NATIONAL STRATEGY FOR

INFORMATION

SHARING

Successes and Challenges

In Improving

Terrorism-Related

Information Sharing

o ctob er 2007

NATIONAL STRATEGY FOR

INFORMATION

SHARING

Successes and Challenges

In Improving

Terrorism-Related

Information Sharing

o ctob er 2007

Contents

Introduction and Overview 1

The Need for a National Strategy 1

Guiding Principles 2

Foundational Elements 3

Linkage with Other National Strategies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

Background and the Current Environment 7

What has been accomplished since the September 11 attacks? 7

Continuing Challenges . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

Legislative and Regulatory Background 11

Sharing Information at the Federal Level 15

Sharing Information with State, Local, and Tribal Governments 17

Needs of State, Local, and Tribal Governments 17

Interagency Threat Assessment and Coordination Group 18

State and Major Urban Area Fusion Centers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .20

Sharing Information with the Private Sector 21

Sharing Information with Foreign Partners . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .25

Protecting Privacy and Other Legal Rights in the Sharing of Information 27

Core Privacy Principles 27

Privacy Governance 28

Institutionalizing the Strategy for Long-Term Success 29

Sharing with State, Local, and Tribal Governments and the Private Sector 30

Sharing with Our Foreign Partners and Allies 30

Protecting the Information Privacy and Legal Rights of Americans . . . . . . . . . . . .30

Appendix 1 – Establishing a National Integrated Network of

State and Major Urban Area Fusion Centers A1-1

National Strategy for Information Sharing 1

Introduction and Overview

Our success in preventing future terrorist attacks depends upon our ability to gather, 

analyze, and share information and intelligence regarding those who want to attack 

us, the tactics that they use, and the targets that they intend to attack. Our National 

Strategy for Combating Terrorism, issued in September 2006, recognizes that the War on Terror 

is a different kind of war, which requires a paradigm shift and the application of all elements 

of our national power and influence. The intelligence and information sharing structures that 

once enabled the winning of the Cold War now require greater flexibility and resilience to 

confront the threats facing our Nation from a transnational terrorist movement determined 

to destroy our people, our freedoms, and our way of life.

For the past six years, this Administration has worked within the Federal Government, and 

with our State, local, tribal, private sector, and foreign partners to transform our policies, processes, procedures, and—most importantly—our workplace cultures to reinforce the imperative of improved information sharing. The exchange of information should be the rule, not 

the exception, in our efforts to combat the terrorist threat. Substantial improvements have 

occurred within individual agencies and disciplines, but there is still more to be done. Improving information sharing in the post–September 11 world requires an environment that supports the sharing of information across all levels of government, disciplines, and security 

domains. As with our achievements to date, an improved information sharing environment 

will not be constructed overnight, but rather will evolve over time and will be the fruit of careful cultivation. An improved information sharing environment also will be constructed upon 

a foundation of trusted partnerships among all levels of government, the private sector, and 

our foreign allies—partnerships based on a shared commitment to detect, prevent, disrupt, 

preempt, and mitigate the effects of terrorism. This Strategy sets forth the Administration’s 

vision of what improvements are needed and how they can be achieved. 

The Strategy was developed with the understanding that homeland security information, terrorism information, and law enforcement information related to terrorism can come from 

multiple sources, all levels of government, as well as from private sector organizations and 

foreign sources. Federal, State, local, and tribal government organizations use such information for multiple purposes. In addition to traditional law enforcement uses, such information 

is used to (1) support efforts to prevent terrorist attacks, (2) develop critical infrastructure 

protection and resilience plans, (3) prioritize emergency management, response, and recovery 

planning activities, (4) devise training and exercise programs, and (5) determine the allocation of funding and other resources for homeland security-related purposes.

The Need for a National Strategy

While improved information sharing has been an Administration priority since the September 11 attacks, this Strategy reflects the first time the Administration has articulated the full 

contours of its vision in a single document. Memorializing the Strategy in a single document 

not only provides information to others about the Administration’s plans and outlook, but 
2 National Strategy for Information Sharing

also guides our efforts as we continue to implement many programs and initiatives designed 

to advance and facilitate the sharing of terrorism-related information. 

This Strategy will assist the Administration in ensuring that Federal, State, local and tribal government employees responsible for protecting our Nation from future attacks or responding 

should an attack occur understand the Administration’s expectations and plans for achieving 

improvements in the gathering and sharing of information related to terrorism. 

Accordingly, while this Strategy describes the vision that has guided the Administration for 

the past six years, it also sets forth our plan to build upon progress and establish a more integrated information sharing capability to ensure that those who need information to protect 

our Nation from terrorism will receive it and those who have that information will share it. We 

will improve interagency information sharing at the Federal level, while building information 

sharing bridges between the Federal Government and our non-Federal partners. 

Guiding Principles

Those responsible for combating terrorism must have access to timely and accurate information regarding those who want to attack us, their plans and activities, and the targets that they 

intend to attack. That information guides our efforts to: 

•	 Identify rapidly both immediate and long-term threats;

•	 Identify persons involved in terrorism-related activities; and

•	 Implement information-driven and risk-based detection, prevention, deterrence, 

response, protection, and emergency management efforts.

Experience has shown that there is no single source for information related to terrorism. It 

is derived by gathering, fusing, analyzing, and evaluating relevant information from a broad 

array of sources on a continual basis. Important information can come through the efforts of 

the Intelligence Community, Federal, State, tribal, and local law enforcement and homeland 

security authorities, other government agencies (e.g., the Department of Transportation, the 

Department of Health and Human Services), and the private sector (e.g., the transportation, 

healthcare, financial, and information technology sectors). Commonly referred to as homeland security information, terrorism information, or law enforcement information, this wideranging information can be found across all levels of government as well as in the private 

sector.

This Strategy provides the vision for how our Nation will best use and build upon the information sharing innovations which have emerged post-September 11 in order to develop a fully 

coordinated and integrated information sharing capability that supports our efforts to combat 

terrorism. The Strategy is founded on the following core principles and understandings:

•	 Effective information sharing comes through strong partnerships among Federal, State, 

local, and tribal authorities, private sector organizations, and our foreign partners and 

allies;

•	 Information acquired for one purpose, or under one set of authorities, might provide 

unique insights when combined, in accordance with applicable law, with seemingly 
National Strategy for Information Sharing 3

unrelated information from other sources, and therefore we must foster a culture of 

awareness in which people at all levels of government remain cognizant of the functions 

and needs of others and use knowledge and information from all sources to support 

counterterrorism efforts;

•	 Information sharing must be woven into all aspects of counterterrorism activity, including preventive and protective actions, actionable responses, criminal and counterterrorism investigative activities, event preparedness, and response to and recovery from 

catastrophic events; 

•	 The procedures, processes, and systems that support information sharing must draw 

upon and integrate existing technical capabilities and must respect established authorities and responsibilities; and

•	 State and major urban area fusion centers represent a valuable information sharing 

resource and should be incorporated into the national information sharing framework, 

which will require that fusion centers achieve a baseline level of capability to gather, 

process, share, and utilize information and operate in a manner that respects individuals’ privacy rights and other legal rights protected by U.S. laws.

Foundational Elements

This Strategy is focused on improving the sharing of homeland security, terrorism, and law 

enforcement information related to terrorism within and among all levels of governments and 

the private sector. 

•	 Information Sharing at the Federal Level. The instruments of our national power 

have long depended on the capabilities of the Intelligence Community to collect, process, analyze, and disseminate intelligence regarding our adversaries and enemies. Our 

efforts to combat terrorism depend on enhancing those intelligence capabilities, while 

enabling other Federal departments and agencies responsible for protecting the United 

States and its interests to regularly share information and intelligence with other public 

and private entities in support of mission critical activities. Information sharing at the 

Federal level has improved significantly since September 11, but challenges still remain 

that must be addressed before our strategic vision is realized.

•	 Information Sharing with State, Local, and Tribal Entities. As our Nation’s first “preventers and responders,” State, local, and tribal governments are critical to our efforts 

to prevent future terrorist attacks and to respond if an attack occurs. They must have 

access to the information that enables them to protect our local communities. In addition, these State, local, and tribal officials are often best able to identify potential threats 

that exist within their jurisdictions. They are full and trusted partners with the Federal 

Government in our Nation’s efforts to combat terrorism, and therefore they must be a 

part of an information sharing framework that supports an effective and efficient twoway flow of information enabling officials at all levels of government to counter and 

respond to threats.
4 National Strategy for Information Sharing

•	 Information Sharing with the Private Sector. Private sector information represents a 

crucial element in both understanding the current threat environment and protecting our 

nation’s critical infrastructure from targeted attacks. The private sector owns and operates over 85% of the nation’s critical infrastructure and is therefore a primary source of 

important vulnerability and other potentially relevant consequence information. Some 

private sector entities have cultivated effective information sharing partnerships with 

the State and local authorities that regulate their activities in the localities in which they 

operate. Important elements of the private sector have made significant investments 

to develop mechanisms and methodologies to evaluate, assess, and exchange information across regional, market, and security-related communities of interest; however still 

more can be done to improve those mechanisms and communication. We will use both 

sector-specific and geographic strategies to ensure effective information sharing with 

the private sector.

•	 Sharing Information with Foreign Partners. In the immediate wake of the September 

11 attacks, many foreign governments joined the United States as partners in the Global 

War on Terrorism, and many have since contributed to the war in important ways. The 

events of the past six years have reaffirmed that risks and threats often emerge and take 

shape without regard to geographic borders. Intelligence provided by foreign partners 

often provides the first indications of terrorist plans and intentions. Accordingly, we 

are taking steps to evaluate and improve upon our sharing of information with foreign 

governments and encouraging them to share with us.

