[Federal Register Volume 75, Number 219 (Monday, November 15, 2010)]
[Notices]
[Pages 69693-69697]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2010-28588]


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DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY

Office of the Secretary

[Docket No. DHS-2010-0086]


Privacy Act of 1974; Department of Homeland Security National 
Protection and Programs Directorate--001 National Infrastructure 
Coordinating Center Records System of Records

AGENCY: Privacy Office; DHS.

ACTION: Notice of Privacy Act system of records.

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SUMMARY: In accordance with the Privacy Act of 1974, the Department of 
Homeland Security is giving notice that it proposes to establish a new 
Department of Homeland Security system of records titled, ``Department 
of Homeland Security National Protection and Programs Directorate--001 
National Infrastructure Coordinating Center Records System of 
Records.'' This system of records will allow the Department of Homeland 
Security National Protection and Programs Directorate National 
Infrastructure Coordinating Center, an extension of the National 
Operations Center, to collect, plan, coordinate, report, analyze, and 
fuse infrastructure information related to all-threats and all-hazards, 
law enforcement activities, intelligence activities, man-made disasters 
and acts of terrorism, natural disasters, and other information 
collected or received from federal, state, local, tribal, and 
territorial agencies and organizations; foreign governments and 
international organizations; domestic security and emergency management 
officials; and private sector entities or individuals into the National 
Infrastructure Coordinating Center. Additionally, the Department of 
Homeland Security is issuing a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking concurrent 
with this system of records elsewhere in the Federal Register. This 
newly established system will be included in the Department of Homeland 
Security's inventory of record systems.

DATES: Submit comments on or before December 15, 2010. This new system 
will be effective December 15, 2010.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments, identified by docket number DHS-
2010-0086 by one of the following methods:
    <bullet> Federal e-Rulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov. 
Follow the instructions for submitting comments.
    <bullet> Fax: 703-483-2999.
    <bullet> Mail: Mary Ellen Callahan, Chief Privacy Officer, Privacy 
Office,

[[Page 69694]]

Department of Homeland Security, Washington, DC 20528.
    <bullet> Instructions: All submissions received must include the 
agency name and docket number for this rulemaking. All comments 
received will be posted without change to http://www.regulations.gov, 
including any personal information provided.
    <bullet> Docket: For access to the docket to read background 
documents or comments received go to http://www.regulations.gov.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For general questions please contact: 
Emily Andrew (703-235-2182), Privacy Officer, National Protection and 
Programs Directorate, Department of Homeland Security, Washington, DC 
20528. For privacy issues please contact: Mary Ellen Callahan (703-235-
0780), Chief Privacy Officer, Privacy Office, Department of Homeland 
Security, Washington, DC 20528.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Background

    In accordance with the Privacy Act of 1974, 5 U.S.C. 552a, the 
Department of Homeland Security (DHS) National Protection and Programs 
Directorate (NPPD) proposes to establish a new DHS system of records 
titled, ``DHS/NPPD-001 National Infrastructure Coordinating Center 
(NICC) Records System of Records.''
    This system of records will allow DHS/NPPD, including the NICC (an 
extension of the National Operations Center (NOC)) to collect, plan, 
coordinate, report, analyze, and fuse infrastructure information 
related to all-threats and all-hazards, law enforcement activities, 
intelligence activities, man-made disasters and acts of terrorism, 
natural disasters, and other information collected or received from 
Federal, State, local, tribal, and territorial agencies and 
organizations; foreign governments and international organizations; 
domestic security and emergency management officials; and private 
sector entities or individuals into the NICC.
    The NICC provides the mission and capabilities to assess the 
operational status of the nation's 18 critical infrastructures and key 
resources (CIKR) sectors during normal operations and incident 
management activities, supports information sharing with National 
Infrastructure Protection Plan (NIPP) partners, and owners and 
operators of critical infrastructure facilities, and facilitates 
information sharing across and between the 18 national sectors.
    The NICC is both an operational component of the NPPD Office of 
Infrastructure Protection (IP) and a watch operations element of the 
DHS NOC. The NICC operates 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a 
year to facilitate coordination and information sharing with the CIKR 
sectors. The NICC produces consolidated CIKR reports for incorporation 
into situational awareness reports and for inclusion into the common 
operating picture.
    DHS is authorized to implement this program primarily through the 
Homeland Security Act of 2002 as codified within 6 U.S.C. 321d(b)(1), 
515. This system has an effect on individual privacy that is balanced 
by the need to collect, plan, coordinate, report, analyze, and fuse 
CIKR information coming into and going out of the NICC as well as the 
NOC. Routine uses contained in this notice include sharing with the 
Department of Justice (DOJ) for legal advice and representation; to a 
congressional office at the request of an individual; to the National 
Archives and Records Administration (NARA) for records management; to 
contractors in support of their contract assignment to DHS; to 
appropriate Federal, State, tribal, local, international, foreign 
agency, or other appropriate entity including the private sector in 
their role aiding the NICC in their mission; to agencies, organizations 
or individuals for the purpose of an audit; to agencies, entities, or 
persons during a security or information compromise or breach; to an 
agency, organization, or individual when there could potentially be a 
risk of harm to an individual; and to the news media in the interest of 
the public. A review of this system is being conducted to determine if 
the system of records collects information under the Paperwork 
Reduction Act (PRA).
    Based on the information contained within this system of records, 
the NICC develops reports that are shared both within DHS and with the 
CIKR sectors. The NICC creates two reports, one with PII and one 
without. The one without PII is what is shared broadly with the CIKR 
sectors as well as the state and local fusion centers. Consistent with 
DHS's information sharing mission, information contained in the DHS/
NPPD-001 NICC Records System of Records may be shared with other DHS 
components, as well as appropriate Federal, State, local, tribal, 
territorial, foreign, or international government agencies. This 
sharing will only take place after DHS determines that the receiving 
component or agency has a verifiable need to know the information to 
carry out national security, law enforcement, immigration, 
intelligence, or other functions consistent with the routine uses set 
forth in this system of records notice.
    The information within this system that meets the functional 
standard of the National Suspicious Activity Reporting Initiative will 
be placed into the DHS/ALL-031 Information Sharing Environment 
Suspicious Activity Reporting Initiative (September 10, 2010, 75 FR 
55335).
    DHS is issuing a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking concurrent with this 
system of records elsewhere in the Federal Register. This newly 
established system will be included in DHS' inventory of record 
systems.

