. 552b(c)(9)(B) and 552b(c)(1)(A)(B), 
these portions of this meeting will be closed to the public.

    Dated: April 19, 2012.
Allen F. Woodhouse,
Alternate Designated Federal Officer for the NSTAC.
[FR Doc. 2012-9979 Filed 4-24-12; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 9110-9P-P