•	 Protecting Information Privacy and Other Legal Rights.It will remain essential to 

continue to protect the information privacy and other legal rights of Americans as we 

protect our Nation from terrorism. Accordingly, our efforts will remain relentless on 

two fronts -- protecting our people, communities, and infrastructure from attack and 

zealously protecting the information privacy and other legal rights of Americans. At the 

President’s direction, the Attorney General and the Director of National Intelligence 

developed guidelines that describe how executive departments and agencies will protect 

the information privacy and other legal rights of Americans when sharing information 

related to terrorism. Consistent with the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention 

Act of 2004, the guidelines were developed in consultation with the Privacy and Civil 

Liberties Oversight Board.
National Strategy for Information Sharing 5

Foundations of the National Strategy for Information Sharing

Linkage with Other National Strategies

The National Strategy for Information Sharing does not exist in a vacuum. It is a critical component of our Nation’s comprehensive approach for combating terrorism. As such, it takes 

its lead from the President’s National Security Strategy, which provides the broad vision and 

goals for confronting the national security challenges of the 21st century. In addition, it is 

closely aligned with the National Strategy for Combating Terrorism and the National Strategy 

for Homeland Security.

This Strategy also supports and supplements the National Implementation Plan, which is the 

foundational document guiding the efforts of the Directorate of Strategic Operational Planning in the National Counterterrorism Center, required by the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004. The National Implementation Plan integrates the activities of 

all elements of national power into our efforts to combat terrorism. Additionally, the Strategy

supports and supplements other relevant planning efforts, such as those associated with the 

implementation of the National Response Plan and the establishment of a National Command 

and Coordination Capability. 

Finally, this Strategy aligns with the National Intelligence Strategy, published at Presidential 

direction by the Director of National Intelligence in October 2005. An information sharing 

framework is recognized as a critical component of intelligence reform in the National Intelligence Strategy. Federal Level State, Local, and Tribal Governments Private Sector Foreign Partners

Information Sharing

Protecting Privacy

and Other Legal Rights

National Strategy for Information Sharing 7

Background and the Current Environment

One clear lesson of September 11 was the need to improve the sharing of information. 

To prevent further attacks and to protect the homeland, we need to stay a step ahead 

of those individuals and organizations intent upon harming America. Key to preventing future attacks is the gathering of information about terrorist risks and threats and then 

ensuring that the information gets into the hands of those whose responsibility it is to protect 

our communities and critical infrastructure. In the past six years, we have achieved significant 

accomplishments in our efforts to improve information sharing, and we are well positioned in 

the current environment to build upon those past accomplishments as we move forward. 

What has been accomplished since the September 11 attacks?

In the aftermath of the September 11 terrorist attacks, our Nation began a historic transformation aimed at preventing future attacks and improving our ability to protect and defend our 

people and institutions at home and abroad. As a result, we are now better informed of terrorist intentions and plans and better prepared to detect, prevent, and respond to their actions. 

Improved intelligence collection and analysis have helped paint a more complete picture of 

the threat, while more information sharing has provided us a greater capacity for coordinated 

and integrated action.

•	 We worked with the Congress to adopt, implement, and renew key reforms like the 

USA PATRIOT Act that remove barriers that once restricted the sharing of information 

between the law enforcement and intelligence communities, while at the same time 

protecting our fundamental liberties.

•	 We established the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) in part to improve the 

sharing of information among Federal, State, and local government agencies and the 

private sector, in order to enhance our Nation’s ability to detect, identify, understand, 

and assess terrorist threats to and vulnerabilities of the homeland to better protect our 

Nation’s critical infrastructure, integrate our emergency response networks, and link 

State and Federal governments.

•	 We reorganized the Intelligence Community. The position of Director of National Intelligence was created to serve as the President’s chief intelligence advisor and the head of 

the Intelligence Community and to ensure closer coordination and integration of the 16 

agencies that make up the Intelligence Community.

•	 We established the National Counterterrorism Center (NCTC) to serve as a multiagency center analyzing and integrating all intelligence pertaining to terrorism, including threats to U.S. interests at home and abroad. 

•	 We worked to develop an Information Sharing Environment (ISE) to enhance the sharing of terrorism-related information among Federal, State, local, and tribal governments 

and the private sector. The President designated a Program Manager for the ISE to lead 
8 National Strategy for Information Sharing

these efforts. The President also issued guidelines to inform the continued development 

of the ISE.

•	 We have worked to achieve the objectives set out in the President’s guidelines by devising and instituting various initiatives designed to improve information sharing both at 

the Federal level and with our partners at the State, local, and tribal level, as well as with 

our foreign partners, while simultaneously taking great care to ensure that mechanisms 

are in place to protect the information privacy and other legal rights of Americans.

•	 We established the Terrorist Screening Center to consolidate terrorist watch lists and 

provide around-the-clock operational support for Federal and other law enforcement 

personnel across the country.

•	 We have provided significant grant funding to support the establishment of State and 

major urban area information fusion centers. Fusion centers coordinate the gathering, analysis, and sharing of criminal intelligence, public safety information, and other 

information related to terrorism within specific States or localities. As of September 

1, 2007, 58 fusion centers have either been established or are in the process of being 

established.

•	 We have brought about significant growth and maturation of the 101 Joint Terrorism 

Task Forces (JTTF) in major cities throughout the United States. The JTTFs have substantially contributed to improved information sharing and operational capabilities at 

the State and municipal levels.

•	 The Attorney General and the Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) 

have worked with the Director of National Intelligence to create the FBI National Security Branch by merging the FBI Counterterrorism and Counterintelligence Divisions 

with the newly established Directorates of Intelligence and Weapons of Mass Destruction. Establishment of the Directorate of Intelligence and of Field Intelligence Groups in 

every FBI field office exemplify the FBI’s major steps to transform itself into a preeminent domestic counterterrorism agency.

•	 The Secretary of Homeland Security has appointed a Chief Intelligence Officer responsible for integrating the intelligence activities of all DHS components.

•	 We have established the U.S. Northern Command within the Department of Defense 

(DoD) to plan, organize, and execute military, homeland defense, and civil support missions in the continental United States, Alaska, and offshore waters.

•	 The National Guard Bureau has completed a major organizational transformation 

including establishment of the National Guard Bureau Joint Staff focused on Homeland 

Defense and Defense Support of Civil Authorities mission requirements and the creation of a single Joint Force Headquarters in each of the States and Territories. 

•	 DHS has expanded the Homeland Security Information Network, a computer-based 

counterterrorism communications network, to all 50 States, five territories, the District of Columbia, and 50 other major urban areas to strengthen the two-way flow of 
National Strategy for Information Sharing 9

threat information among Federal, State, local, and tribal officials. Additionally, DHS 

is streamlining and merging its disparate classified networks into a single, integrated 

network called the Homeland Secure Data Network, to provide classified access to State, 

local, and tribal governments.

•	 The Department of State has initiated a Visa and Passport Security Program and Strategic Plan to target and disrupt individuals or organizations worldwide that are involved 

in the fraudulent production, distribution, or use of visas and passports, or other similar activities, intended to aid unlawful entry into the United States. 

•	 The State Department’s Bureau of Diplomatic Security has enhanced the Rewards for 

Justice Program to encourage reporting to authorities with tips, leads, and other information critical to preventing or favorably resolving acts of international terrorism 

against U.S. persons or property worldwide. 

•	 The Department of Treasury has worked to upgrade and enhance its classified communications networks to be fully compatible with the Intelligence Community’s in order to 

ensure that information related to terrorist financing and other national security threats 

related to financial crime are safely and efficiently communicated to and coordinated 

with the Intelligence Community.

Through these and other efforts, the United States and its coalition partners have made significant strides against al-Qaida, its affiliates, and others who threaten us. Collaboration and 

information sharing have helped limit the ability of al-Qaida and like-minded terrorist groups 

to operate successfully. We have uncovered and eliminated numerous threats to our citizens 

and to our friends and allies. We have disrupted terrorist plots, arrested operatives, captured 

or killed senior leaders, and strengthened the capacity of the Nation to confront and defeat 

our adversaries.

Continuing Challenges

We are engaged in what some have termed “a long war,” or a “protracted conflict,” and our 

enemy has proved to be adept at evolving and adapting his tactics. Internationally, al-Qaida 

remains the most serious threat to the Homeland as its central leaderships continues to plan 

high impact attacks while pushing others in extremist communities to mimic its efforts and 

supplement its capabilities. Its leadership is being reconstituted, and new jihadists are being 

recruited and trained daily. Additionally, the spread of radical internet sites, increasingly 

aggressive anti-U.S. rhetoric and actions, and the growing number of radical, self-generating 

cells in Western countries indicate that the radical and violent segment of the West’s Muslim 

population is expanding. As a result, the Untied States will continue to face ideologically committed extremists determined to attack our interests at home and abroad. 

Serious challenges lie ahead, including defeating the enemy, denying safe haven, combating 

violent extremist ideologies, and protecting the homeland. For the foreseeable future, those 

challenges will continue to be a top priority for the Federal Government on all fronts – intelligence, diplomatic, homeland security, law enforcement, and defense. 
10 National Strategy for Information Sharing

While these instruments of our national power are mighty, the nature of the global threat, as 

well as the emergence of homegrown extremists, require that State, local, and tribal governments incorporate counterterrorism activities as part of their daily efforts to provide emergency and non-emergency services to the public. These partners are now a critical component 

of our Nation’s security capability as both “first preventers” and “first responders,” and their 

efforts have achieved concrete results within their communities, as the following examples 

illustrate:

•	 A narcotics investigation – conducted by Federal, State, and local law enforcement officials and resulting in multiple arrests – revealed that a Canadian-based organization 

supplying precursor chemicals to Mexican methamphetamine producers was in fact a 

Hezbollah support cell.