II. Privacy Act

    The Privacy Act embodies fair information principles in a statutory 
framework governing the means by which the United States Government 
collects, maintains, uses, and disseminates individuals' records. The 
Privacy Act applies to information that is maintained in a ``system of 
records.'' A ``system of records'' is a group of any records under the 
control of an agency for which information is retrieved by the name of 
an individual or by some identifying number, symbol, or other 
identifying particular assigned to the individual. In the Privacy Act, 
an individual is defined to encompass United States citizens and lawful 
permanent residents. As a matter of policy, DHS extends administrative 
Privacy Act protections to all individuals where systems of records 
maintain information on U.S. citizens, lawful permanent residents, and 
visitors. Individuals may request access to their own records that are 
maintained in a system of records in the possession or under the 
control of DHS by complying with DHS Privacy Act regulations, 6 CFR 
part 5.
    The Privacy Act requires each agency to publish in the Federal 
Register a description denoting the type and character of each system 
of records that the agency maintains, and the routine uses that are 
contained in each system in order to make agency record keeping 
practices transparent, to notify individuals regarding the uses to 
which their records are put, and to assist individuals to more easily 
find such files within the agency. Below is the description of the DHS/
NPPD--001NICC Records System of Records.
    In accordance with 5 U.S.C. 552a(r), DHS has provided a report of 
this system of records to the Office of Management and Budget and to 
Congress.

[[Page 69695]]

System of Records
    DHS/NPPD--001

System name:
    DHS/NPPD--001 NICC Records System of Records.

Security classification:
    Unclassified, For Official Use Only, Law Enforcement Sensitive, and 
Classified.

System location:
    Records are maintained at the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) 
National Protection and Programs Directorate (NPPD) National 
Infrastructure Coordinating Center (NICC) Headquarters in Washington, 
DC and field locations.

Categories of individuals covered by the system:
    Categories of individuals covered by the system may include:
    <bullet> Federal, State, local, tribal, and territorial officials; 
foreign government and international officials; domestic security and 
emergency management officials; and private sector individuals who 
request assistance from, provide information to, are the subject of, or 
participate with the NICC in activities related to all-threats and all-
hazards, man-made disasters and acts of terrorism, and natural 
disasters related to national infrastructure;
    <bullet> Individuals who request assistance from the NICC related 
to all-threats and all-hazards, man-made disasters and acts of 
terrorism, and natural disasters related to national infrastructure;
    <bullet> Individuals who provide information to the NICC related to 
all-threats and all-hazards, man-made disasters and acts of terrorism, 
and natural disasters, including Suspicious Activity Reports (SARs) 
related to national infrastructure;
    <bullet> Individuals who are the subject of, or are linked in any 
manner to, all-threats and all-hazards, man-made disasters and acts of 
terrorism, and natural disasters with NICC implications;
    <bullet> Individuals participating with, involved in, or the 
subject of domestic security or law enforcement operations, with NICC 
implications, where activity is planned or has taken place;
    <bullet> Individuals participating with or involved in emergency 
management and first responder operations, with NICC, and where 
activity is planned or has taken place;
    <bullet> Individuals involved in natural disasters where activity 
is planned or has taken place;
    <bullet> Individuals derived from intelligence information of 
interest to the NICC; and
    <bullet> Individuals who make inquiries concerning all-threats and 
all-hazards, man-made disasters and acts of terrorism, and natural 
disasters related to national infrastructure.

