The Homeland Security Act of 2002, which created the Dept. of Homeland Security (DHS), brought together 22 diverse org's. to help prevent terrorist attacks in the U.S., reduce the vulnerability of the U.S. to terrorist attacks, and minimize damage and assist in recovery from attacks that do occur. The act est'd. homeland security responsibilities for DHS, which incl. sharing info. among its own entities and with other Fed. agencies, state and local gov'ts., the private sector, and others. This report discusses DHS's info. sharing (IS) efforts, incl.: the significance of IS in fulfilling DHS's respon.; prior analyses and recommend. for improving the Fed. govt.'s IS efforts; and key mgmt. issues DHS should consider in developing and implementing effective IS processes and systems.

Homeland Security: Information Sharing Responsibilities, Challenges, and Key Management Issues

The U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) is an independent agency that works for Congress. The GAO watches over Congress, and investigates how the federal government spends taxpayers dollars. The Comptroller General of the United States is the leader of the GAO, and is appointed to a 15-year term by the U.S. President. The GAO wants to support Congress, while at the same time doing right by the citizens of the United States. They audit, investigate, perform analyses, issue legal decisions and report anything that the government is doing. This is one of their reports.

This is a review of governmentwide changes and challenges prevalent in the missions and activities of agencies involved in homeland security, including the coordination and collaboration required to meet overall goals and needs, and government's efforts in planning and implementing strategic, transitional, and human capital activities designed to reorganize and strengthen homeland security. The federal government's response on homeland security issues is still evolving. The federal government's efforts to improve homeland security will require a results-oriented approach to ensure mission accountability and sustainability over time. Charts and tables.

In general, a fusion center is a collaborative effort to detect, prevent, investigate, and respond to criminal and terrorist activity. Recognizing that fusion centers are a mechanism for information sharing, the fed. gov¿t. -- including the Dept. of Homeland Security, the Dept. of Justice, and the Program Manager for the Information Sharing Environment, which has primary responsibility for governmentwide information sharing and is located in the Office of the Dir. of Nat. Intelligence -- is taking steps to partner with fusion centers. This report examines: (1) the status and characteristics of fusion centers; and (2) to what extent fed. efforts help alleviate challenges that the centers identified. Includes recommendations. Illustrations.

A primary mission of the Dept. of Homeland Security (DHS) is to ¿prevent terrorist attacks within the U.S., reduce the vulnerability of the U.S. to terrorism, and minimize the damage, and assist in the recovery from terrorist attacks that do occur in the U.S.¿ Since its inception, DHS has had an intelligence component to support this mission. Following a reorganization of the DHS in 2005, a strengthened Office of Intelligence and Analysis (I&A) was established. This report provides an overview of DHSI, and examines how it is organized and supports key departmental activities to include homeland security analysis and threat warning; border security; critical infrastructure protection; and sharing of info. with, state, local, and private sector partners.