•	 A local police detective investigating a gas station robbery uncovered a homegrown 

jihadist cell planning a series of attacks.

•	 An investigation into cigarette smuggling initiated by a county sheriff ’s department 

uncovered a Hezbollah support cell operating in several States.

To combat and prevent terrorist actions effectively we must first acquire knowledge about their 

organizations’ plans, intentions, and tactics, and then ensure that such knowledge is available 

to those responsible for preventing and responding to attacks. The Intelligence Community 

will continue to be a primary source for this information; however, the Intelligence Community must modify its processes and procedures to encompass non-traditional customers at all 

levels of government with roles in prevention and response. In addition, important information regarding possible attack planning may come from organizations outside the Intelligence 

Community. Our challenge is to ensure that information from all sources is brought to bear 

on our efforts to protect our people and infrastructure from terrorist attacks.

Today, the sharing of terrorism-related information takes place within multiple independent 

sharing environments that serve five communities—intelligence, law enforcement, defense, 

homeland security, and foreign affairs. Historically, each community developed its own policies, rules, standards, architectures, and systems to channel information to meet mission 

requirements. These environments were insulated from one another, which resulted in gaps 

and seams in the sharing of information across all levels of government. 

Recognizing these significant challenges, the Congress passed and the President signed the 

Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004. Among other things, the law called 

for the creation of the ISE to enable trusted partnerships among all levels of government, the 

private sector, and our foreign partners, in order to more effectively detect, prevent, disrupt, 

preempt, and mitigate the effects of terrorism against the territory, people, and interests of the 

United States. This partnership will enable the trusted, secure, and appropriate exchange of 

terrorism-related information across the Federal Government, to and from State, local, and 

tribal governments, foreign allies, and the private sector, and at all levels of security classifications. 
National Strategy for Information Sharing 11

Through this Strategy and the use of the ISE we will:

•	 Enable greater coordination at the Federal level, so that strategic and time-sensitive 

threat information gets into the hands of those who need it to protect our local communities and our Nation’s interests at home and abroad;

•	 Facilitate the exchange of coordinated sets of requirements and information needs 

across the Federal and non-Federal domains to help guide the targeting, selection, and 

reporting of terrorism-related information;

•	 Make certain that intelligence products can be easily shared, as appropriate, with those 

outside the Intelligence Community, such as other Federal entities, State, local, tribal, 

and foreign governments, and the private sector;

•	 Enable State, local, and tribal government efforts to gather, process, analyze, and share 

information and intelligence;

•	 Establish a network of State and local information fusion centers operating in a manner 

that safeguards information privacy rights and other legal rights of Americans; 

•	 Ensure our efforts to prevent future terrorist attacks are risk-based, information-driven, 

and supported by a greater understanding of our adversaries’ motivations, intentions, 

and plans; and

•	 Change government culture to one in which information is regularly and responsibly 

shared and only withheld by exception. 

Although the effort to implement the ISE is well underway, it is essential for implementation 

activities to take place within a broader strategic context. The sections that follow describe 

in more detail the current environment, the key elements of our National Strategy, and the 

actions we will take to achieve our vision.

Legislative and Regulatory Background

On August 27, 2004, the President issued two Executive Orders pertinent to this Strategy. 

Executive Order 13354 established the NCTC as “the primary organization in the United 

States Government for analyzing and integrating all intelligence possessed or acquired by the 

United States Government pertaining to terrorism and counterterrorism [with the exception 

of] purely domestic counterterrorism information.” Executive Order 13356 was aimed directly 

at strengthening the sharing of terrorism information to protect Americans. Specifically, the 

President directed agencies to give the “highest priority” to the prevention of terrorism and 

the “interchange of terrorism information [both] among agencies” and “between agencies and 

appropriate authorities of States and local governments.” The President further directed that 

this improved information sharing be accomplished in ways that “protect the freedom, information privacy, and other legal rights of Americans.” 

The Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act, enacted in December 2004, placed 

NCTC within the newly created Office of the Director of National Intelligence. The law directed 

NCTC to “serve as the primary organization in the United States Government for analyzing 
12 National Strategy for Information Sharing

and integrating all intelligence possessed or acquired by the United States Government pertaining to terrorism and counterterrorism.” In addition, NCTC serves as “the central and 

shared knowledge bank on known and suspected terrorists and international terror groups, as 

well as their goals, strategies, capabilities, and networks of contacts and support.” The NCTC 

strives to ensure that agencies, as appropriate, receive and have access to the intelligence necessary to perform their counterterrorism missions.

Section 1016 of the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004 directed the 

establishment of the ISE, which it defined as “an approach that facilitates the sharing of terrorism information.” The President was charged to create the ISE, designate its organization and 

management structure, and determine and enforce the policies and rules to govern the ISE’s 

content and usage. The law further required the ISE be “a decentralized, distributed, and coordinated environment” that “to the greatest extent practicable, ... connects existing systems ... ; 

builds upon existing systems capabilities currently in use across the Government; ... facilitates 

the sharing of information at and across all levels of security; ... and incorporates protections 

for individuals’ privacy and civil liberties.”

In addition, the law required the President designate a Program Manager for the ISE. The 

role of the Program Manager is to manage the ISE, oversee its implementation, assist in the 

development of ISE standards and practices, and monitor and assess its implementation by 

Federal departments and agencies. The law also established an Information Sharing Council 

to advise the President and the Program Manager on the development of ISE policies, procedures, guidelines, and standards, and to ensure proper coordination among Federal departments and agencies participating in the ISE.

Accordingly, the President designated the Program Manager and directed that the Program 

Manager and his staff be located in the Office of the Director of National Intelligence. On 

October 25, 2005, the President issued Executive Order 13388, superseding Executive Order 

13356, to facilitate the work of the Program Manager, expedite the establishment of the ISE, 

and restructure the Information Sharing Council.

On December 16, 2005, in accordance with section 1016 of the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004, the President issued a Memorandum to Heads of Executive 

Departments and Agencies prescribing the guidelines and requirements in support of the creation and implementation of the ISE. In the December Memorandum, the President directed 

that the ISE be established by building upon “existing Federal Government policies, standards, procedures, programs, systems, and architectures (collectively “resources”) used for 

the sharing and integration of and access to terrorism-related information, and ... leverage 

those resources to the maximum extent practicable, with the objective of establishing a decentralized, comprehensive, and coordinated environment for the sharing and integration of such 

information.” He also directed the heads of executive departments and agencies to “actively 

work to create a culture of information sharing within their respective departments or agencies by assigning personnel and dedicating resources to terrorism-related information sharing, by reducing disincentives to such sharing, and by holding their senior managers accountable for improved and increased sharing of such information.” 
National Strategy for Information Sharing 13

The President’s Memorandum also included five specific guidelines designed to advance the 

development and implementation of the ISE.

•	 Guideline One: the President directed that common standards be developed “to maximize the acquisition, access, retention, production, use, management, and sharing of 

terrorism information within the ISE, consistent with the protection of intelligence, law 

enforcement, protective, and military sources, methods, and activities.” These common standards, the President further directed, must accommodate and account for the 

need to improve upon the sharing of terrorism-related information with State, local, 

and tribal governments and the private sector.

•	 Guideline Two: the President stressed that “war on terror must be a national effort” and 

therefore one in which State, local, and tribal governments and the private sector are 

afforded appropriate opportunities to participate as full partners in the ISE. Accordingly, he directed that a common framework be developed governing the roles and 

responsibilities of Federal departments and agencies relating to the sharing of terrorism 

information, homeland security information, and law enforcement information among 

Federal departments and agencies, State, local, and tribal governments, and private sector entities.

•	 Guideline Three: the President directed a series of actions be undertaken to improve 

upon the sharing of Sensitive but Unclassified (SBU) information. Specifically, he 

directed the heads of particular departments and agencies to submit recommendations 

for the standardization of SBU procedures for marking and handling terrorism information, homeland security information, and law enforcement information, and eventually all other types of information shared within the ISE.

•	 Guideline Four: the President recognized the imperative for the ISE to facilitate and support the appropriate exchange of terrorism information with our foreign partners and 

allies and, toward that end, directed the development of recommendations to achieve 

improved sharing in this area.

•	 Guideline Five: the President directed, as he did earlier in Executive Order 13353, that 

the information privacy rights and other legal rights of Americans must be protected. 

Accordingly, he required guidelines be developed and submitted for approval to ensure 

such rights are protected in the implementation and operation of the ISE.

On November 16, 2006, pursuant to the President’s delegation of authority, the Director of 

National Intelligence submitted to the Congress a report containing the Implementation Plan 

for the Information Sharing Environment.The ISE Implementation Plan, among other things, 

delineates how the President’s guidelines and requirements will be implemented by drawing 

upon recommendations developed pursuant to those guidelines. The plan contains descriptions of the functions, capabilities, resources, and conceptual design of the ISE, a plan for 

deploying and operating the ISE, and a process for measuring implementation progress and 

performance. The plan, which is available on the Program Manager’s website (www.ise.gov), 

was developed through a collaborative effort among the Program Manager and the member 

organizations of the Information Sharing Council. It also incorporates the perspectives of rep-
14 National Strategy for Information Sharing

resentatives from State, local, and tribal governments who reviewed the ISE Implementation 

Plan Report during its development. Since the Plan’s submission to the Congress, many of its 

action items have been implemented.

