[United States Statutes at Large, Volume 130, 114th Congress, 2nd Session]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

 
Proclamation 9533 of October 31, 2016

Critical Infrastructure Security and Resilience Month, 2016

By the President of the United States of America

A Proclamation

From the energy that powers our homes to the systems that allow us to
communicate with one another, our critical infrastructure is essential
to the stability and strength of our national security, economy, and
public health. The assets, networks, and systems that enable us to
innovate and prosper are necessary for sustaining and supporting the
well-being of our Nation, and our increasing dependence on them makes
securing and protecting them a top priority. This month, we recognize
the importance of our critical infrastructure and resolve to safeguard
these vital systems so they remain strong and resilient.
Our critical infrastructure spans a wide array of structures and systems
we rely on to meet our day-to-day needs. It includes government
facilities, the electric grid, transportation and water systems,
information technology, and financial systems--all which play an equally
important role in maintaining our way of life. These complex systems
work together to keep us safe and healthy, and although they are among
the most advanced and secure in the world, we must remain vigilant and
ensure their resilience by mitigating the threats and stresses that can
weaken them.
Securing our complex critical infrastructure systems requires
cooperation and sustained commitment from everyone, which is why my
Administration is working with businesses, infrastructure owners, and
officials at all levels of government to protect them. We must take
necessary steps to modernize our roads, bridges, pipes, and ports to
ensure they remain resilient and strong--especially as climate change
becomes an increasing risk, causing more extreme weather events that
threaten our infrastructure. In addition to physical threats and
hazards, cybersecurity risks pose another significant challenge to our
Nation. We must ensure that addressing threats to the security of our
data and our digital networks remains a priority. By partnering with the
private sector, and with the help of the American people, we can prepare
our critical infrastructure to withstand and respond to cyber threats,
terrorist attacks, acts of nature including space weather events, and
other threats and hazards.
Three years ago, I issued a Presidential Policy Directive to strengthen
and maintain secure and resilient critical infrastructure. Today, we are
continuing to carry out this vision for how Government and the private
sector can work together to reduce risks and increase the stability and
security of our infrastructure. And because our world has never been
more interconnected, we know that keeping our critical infrastructure
functioning will require collaboration with international partners. That

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is why we are working to promote global critical infrastructure security
and resilience through information sharing with partners around the
world.
As our population grows and our technology advances, the demands of our
critical infrastructure become increasingly significant. During Critical
Infrastructure Security and Resilience Month, we recommit to reducing
risks to these important systems and preparing to adapt and respond to
any incident that may occur. To ensure more Americans can thrive in a
future of greater safety, stability, and prosperity, we must protect and
enhance these essential elements of our cyber and physical
infrastructure for generations to come.
NOW, THEREFORE, I, BARACK OBAMA, President of the United States of
America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and
the laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim November 2016 as
Critical Infrastructure Security and Resilience Month. I call upon the
people of the United States to recognize the importance of protecting
our Nation's infrastructure and to observe this month with appropriate
events and training to enhance our national security and resilience.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this thirty-first day of
October, in the year of our Lord two thousand sixteen, and of the
Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and forty-
first.
BARACK OBAMA