NPPD reorg could make a comeback

The leadership at the Department of Homeland Security has changed, but there is still some internal momentum behind a plan to reorganize the agency's cybersecurity operations.

The DHS plan to reorganize and rename the National Protection and Programs Directorate to more closely bind cyber and physical security capabilities isn't going away, said the leader of NPPD at a New America cybersecurity conference on March 20.

Even though the reorganization plan was left stranded in Congress late last year, it is coming back. "We look forward to working with Congress to change the name," said Jeanette Manfra, acting deputy undersecretary for cybersecurity at NPPD, said during a panel at the Cybersecurity for a New America conference.

Earlier during the New America conference, former NPPD chief Suzanne Spaulding said that not being able to push through the reorganization and name change was one of her biggest regrets about her time at the agency.

Last fall, Spaulding and her team pushed hard for Congress to approve the reorganization. Spaulding said the reorganization would position the renamed Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Protection Agency as the new cyber hub and operational component at DHS rather than simply a headquarters agency. The plan even received backing from then-DHS Secretary Jeh Johnson, who said it should be at the top of Congress' to-do list after the election.

Manfra said that effort "laid the groundwork" for efforts to come. She didn't give a timeframe for reorganization plans, but said NPPD's core cybersecurity capabilities have only gotten sharper since last fall.