Most recently, the Implementing Recommendations of the 9/11 Commission Act of 2007, enacted 

in August of this year, included amendments to section 1016 of the Intelligence Reform and 

Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004 and to the Homeland Security Act of 2002. The new law 

expands the scope of the ISE to explicitly include homeland security information and weapons 

of mass destruction information. It also endorses and formalizes many of the recommendations developed in response to the President’s information sharing guidelines, such as the 

creation of the Interagency Threat Assessment and Coordination Group, and the development 

of a national network of State and major urban area fusion centers.
National Strategy for Information Sharing 15

Sharing Information at the Federal Level

Today’s ISE consists of multiple sharing environments designed to serve five communities: intelligence, law enforcement, defense, homeland security, and foreign affairs. Our objective is to establish a framework for Federal agencies in the fulfillment of their 

individual roles and responsibilities and forge a coordinated and trusted interagency partnership and process across all five communities. This collaborative approach at the Federal level 

will in turn drive the manner in which terrorism-related information is shared with nonFederal partners. Those efforts support and build upon the success of ongoing initiatives at 

each level of government, offer practical guidance for addressing challenges that emerge, and 

provide the multi-agency perspective necessary to achieve the objectives of information sharing. In addition, as our information sharing efforts mature, policy and technology will lead to 

the introduction of additional information sources not currently included or available within 

those Federal communities.

NCTC has the primary responsibility within the Federal Government for analysis of all intelligence and information pertaining to terrorism, and supports the Department of Justice (DOJ), 

DHS, and other appropriate agencies in the fulfillment of their responsibilities to disseminate 

terrorism-related information. To carry out this responsibility, NCTC is staffed by personnel 

from many Federal departments and agencies, thus allowing the development of coordinated 

and integrated assessments of terrorist threats, plans, intentions, and capabilities.

NCTC also serves as the central and shared knowledge bank on known and suspected terrorists and international terror groups and ensures that agencies have access to and receive 

all-source intelligence support needed to execute their counterterrorism plans or perform 

independent, alternative and mission-oriented analysis. Authorized agencies may request 

information from NCTC to assist in the agency’s activities, consistent with applicable law and 

guidelines governing access to intelligence. NCTC enables the sharing of a wide spectrum of 

terrorism intelligence and related information among thousands of users in the Federal counterterrorism community through its production of comprehensive, “federally coordinated,” 

analytical products and its secure web site, NCTC Online.

All Federal departments and agencies that possess or acquire terrorism-related intelligence 

and information provide access to such information to NCTC for analysis and integration 

unless prohibited by law or otherwise directed by the President. As the “Federal Fusion Center” responsible “for analyzing and integrating all intelligence pertaining to terrorism and 

counterterrorism,” NCTC works with appropriate Federal departments and agencies to enable 

the development of “federally coordinated,” terrorism-related information products tailored 

to the needs of Federal entities. Within the NCTC, the new Interagency Threat Assessment 

and Coordination Group will facilitate the production of “federally coordinated” terrorismrelated information products intended for dissemination to State, local, and tribal officials and 

private sector partners.

Our efforts to improve the sharing of information related to terrorism acknowledge the interdependent and—in some respects—overlapping responsibilities of the elements of government charged with combating terrorism, securing the homeland, and enforcing laws. We will 
16 National Strategy for Information Sharing

leverage the strength of each and challenge them to collaborate to build an informed, composite understanding of the nature of the threat, strengthening the United States’ posture and 

making us a more productive and effective partner in the effort to combat terrorism. 
National Strategy for Information Sharing 17

 Sharing Information with State, Local,

and Tribal Governments

Guideline 2 of the President’s December 16, 2006, Memorandum to Heads of Executive Departments and Agencies directed that a common framework be developed governing the roles and responsibilities of Federal departments and agencies relating 

to the sharing of terrorism information, homeland security information, and law enforcement 

information between and among Federal departments and agencies, State, local, and tribal 

governments, and private sector entities.

The President’s guidelines recognized that State, local, and tribal authorities are critical to 

our Nation’s efforts to prevent future terrorist attacks and are the first to respond if an attack 

occurs. The attacks of September 11 illustrated that foreign terrorists wanting to commit acts 

of terrorism might live in our local communities and be engaged in criminal or other suspicious activity as they plan attacks on targets within the United States or its territories. At the 

same time, there is increasing concern regarding the potential threat posed by homegrown 

terrorists. While lacking formal ties to al-Qaida, these disaffected, radicalized, violent extremists often draw inspiration from al-Qaida and other global terrorist organizations. Whether 

a plan for a terrorist attack is homegrown or originates overseas, important knowledge that 

may forewarn of a future attack may be derived from information gathered by State, local, and 

tribal government personnel in the course of routine law enforcement and other activities.

State, local, and tribal governments carry out their counterterrorism responsibilities within the 

broader context of their core mission to protect the public’s health and safety and to provide 

emergency and non-emergency services. While State and local officials work to prevent future 

terrorist attacks, they still must arrest criminals, put out fires, respond to traffic accidents, and 

deal with a host of public health and safety issues. Success in these endeavors depends on a 

strong partnership with the public, built on a foundation of communication and trust between 

local officials and the members of their community. These same partnerships will be used to 

protect these communities from future attacks by terrorists. 

Needs of State, Local, and Tribal Governments

The informational needs of State, local, and tribal entities continue to grow as they incorporate 

counterterrorism and homeland security activities into their day-to-day missions. Specifically, 

they require access to timely, credible, and actionable information and intelligence about individuals and groups intending to carry out attacks within the United States, their organizations 

and their financing, potential targets, pre-attack indicators, and major events or circumstances 

that might influence State, local, and tribal preventive and protective postures. To implement 

recommendations developed pursuant to Guideline 2 of the President’s Guidelines, and as key 

participants in the information sharing mission, State, local, and tribal entities are encouraged 

to undertake the following activities, in appropriate consultation and coordination with Federal departments and agencies:

•	 Foster a culture that recognizes the importance of fusing information regarding all 

crimes with national security implications, with other security-related information 
18 National Strategy for Information Sharing

(e.g., criminal investigations, terrorism, public health and safety, and natural hazard 

emergency response);

•	 Support efforts to detect and prevent terrorist attacks by maintaining situational awareness of threats, alerts, and warnings, and develop critical infrastructure protection plans 

to ensure the security and resilience of infrastructure operations (e.g., electric power, 

transportation, telecommunications) within a region, State, or locality; and

•	 Develop training, awareness, and exercise programs to ensure that State, local, and 

tribal personnel are prepared to deal with terrorist strategies, tactics, capabilities, and 

intentions, and to test plans for preventing, preparing for, mitigating the effects of, and 

responding to events.

Authorities at all levels of our federal system must share a common understanding of the 

information needed to prevent, deter, and respond to terrorist attacks. The common understanding will be achieved through a framework that enables:

•	 Federal entities to work together to provide information in ways that better meet the 

needs of State, local, and tribal partners; and

•	 Information gathered at the State and local level to be processed, analyzed, disseminated, and integrated with information gathered at the Federal level.

We will have an integrated approach that allows Federal agencies to work together to produce 

and disseminate a federally-validated perspective on available threat information and relies on 

the efforts of consolidated fusion environments at the State and regional levels.

Interagency Threat Assessment and Coordination Group

To improve the coordination of the sharing of terrorism-related information, as well as to 

implement recommendations developed in response to the President’s December 16, 2005, 

Memorandum to the Heads of Executive Departments and Agencies, we have established an 

Interagency Threat Assessment and Coordination Group (ITACG) within the NCTC. Participants in this coordination group include DHS, FBI, members of the Intelligence Community, 

and State and local representatives. The coordination group will enable the development of 

“federally coordinated” perspectives on intelligence reports and analytical products regarding 

terrorist threats and related issues that address the needs of State, local, tribal, and, as appropriate, private sector entities. 

The ITACG supports the efforts of NCTC to produce “federally coordinated” terrorism-related 

information products intended for dissemination to State, local, and tribal officials and private 

sector partners through existing channels established by Federal departments and agencies 

by: 

1. Enabling the development of intelligence reports on terrorist threats and related issues 

that represent a “federally coordinated” perspective regarding those threats and issues 

and that satisfy the needs of State, local, tribal, and private sector entities until such 

time as the ISE matures organizationally and culturally to satisfy those needs as a normal part of doing business;
National Strategy for Information Sharing 19

2. Providing advice, counsel, and subject matter expertise to the Intelligence Community 

regarding the operations of State, local, and tribal officials, including how such entities 

use terrorism-related information to fulfill their counterterrorism responsibilities as 

part of their core mission of protecting their communities; 

3. Enabling the production of clear, relevant, official, “federally coordinated” threat information in a timely and consistent manner; 

4. Facilitating the production of “federally coordinated” situation awareness reporting 

for State, local, tribal, and private sector entities on significant domestic and international terrorism or terrorism-related events that have the potential to have an impact 

on local or regional security conditions in the United States; 

5. Ensuring terrorism-related information intended for State, local, tribal, and private 

sector entities is rendered in a usable format that is, to the extent possible, unclassified, 

to facilitate further dissemination; 

6. Informing and helping to shape Intelligence Community products for State, local, 

tribal, and private sector entities by providing advice, counsel, and subject matter 

expertise; and 

7. Facilitating the production and posting by NCTC of “federally coordinated” terrorism-related information intended for augmentation, as appropriate, and subsequent 

dissemination to State, local, tribal, and private sector entities by other Federal departments and agencies. Accordingly, the ITACG will advise the Intelligence Community 

on how to tailor its products to satisfy the needs of DHS, FBI, and other Federal entities so that they in turn can better serve their consumers.

The efforts of the ITACG complement and supplement existing analytic, production, and dissemination efforts by Federal entities. The location at NCTC affords the coordination group 

direct access to experts assigned to NCTC and other co-located organizations such as the 

National Joint Terrorism Task Force to effect decisions rapidly regarding sanitization and 

release of information to be shared with State, local, and tribal officials, and the private sector.

Specifically, the group will coordinate the production and timely issuance of the following 

interagency products intended for distribution to State, local, and tribal officials, the private 

sector, as well as the general public when appropriate:

•	 Alerts, warnings, and notifications of time-sensitive terrorism threats to locations 

within the United States;

•	 Situational awareness reporting regarding significant events or activities occurring at 

the international, national, State, or local levels; and

•	 Strategic assessments of terrorist risks and threats to the United States.
20 National Strategy for Information Sharing

State and Major Urban Area Fusion Centers

Many State and major urban areas have established information fusion centers to coordinate 

the gathering, analysis, and dissemination of law enforcement, homeland security, publicsafety, and terrorism information. As of September 1, 2007, over 58 of these centers are operating or are being established in States and localities across the country. A majority operate 

under national guidelines developed through the Global Justice Information Sharing Initiative and Homeland Security Advisory Council. (The full text of the Fusion center Guidelines 

can be found at www.ise.gov.) 

State and major urban area fusion centers are vital assets critical to sharing information related 

to terrorism. They will serve as the primary focal points within the State and local environment for the receipt and sharing of terrorism-related information. As a part of this Strategy, 

the Federal Government is promoting that State and major urban area fusion centers achieve a 

baseline level of capability and become interconnected with the Federal government and each 

other, thereby creating a national, integrated, network of fusion centers to enable the effective 

sharing of terrorism-related information. The Federal Government will support the establishment of these centers and help sustain them through grant funding, technical assistance, 

and training to achieve a baseline level of capability and to help ensure compliance with all 

applicable privacy laws. This approach respects our system of federalism and strengthens our 

security posture. 

Federal departments and agencies will provide terrorism-related information to State, local, 

and tribal authorities primarily through these fusion centers. Unless specifically prohibited by 

law, or subject to security classification restrictions, these fusion centers may further customize such information for dissemination to satisfy intra- or inter-State needs. Fusion centers will 

enable the effective communication of locally generated terrorism-related information to the 

Federal Government and other fusion centers through the ISE. Locally generated information 

that is not threat- or incident-related will be gathered, processed, analyzed, and interpreted 

by those same fusion centers—in coordination with locally based Federal officials—and disseminated to the national level via the DoD, DHS, FBI, or other appropriate Federal agency 

channels. Where practical, Federal organizations will assign personnel to fusion centers and, 

to the extent practicable, will strive to integrate and collocate resources.1

1

 Appendix 1 delineates the specific roles and responsibilities of Federal, State, local, and tribal governments as they relate to 

the establishment and continued operation of State and major urban area fusion centers and provides guidelines to support 

the performance of those roles and responsibilities.
National Strategy for Information Sharing 21

Sharing Information with the Private Sector

As the terrorist attacks on transportation infrastructure in London and Madrid demonstrate, critical infrastructure can be a prime target for the transnational terrorist enemy we face today. The private sector owns and operates an estimated 85% of infrastructure and resources that are critical to our Nation’s physical and economic security. It is, 

therefore, vital to ensure we develop effective and efficient information sharing partnerships 

with private sector entities. Important sectors of private industry have made significant investments in mechanisms and methodologies to evaluate, assess, and exchange information across 

regional, market, and security-related communities of interest. This Strategy builds on these 

efforts to adopt an effective framework that ensures a two-way flow of timely and actionable 

security information between public and private partners.

Efforts to improve information sharing with the private sector have initially focused on sharing with the owners and operators of our Nation’s critical infrastructure and key resources. In 

accordance with the National Infrastructure Protection Plan, we are currently implementing a 

networked approach to information sharing that allows distribution and access to information 

both horizontally and vertically using secure networks and coordination mechanisms, allowing information sharing and collaboration within and among sectors. It also enables multidirectional information sharing between government and industry that focuses, streamlines, 

and reduces redundancy in reporting to the greatest extent possible.

These processes are enabling the integration of private sector security partners, as appropriate, into the intelligence cycle and National Common Operating Picture. Moreover, sector 

security partners are becoming more confident that the integrity and confidentiality of their 

sensitive information can and will be protected and that the information sharing process can 

produce actionable information regarding threats, incidents, vulnerabilities, and potential 

consequences to critical infrastructure and key resources. These efforts are being integrated 

into broader efforts to establish the ISE. 

It is important to note that critical infrastructure and key resource owners and operators utilize a number of mechanisms that facilitate the flow of information, mitigate obstacles to voluntary information sharing, and provide feedback and continuous improvement regarding 

structure and process. These include the Sector Coordination Councils, Government Coordination Councils, National Infrastructure Coordinating Center, Sector-level Information Sharing and Analysis Centers (commonly referred to as ISACs), DHS Protective Security Advisors, 

the DHS Homeland Infrastructure Threat and Risk Analysis Center (HITRAC), and State and 

major urban area fusion centers. These mechanisms accommodate a broad range of sector 

cultures, operations, and risk management approaches and recognize the unique policy and 

legal challenges for full two-way sharing of information between private sector owners and 

operators and government, as well as the important requirements for efficient operational 

processes.
22 National Strategy for Information Sharing

Our efforts to improve information sharing with the private sector have been guided by a 

number of important factors:

•	 Current, reliable, accurate, and actionable information is critical to private sector decisions to protect their business;

•	 Private sector entities gather, process, analyze, and share information in order to protect 

their companies’ assets, employees, infrastructure, and ability to operate, so as to maintain a competitive advantage;

•	 In many cases, private sector entities have spent years establishing strong working relationships with Federal, State, and local law enforcement and other entities; this Strategy

respects and encourages those established relationships;

•	 The private sector operates within multiple information sharing frameworks: industry 

executives often prefer to separately share threat-related information with Federal and 

State as well as local government officials and other business executives as they assess 

the threat environment in which they operate, implement protective measures, and 

engage in emergency response planning activities;

•	 As we incorporate the information sharing needs and capabilities of the private sector into our efforts to enable information sharing, we need to recognize that at times 

the environment in which homeland security, law enforcement, and terrorism-related 

information is shared mirrors the regulatory environment in which the sharing entity 

operates; and

•	 The private sector relies on multiple information sources including professional and 

local organizations, private information providers, news outlets, colleagues, open intelligence sources on the web, and company management in both domestic and foreign 

locations, in addition to the government at all levels (Federal, State, and local).

Accordingly, as we improve efforts to share terrorism-related information with the private 

sector we must continue to:

•	 Build a trusted relationship between Federal, State, local, and tribal officials and private 

sector representatives to facilitate information sharing;

•	 Improve the two-way sharing of terrorism-related information on incidents, threats, 

consequences, and vulnerabilities, including enhancing the quantity and quality of specific, timely, and actionable information provided by the Federal Government to critical 

infrastructure sectors and their State, local, and tribal partners;

•	 Ensure that Federal, State, local, and tribal authorities have policies in place that ensure 

the protection of private sector information that is shared with government entities;

•	 Integrate private sector analytical efforts into Federal, State, local, and tribal processes, 

as appropriate, for a more complete understanding of the terrorism risk; and

•	 Establish mechanisms and processes to ensure compliance with all relevant U.S. laws, 

including applicable information privacy laws.
National Strategy for Information Sharing 23

We will continue to build upon existing successful information sharing partnerships in a variety of areas key to our national security. Those include programs such as the following:

•	 The Critical Infrastructure Partnership Advisory Council – provides the framework 

for owner and operator members of Sector Coordinating Councils and members of 

Government Coordinating Councils to engage in intra-government and public-private 

cooperation, information sharing, and engagement across the entire range of critical 

infrastructure protection activities;

•	 InfraGard – a partnership between the Federal Government, an association of businesses, academic institutions, State and local law enforcement agencies, and other 

participants dedicated to sharing information and intelligence to prevent hostile acts 

against the United States;

•	 Protected Critical Infrastructure Information/Sensitive Security Information – an 

information-protection tool that facilitates information sharing between the government and the private sector, which is used by DHS and other Federal, State, and local 

analysts in pursuit of a more secure homeland, focusing primarily on analyzing and 

securing critical infrastructure and protected systems, identifying vulnerabilities and 

developing risk assessments, and enhancing recovery preparedness measures;

•	 The Overseas Security Advisory Council – a Federal advisory committee that promotes 

security cooperation between American business and private sector interests worldwide 

and currently encompasses the 34-member core Council, an Executive Office, over 100 

Country Councils, and more than 3,500 constituent member organizations and 372 

associates; and

•	 Existing collaborative information sharing relationships between private sector entities and State and local authorities to facilitate the sharing of time-sensitive threat and 

vulnerability information, which reflect the preference, in some cases, of private sector 

entities to coordinate the sharing of threat-related and other information with the government authorities responsible for regulating their activities. 

The President also created the National Infrastructure Advisory Council (NIAC). The NIAC 

is charged to make recommendations on improving the cooperation and partnership between 

the Federal Government and industry, for the purpose of securing the critical infrastructures. The advice from the NIAC is meant to assist the President and the Secretary of Homeland Security in the development of policies and strategies that range from risk assessment 

and management to information sharing, protective measure, and clarification on roles and 

responsibilities between public and private sectors.

Finally, the needs and capabilities of the private sector, particularly those entities considered 

to be critical infrastructure or key resources, will be incorporated into efforts to establish a 

national, integrated network of State and major urban area fusion centers and to produce 

“federally coordinated” terrorism-related information products at NCTC.

National Strategy for Information Sharing 25

Sharing Information with Foreign Partners

S

trong and effective cooperation with our foreign partners is a vital component of the 

global war on terrorism. The President recognized the need to share information with 

foreign partners in his December 16, 2005, Memorandum to the Heads of Executive 

Departments and Agencies. Accordingly, the sharing of terrorism-related information between 

Federal departments and agencies and foreign partners and allies forms a critical component 

of our information sharing strategy. 

The counterterrorism mission requires sharing many types of terrorism-related information, 

for example, the exchange of biographic and biometric information related to known or suspected terrorists. While such sharing often includes classified information and sensitive diplomatic, law enforcement, and homeland security information relating to terrorism, it also 

encompasses other information that, over time, may help reveal links to terrorist groups or 

individuals. Information regarding lost or stolen passports and suspect financial transactions, 

for example, might yield information on groups or persons who subsequently are linked to 

a specific terrorist threat. In addition to asking for such information from other countries, it 

is also essential that we appropriately share similar types of information with foreign governments or foreign law enforcement entities, such as INTERPOL, as long as the sharing of any 

records about American citizens and lawful permanent residents data is subject to the Privacy 

Act of 1974 limitations, especially regarding personally identifiable information.

Information sharing with foreign partners is a key component of international outreach and 

cooperation to protect U.S. critical infrastructure. Given the often sensitive nature of the information shared, we will continue to enter into agreements and other understandings with foreign governments to ensure appropriate security and confidentiality of exchanged information. We must also expect that foreign governments will seek the same assurances from us. As 

a general rule, such agreements and understandings should seek sufficient security of information while also permitting flexible handling of the exchanged information to allow practical use. We must strive to ensure that safeguarding and handling restrictions are calibrated 

to maximize both the quantity and quality of information shared with, or received from, a 

foreign government. To the maximum extent possible, we will adopt and adhere to commonly 

accepted and standard safeguarding and handling restrictions.

There is the basic requirement that shared information be appropriately safeguarded and protected from public disclosure. Our foreign partners at times may ask us to agree to particular 

restrictions on the dissemination or use of the information. While it is preferable to avoid such 

restrictions, it may be necessary in certain circumstances to accept some limitations as a condition for receiving information with particularly high value. How we proceed in such situations will depend on the circumstances presented and our need for the information at issue. 

Our guiding objective will be to ensure that information received from a foreign government 

can be disseminated as broadly as possible and used for critical counterterrorism purposes.

Similar challenges arise in regard to sharing information with foreign governments that may 

contain personal data about United States citizens and permanent residents. In particular, the 

Privacy Act of 1974 confers certain protections upon information concerning citizens and law-
26 National Strategy for Information Sharing

ful permanent residents. Accordingly and especially given considerations of reciprocity, we 

must remain sensitive to the potential impact on our citizens and lawful residents of sharing 

information involving U.S. persons with foreign partners. The United States must carry out 

its counterterrorism mission while also ensuring that appropriate protection of information 

regarding our citizens and lawful permanent residents. As part of approving the recommendations submitted to improve information sharing with foreign governments, the President 

directed that the potential impact on United States persons be considered when evaluating a 

proposed information sharing arrangement with a foreign government.

Special considerations present themselves in the area of sharing classified information with 

foreign governments. Such sharing will continue to occur in a relatively formal context, to 

account for the need to properly secure and limit disclosure of the information. Indeed, decisions of whether to share our Nation’s classified information are extraordinarily sensitive and 

will be made with the utmost care. Our officials must remain cognizant of the imperative to 

our national security mission of maximizing the sharing of terrorism-related information, 

while also taking care to ensure that sharing arrangements do not result in the unintended 

compromising of our national security.

In summary, strong partnerships and trusted collaboration with foreign governments are 

essential components of the war on terror. Effective and substantial cooperation with our foreign partners requires sustained liaison efforts, timeliness, flexibility, and the mutually beneficial exchange of many forms of terrorism-related information. The strategic objectives for 

sharing information with foreign partners can be broadly summarized as follows:

•	 Expanding and facilitating the appropriate and timely sharing of terrorism-related 

information between the United States and our foreign partners;

•	 Ensuring that exchanges of information between the United States and foreign governments are accompanied by proper and carefully calibrated security requirements;

•	 Ensuring that information received by Federal agencies from a foreign government 

under a sharing arrangement: (1) is provided to appropriate subject matter experts 

for interpretation, evaluation, and analysis; and (2) can be disseminated and used to 

advance our Nation’s counterterrorism objectives;

•	 Refining and drawing upon sets of best practices and common standards in negotiating 

sharing arrangements with foreign governments; and

•	 Developing standards and practices to verify that sharing arrangements with foreign 

governments appropriately consider and protect the information privacy and other 

legal rights of Americans.
National Strategy for Information Sharing 27

Protecting Privacy and Other Legal Rights

in the Sharing of Information

Protecting the rights of Americans is a core facet of our information sharing efforts. 

While we must zealously protect our Nation from the real and continuing threat of 

terrorist attacks, we must just as zealously protect the information privacy rights and 

other legal rights of Americans. With proper planning we can have both enhanced privacy 

protections and increased information sharing – and in fact, we must achieve this balance at 

all levels of government, in order to maintain the trust of the American people. The President 

reaffirmed this in his December 16, 2005, Memorandum to the Heads of Executive Departments and Agencies.

At the direction of the President, the Attorney General and the Director of National Intelligence 

developed a set of Privacy Guidelines to ensure the information privacy and other legal rights 

of Americans are protected in the development and use of the ISE. The Privacy Guidelines 

provide a consistent framework for identifying information that is subject to privacy protection, assessing applicable privacy rules, implementing appropriate protections, and ensuring 

compliance. An array of laws, directives, and policies provide substantive privacy protections 

for personally identifiable information. The parameters of those protections vary depending 

on the rules that apply to particular agencies and the information they are proposing to share. 

As described below, however, the Guidelines demand more than mere compliance with the 

laws; they require executive departments and agencies to take pro-active and explicit actions 

to ensure the balance between information privacy and security is maintained, as called for by 

the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States. The full text of the ISE 

Privacy Guidelines can be found at www.ise.gov. 

Core Privacy Principles

The Privacy Guidelines build on a set of core principles that Federal departments and agencies 

must follow. Those principles require specific, uniform action and reflect basic privacy protections and best practices. Agencies must:

•	 Share protected information only to the extent it is terrorism information, homeland 

security information, or law enforcement information related to terrorism;

•	 Identify and review the protected informationto be shared within the ISE;

•	 Enable ISE participants to determine the nature of the protected information to be 

shared and its legal restrictions (e.g., “this record contains individually identifiable 

information about a U.S. citizen”);

•	 Assess, document, and comply with all applicable laws and policies;

•	 Establish data accuracy, quality, and retention procedures;

•	 Deploy adequate security measures to safeguard protected information;
28 National Strategy for Information Sharing

•	 Implement adequate accountability, enforcement, and audit mechanisms to verify compliance;

•	 Establish a redress process consistent with legal authorities and mission requirements;

•	 Implement the guidelines through appropriate changes to business processes and systems, training, and technology;

•	 Make the public aware of the agency’s policies and procedures as appropriate;

•	 Ensure agencies disclose protected information to non-Federal entities—including 

State, local, tribal, and foreign governments—only if the non-Federal entities provide 

comparable protections; and

•	 State, local, and tribal governments are required to designate a senior official accountable for implementation.

Privacy Governance

Successful implementation of the Privacy Guidelines requires a governance structure to monitor compliance and to revise the Guidelines as we gain more experience. The President, therefore, directed the Program Manager to establish the ISE Privacy Guidelines Committee. The 

Committee is chaired by representatives of the Attorney General and the Director of National 

Intelligence, and consists of the Privacy Officials of the departments and agencies of the Information Sharing Council. The Committee seeks to ensure consistency and standardization, as 

well as serve as a forum to share best practices and resolve agency concerns.
National Strategy for Information Sharing 29

Institutionalizing the Strategy

for Long-Term Success

Over the past six years we have made significant improvements in the way that terrorism-related information is shared. There remains more we can and must do to ensure that those responsible for protecting our people, interests, and infrastructure have the 

information they need to carry out their mission. Individual departments and agencies of the 

Federal Government have been directed to work together to ensure that Federal information 

and intelligence capabilities are brought together to form a national assured information sharing capability. These same individual departments and agencies have been directed to work 

together to ensure that State and major urban area fusion centers are interlinked with each 

other and Federal information and intelligence capabilities to form a national information 

sharing capability. This Strategy provides the vision of how we will build upon the progress 

of the past six years and establish an integrated information sharing capability to ensure that 

those who need information to protect our Nation from terrorism receive it and that those 

who have information share it.

The preceding sections of this Strategy described the four areas of information sharing and the 

overarching need to ensure that our efforts to expand the sharing of terrorism-related information are accompanied by adequate protections for information privacy rights and other 

rights guaranteed by the Constitution and laws of the United States. The challenge is to ensure 

that those areas, and the guiding principles on which they are based, are incorporated in a 

framework of specific, measurable activities that guide the development and implementation 

of the ISE and increase the sharing of terrorism-related information across the Federal Government and with State, local, tribal, and private sector entities and our foreign partners. 

Ultimately, implementing this Strategy will create a powerful national capability to share, 

search, and analyze terrorism-related information that spans jurisdictional, organizational, 

and cultural boundaries and provides users a distributed, secure, and trusted environment for 

transforming data into actionable information. It also takes advantage of the vital roles played 

by State and major urban area information fusion centers, which are crucial investments for 

improving the nation’s analytical capacity.

This Strategy is being institutionalized through many actions including the following:

The ISE Implementation Plan Report – In November 2006, the Director of National Intelligence produced and provided to the Congress a report containing an Implementation Plan for 

the ISE that outlines almost 100 specific actions and supporting recommendations for achieving the goals for the ISE, as envisioned in the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act 

of 2004 and in Executive Order 13388. 

This plan reflects the culmination of collaboration between the Program Manager, the Information Sharing Council, and Federal departments and agencies. It also incorporates the perspectives of representatives from State, local, and tribal governments who reviewed the ISE 

Implementation Plan Report during its development. 
30 National Strategy for Information Sharing

Sharing with State, Local, and Tribal Governments and the Private Sector

The Interagency Threat Assessment and Coordination Group – The Administration established an Interagency Threat Assessment and Coordination Group at the national level to 

better coordinate the sharing of terrorism-related information. The Group will facilitate the 

production of what will be officially defined as “federally coordinated” terrorism-related information products intended for dissemination to State, local, and tribal officials and private sector partners through the established channels. As noted previously, the Group will include 

representatives from DHS, FBI, and other relevant Federal entities as well as State and local 

government representatives. The Group will ensure that both classified and unclassified intelligence produced by Federal entities within the intelligence, law enforcement, and homeland 

security communities is fused, validated, de-conflicted, and approved for dissemination in a 

concise and, when possible, unclassified format.

State and Major Urban Area Fusion Centers – We will improve collaboration at the State and 

local levels by leveraging State and major urban area information fusion centers and by establishing a national integrated network of these centers. Appendix 1 delineates the specific roles 

and responsibilities of State and major urban area fusion centers. 

Collocation of personnel from State and major urban area fusion centers and local JTTFs, 

Field Intelligence Groups, and National Guard intelligence units is also encouraged.

Through the Federal grants process and related technical assistance and training efforts, the 

Federal Government is working to ensure that these centers achieve and maintain a baseline 

level of operational and analytical capability by encouraging the adoption of the Global Justice 

Information Sharing Initiative/Homeland Security Advisory Council Fusion Guidelines and 

by expanding the amount of technical assistance and training provided. 

Sharing with Our Foreign Partners and Allies

Standard International Agreement Text – We are developing standard language on information sharing and protection that can be used in international agreements pertaining to terrorism-related information sharing to facilitate agreement on a level of protection that would not 

unnecessarily impede re-dissemination for counterterrorism purposes. 

Central Repository – We are establishing a central, electronically accessible repository of 

information on foreign government and international organization marking and handling 

regimes so that U.S. agencies and domestic partners can more readily understand safeguarding and handling rules for different kinds of foreign government information.

Protecting the Information Privacy and Legal Rights of Americans

ISE Privacy Guidelines – The ISE Privacy Guidelines are designed to establish a framework for 

sharing terrorism-related information in the ISE in a manner that protects privacy and civil 

liberties. These guidelines require agencies to identify any privacy-protected information to 

be shared and they put in place accountability mechanisms, audit mechanisms, and redress 

procedures.
National Strategy for Information Sharing 31

ISE Privacy Officials – The Guidelines require Federal departments and agencies to designate 

an “ISE Privacy Official” to directly oversee implementation of the Guidelines. 

ISE Privacy Guidelines Committee – The Guidelines also provide for an ISE Privacy Guidelines Committee, consisting of the ISE Privacy Officials of the Federal departments and agencies that are members of the Information Sharing Council, and chaired by a senior official 

designated by the Program Manager of the ISE.

National Strategy for Information Sharing A1-1

Appendix 1

Establishing a National Integrated Network of

State and Major Urban Area Fusion Centers

Roles and Responsibilities of Federal, State, Local, and Tribal Authorities

Roles of the State and Major Urban Area Fusion Centers

Federal, State, local, and tribal governments have specific responsibilities as it relates to the 

establishment and continued operation of State and major urban area fusion centers. The roles 

and responsibilities outlined in this Strategy were developed in partnership with State, local, 

and tribal officials and represent a collective (Federal, State, local, and tribal) view. This Strategy recognizes the sovereignty of State and local governments, and thus the roles and responsibilities are delineated with the understanding that State and major urban area fusion centers 

are owned and managed by State and local governments. Furthermore their incorporation 

into the ISE takes into account that these centers support day-to-day crime control efforts and 

other critical public safety activities. Interlinking and networking these centers will create a 

national capacity to gather, process, analyze, and share information. Incorporating these centers into the ISE will be done in a manner that protects the information privacy and other legal 

rights of Americans and corporations, as provided for under U.S. law.

The Federal Government may need to provide financial and technical assistance, as well as 

human resource support, to these fusion centers if they are to achieve and sustain a baseline 

level of capability. The objective is to assist State and local governments in the establishment 

and the sustained operation of these fusion centers. A sustained Federal partnership with 

State and major urban area fusion centers is critical to the safety of our Nation, and therefore 

a national priority.

State and major urban area fusion centers will be the focus, but not exclusive points, within the 

State and local environment for the receipt and sharing of terrorism information, homeland 

security information, and law enforcement information related to terrorism. These fusion centers support the efforts of State, local, and tribal entities in undertaking the following activities 

and responsibilities, in appropriate consultation or coordination with Federal departments 

and agencies:

•	 Share classified and unclassified information to address domestic security and criminal 

investigations with other States, localities, regions and the Federal Government in a 

manner that protects the information privacy and other legal rights of Americans, while 

ensuring the security of the information shared.

•	 Foster a culture that recognizes the importance of fusing “all crimes with national security implications” and “all hazards” information (e.g., criminal investigations, terrorism, public health and safety, and emergency response) which often involves identifying 

criminal activity and other information that might be a precursor to a terrorist plot.
A1-2 National Strategy for Information Sharing

•	 Support critical counterterrorism, homeland security, and homeland defense-related 

activities, including but not limited to the development or maintenance of:

1. Mechanisms to contribute information of value to ongoing Federal terrorism risk 

assessments;

2. Statewide, regional, site specific, and topical risk assessments;

3. Processes in support of information responsive to federally communicated 

requirements and tasks;

4. Alerts, warnings, notifications, advisories, and/or bulletins regarding time sensitive or strategic threats;

5. Situational awareness reports; and

6. Analytical reports regarding geographically relevant incidents or specific 

threats.

•	 Develop, in coordination with Federal authorities, critical infrastructure protection 

plans to ensure the security and resilience of infrastructure operations (e.g., electric 

power, transportation, telecommunications, water) within a region, State, or locality. 

The efforts of State and major urban area fusion centers in this regard will be coordinated with information sharing activities delineated in the National Infrastructure 

Protection Plan as well as other efforts already underway by DoD, DHS, FBI, and other 

Federal entities.

•	 Prioritize emergency management, response, and recovery planning activities based on 

likely threat scenarios and at-risk targets.

•	 Provide assessments of risk that support State and urban area homeland security preparedness planning efforts to allocate funding, capabilities, and other resources.

•	 Provide risk-related information to support efforts to develop training, awareness, and 

exercise programs to ensure that State, local, and tribal officials are prepared to deal 

with terrorist strategies, tactics, capabilities, and intentions and to test plans for preventing, preparing for, mitigating the effects of, and responding to events.

•	 Further customize federally supplied information for dissemination to meet intra- or 

inter-State needs, unless specifically prohibited or otherwise subject to additional security restrictions.

•	 Ensure that all locally generated terrorism-related information—including suspicious 

activity and incident reports—is communicated to the Federal Government and other 

States, localities, and regions, through the appropriate mechanism and systems. Locally 

generated information that does not appear to be threat or incident related will be gathered, processed, analyzed, and interpreted by the same State and major urban area fusion 

centers in coordination with locally-based Federal officials. The same information will 

be disseminated to the national level via appropriate Federal agencies.
National Strategy for Information Sharing A1-3

Federal, State, Local, and Tribal Responsibilities

I. General

Federal Responsibilities

The Federal Government, in coordination with State, local, and tribal officials, will establish 

a working group of the Information Sharing Council, to coordinate Federal efforts to support 

the creation of a national network of State and major urban area fusion centers. Drawing upon 

existing and ongoing efforts at the Federal level, DoD, DOJ, DHS, the Office of the Director of 

National Intelligence, and National Guard Bureau shall establish a coordinated set of policies, 

protocols, and procedures to:

1. Develop, maintain and, as appropriate, disseminate an assessment of terrorist risks 

and threats to the United States and it interests.

2. Use risk and threat assessments to identify and gather information responsive to the 

identified threats and risks.

3. Gather and document the information needs of State, local, and tribal governments.

4. Continue to develop a prioritized listing of informational products needed by State, 

local, and tribal governments based on terrorism information requirements.

5. Maintain existing analytical resources capable of producing (researching, developing, 

drafting and packaging) these analytical products and coordinating both their development and dissemination.

6. Identify any gaps in production capabilities as it relates to the production of: alerts, 

warning and notifications regarding time sensitive threat, situational awareness reporting regarding significant events, strategic assessments of threats posed by individuals 

or terrorist organizations, tradecraft utilized by organizations, geographic risk assessments, or other related issues.

7. Mitigate production gaps by leveraging existing departmental, agency, or NCTC analytical capabilities.

8. Maintain the capability to produce and coordinate multi-channel dissemination of 

inter-agency coordinated alerts, warnings, and notifications of time sensitive terrorism-related information.

9. Support State, local, and tribal efforts to produce State, regional, and site-specific risk 

assessments by adopting common terminology and criteria and providing State and 

local officials an agreed upon assessment methodology for evaluating risk (threat, consequence, and vulnerability).

10. Coordinate the assignment of representative personnel to State and major urban area 

fusion centers and otherwise strive to integrate and, to the extent practicable, collocate 

resources.
A1-4 National Strategy for Information Sharing

11. Ensure the sharing of information is done in a manner that protects the information 

privacy and legal rights of Americans.

State, Local, and Tribal Responsibilities

Each State will be encouraged to define and document how it intends to carry out intrastate 

efforts to gather, process, analyze, and disseminate terrorism information, homeland security information, and law enforcement information. This process is commonly known as the 

“fusion process.” Defining this process should include the following:

1. In those States where there exist multiple fusion centers, one fusion center, with the 

demonstrated capacity to serve as the statewide center or hub, should be designated 

as the primary interface with the Federal Government. This statewide fusion center 

should also coordinate the gathering, processing, analysis, and dissemination of homeland security information, terrorism information, and law enforcement information 

on a statewide basis.

2. The Executive Agent of each Urban Area Security Initiative (UASI), as well as the 

applicable State’s homeland security advisor, must work together to determine the 

most effective manner in which to incorporate the UASI into the statewide information sharing framework.

3. In those instances in which the UASI has established a regional fusion center, the activities of the major urban area fusion center should be incorporated into the statewide 

fusion process.

4. Each State and major urban area fusion center is encouraged to coordinate with the 

appropriate Federal authorities to develop synchronized protocols for sharing information with the private sector.
National Strategy for Information Sharing A1-5

II. Achieving and Sustaining Baseline Operational Standards for State and Major

Urban Area Fusion Centers

Federal Responsibilities

The Federal Government, working in partnership with State, local, and tribal authorities, will 

seek to define the current national information sharing capability that exists through the existence of existing State and major urban area fusion centers. State and local authorities will be 

asked to support these efforts by assessing and documenting the baseline level of capability of 

their existing fusion centers.

The Federal Government, in consultation with State, local, and tribal authorities, shall compile, document, and disseminate baseline operational standards, the achievement of which 

will determine whether an individual State or major urban area fusion center is considered to 

have achieved a baseline level of capability. These baseline operational standards will build on 

the Global Justice Fusion Center Guidelines. Additionally, the Federal Government will initiate a series of activities to assist State and major urban area fusion centers to adopt and incorporate these baseline operational standards into their business operations. These standards 

will support the gathering, processing, analysis, and dissemination of terrorism information, 

homeland security information, and law enforcement information. Specific Federal activities 

include:

1. Defining, documenting, and disseminating the baseline operational standards.

2. Assessing the existing level of capability of each designated State and major urban area 

fusion center.

3. Providing technical assistance, training, and other support as needed by these fusion 

centers to support their achieving the defined baseline level of capability.

4. Amending relevant grants guidance and technical assistance to ensure that fusion 

center grant recipients, as a condition of receiving funding, meet delineated baseline 

operational standards.

5. Modifying grants, other applicable funding programs, and related technical assistance 

programs to support efforts to sustain the capacity of State and major area fusion centers to operate at a baseline operational level once achieved.

6. Establishing a best practices clearing house capability for fusion centers to include 

creating a list of Subject Matter Experts.

7. Developing a coordinated interagency approach that supports, wherever practical, the 

assignment of Federal personnel to State and major urban area fusion centers and otherwise strive to integrate and, to the extent practicable, collocate resources.

State, Local, and Tribal Responsibilities

State, local, and tribal authorities are encouraged to take the following steps to ensure that 

State and major urban area fusion centers achieve and sustain a baseline level of capability:
A1-6 National Strategy for Information Sharing

1. Support efforts to complete an assessment of existing capabilities within designated 

State and major urban area fusion centers.

2. Identify and document capability gaps (if any) and develop a strategy and investment 

plan to mitigate any capability gaps.

3. Track and report efforts to mitigate any capability gaps.

4. Develop an investment strategy to sustain fusion center operations, including a delineation of current and recommended future Federal versus non-Federal costs.

5. Document and report a strategy for integrating State and major urban area fusion 

center efforts with those of other Federal, State, local, tribal, and private sector information sharing and counterterrorism efforts.

III. Suspicious Activities and Incident Reporting

Federal Responsibilities

The Federal Government will develop a plan and provide State and major urban area fusion 

centers a mechanism to gather and report locally generated information to appropriate Federal entities, other States, and localities. This locally generated information will include reports 

by the public or governmental personnel regarding suspicious incidents, events, and activities. 

Specific activities include:

1. Providing reports and awareness training to State, local, and tribal authorities regarding the strategic goals, operational capabilities, and methods of operation utilized by 

international and domestic terrorist organizations so that local events and behaviors 

can be viewed within the context of potential terrorist threats.

2. Developing a prioritized listing of the specific types of locally generated information 

of interest to Federal entities responsible for assessing the national threat environment 

and which supports the rapid identification of emerging terrorist threats.

3. Identifying resources capable of communicating and updating these information 

requirements to State, local, and tribal officials via State and major urban area fusion 

centers.

4. Establishing a unified process to support the reporting, tracking, processing, storage, 

and retrieval of locally generated information.

5. Ensuring that efforts to gather, process, analyze, and store locally generated information are carried out in a manner that protects the privacy and legal rights of Americans.

State, Local, and Tribal Responsibilities

State and major urban area fusion centers will support the gathering of locally generated terrorism information, homeland security information, and law enforcement information related 

to terrorism. Specific activities may include:
National Strategy for Information Sharing A1-7

1. Completion of a statewide and/or regional risk assessment (threat, vulnerability, and 

consequence).

2. Using this assessment to identify priority information requirements.

3. Identification of data sources and repositories of prioritized information.

4. Maintaining an information gathering and reporting strategy utilizing existing local 

capabilities.

5. Developing, implementing, and maintaining a method for communicating information priorities to local gatherers of information.

6. Ensuring that the processes and protocols for ensuring that priority information, 

including Suspicious Incident Reports (SIRs) and Suspicious Activities Reports (SARs), 

are disseminated to and evaluated by appropriate government authorities and appropriate critical infrastructure owners and operators.

7. Ensuring that the processes and protocols for ensuring that priority information, 

including SIRs and SARs, are reported to national entities to support its inclusion into 

national patterns and trends analysis and other States and localities to support regional 

trends analysis.

8. Identifying system requirements that support a unified process for reporting, tracking, 

and accessing SIRs and SARs.

9. Defining a feedback mechanism.

IV. Alerts, Warnings, and Notifications

Federal Responsibilities

The Federal Government, in coordination with State, local, and tribal authorities, will establish processes to manage the issuance of alerts, warnings, and notifications to State and major 

area fusion centers regarding time sensitive threats and other information requiring some 

type of State and/or local reaction or response. Specific activities include:

1. Documenting the types of informational products needed by State, local, and tribal 

governments and the format in which they are desired.

2. Identifying the Federal entities responsible for producing (researching, developing, 

drafting, and packaging) alerts, warning, and notifications for dissemination to State 

and major area fusion centers regarding time sensitive threats and coordinating both 

their development and dissemination.

3. Identifying any gaps in production capabilities as it relates to the production of: alerts, 

warnings, and notifications regarding time sensitive threats or other related issues.

4. Maintaining the capability to mitigate production gaps by leveraging existing departmental, agency, or NCTC analytical capabilities.
A1-8 National Strategy for Information Sharing

5. Coordinating inter-agency production and multi-channel dissemination of “federally 

coordinated” alerts, warnings, and notifications of time sensitive threats through the 

efforts of the Interagency Threat Assessment and Coordination Group.

6. Providing a communications platform, where needed, to transmit alerts, warnings, or 

notifications, and ultimately consolidating such communications platforms as agreed 

to through collaborative Federal, State, and local planning and deliberation.

State and Local Responsibilities

State and major urban area fusion centers are encouraged to ensure that alert notifications are 

disseminated as appropriate, to State, local, and tribal authorities, the private sector and the 

general public. Specific activities may include:

1. Implement a protocol to govern the receipt of federally generated threat, warning, and 

notification messages.

2. Develop and/or maintain a plan (processes, protocols, and communication methodology) to govern the further dissemination of federally generated threat, warning, and 

notification messages, bulletins and other information products to State, local, and 

tribal authorities, the private sector and the general public.

3. Develop and/or maintain a plan (processes, protocols, and communication methodology) to govern the gathering, processing, and reporting to Federal entities any actions 

taken by State, local, and tribal authorities and the private sector in response to federally generated threat, warning, and notification messages.

4. Identify and establish a communications platform to support the dissemination of 

these messages and information products.

5. Coordinate with the appropriate Federal authorities to develop synchronized protocols for sharing information with the private sector.

V. Situational Awareness Reporting

Federal Responsibilities

The Federal Government, in coordination with State, local, and tribal authorities, will establish processes to manage the reporting to key officials and the public information regarding 

significant events (local, regional, national, and international) that may influence statewide or 

local security conditions, which include:

1. Documenting the types of informational products needed by State, local, and tribal 

governments and the format in which they are desired.

2. Identify existing resources capable of producing (researching, developing, drafting, 

and packaging) these situational reports and coordinating both their development and 

dissemination.

3. Identify any gaps in production capabilities as it relates to the production of situational 

awareness reporting regarding significant events.
National Strategy for Information Sharing A1-9

4. Maintain the capability to mitigate production gaps by leveraging existing departmental, agency, or NCTC analytical capabilities to produce terrorism-related situational 

reports.

5. Coordinate inter-agency production and multi-channel dissemination of “federally 

coordinated” situational awareness reports through the efforts of the Interagency 

Threat Assessment and Coordination Group.

6. Identifying and establishing a communications platform to support the dissemination 

of such reporting.

State and Local Responsibilities

State and major urban area fusion centers are encouraged to develop the processes to manage 

the reporting to key officials and the public information regarding significant events (local, 

regional, national, and international) that may influence State or local security conditions. 

Such actions may include:

1. Establishing and/or maintaining a protocol to govern the receipt of federally generated 

situational awareness reports.

2. Establishing and/or maintaining a plan (processes, protocols, and communication 

methodology) to govern the further dissemination of Federal situational awareness 

reports and those resulting from media reports to State, local, and tribal authorities, 

the private sector, and the general public.

3. Establishing and/or maintaining a plan (processes, protocols, and communication 

methodology) to govern the gathering, processing, and reporting to Federal entities any actions taken by State, local, and tribal authorities and the private sector in 

response to significant events.

4. Establishing and/or maintaining a protocol to govern the timely reporting of significant events occurring within State or local jurisdictions to Federal authorities and, 

when appropriate, other States, localities, and regional entities.

5. Coordinating with the appropriate Federal authorities to develop synchronized protocols for sharing information with the private sector.