Categories of records in the system:
    Categories of records in the system may include:
    <bullet> Full name;
    <bullet> Date and place of birth;
    <bullet> Social Security Number (Many state, local, tribal, 
territorial, domestic security, emergency management, and private 
sector individuals, organizations and agencies collect/use SSNs as an 
identifier and may be shared with the Department);
    <bullet> Citizenship;
    <bullet> Contact information including phone numbers and email 
addresses;
    <bullet> Address;
    <bullet> Physical description including height, weight, eye and 
hair color;
    <bullet> Distinguishing marks including scars, marks, and tattoos;
    <bullet> Automobile registration information;
    <bullet> Watch list information;
    <bullet> Medical records;
    <bullet> Financial information;
    <bullet> Results of intelligence analysis and reporting;
    <bullet> Ongoing law enforcement investigative information;
    <bullet> Historical law enforcement information;
    <bullet> Information systems security analysis and reporting;
    <bullet> Public source data including commercial databases, media, 
newspapers, and broadcast transcripts;
    <bullet> Intelligence information including links to terrorism, law 
enforcement and any criminal and/or incident activity, and the date 
information is submitted;
    <bullet> Intelligence and law enforcement information obtained from 
federal, state, local, tribal, and territorial agencies and 
organizations, foreign governments and international organizations; law 
enforcement, domestic security and emergency management officials; and 
private sector entities or individuals;
    <bullet> Information provided by individuals, regardless of the 
medium, used to submit the information;
    <bullet> Information obtained from the Federal Bureau of 
Investigation's (FBI) Terrorist Screening Center (TSC), or on terrorist 
watchlists, about individuals known or reasonably suspected to be 
engaged in conduct constituting, preparing for, aiding, or relating to 
terrorism;
    <bullet> Data about the providers of information, including the 
means of transmission of the data; (e.g. where it is determined that 
maintaining the identity of the source of investigative lead 
information may be necessary to provide an indicator of the reliability 
and validity of the data provided and to support follow-on 
investigative purposes relevant and necessary to a legitimate law 
enforcement or homeland security matter, such data may likely warrant 
retention. Absent such a need, no information on the provider of the 
information would be maintained)
    <bullet> Scope of terrorist, law enforcement, or natural threats to 
the homeland;
    <bullet> National disaster threat and activity information;
    <bullet> The date and time national disaster information is 
submitted, and the name of the contributing/submitting individual or 
agency;
    <bullet> Limited data concerning the providers of information, 
including the means of transmission of the data may also be retained 
where necessary. Such information on other than criminal suspects or 
subjects is accepted and maintained only to the extent that the 
information provides descriptive matters relevant to a criminal subject 
or organization and has been deemed factually accurate and relevant to 
ongoing homeland security situational awareness and monitoring efforts.
    <bullet> Name of the contributing or submitting agency, 
organization, or individual.

Authority for maintenance of the system:
    The Homeland Security Act of 2002 as codified within 6 U.S.C. 
321d(b)(1), 515 provides DHS, including the NICC and NOC, with 
authority to collect the information.

Purpose(s):
    The purpose of this system is to provide the mission and 
capabilities to assess the operational status of the nation's 18 
critical infrastructures and key resources (CIKR) sectors during normal 
operations and incident management activities, support information 
sharing with NIPP Partners, and the owners and operators of critical 
infrastructure.

Routine uses of records maintained in the system, including categories 
of users and the purposes of such uses:
    In addition to those disclosures generally permitted under 5 U.S.C. 
552a(b) of the Privacy Act, all or a portion of the records or 
information contained in this system may be disclosed outside DHS as a 
routine use pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 552a(b)(3) as follows:
    A. To the Department of Justice (including United States Attorney

[[Page 69696]]

Offices) or other federal agency conducting litigation or in 
proceedings before any court, adjudicative or administrative body, when 
it is necessary to the litigation and one of the following is a party 
to the litigation or has an interest in such litigation:
    1. DHS or any component thereof;
    2. any employee of DHS in his/her official capacity;
    3. any employee of DHS in his/her individual capacity where DOJ or 
DHS has agreed to represent the employee; or
    4. the United States or any agency thereof, is a party to the 
litigation or has an interest in such litigation, and DHS determines 
that the records are both relevant and necessary to the litigation and 
the use of such records is compatible with the purpose for which DHS 
collected the records.
    B. To a congressional office from the record of an individual in 
response to an inquiry from that congressional office made at the 
request of the individual to whom the record pertains.
    C. To the National Archives and Records Administration or other 
federal government agencies pursuant to records management inspections 
being conducted under the authority of 44 U.S.C. 2904 and 2906.
    D. To an agency, organization, or individual for the purpose of 
performing audit or oversight operations as authorized by law, but only 
such information as is necessary and relevant to such audit or 
oversight function.
    E. To appropriate agencies, entities, and persons when:
    1. DHS suspects or has confirmed that the security or 
confidentiality of information in the system of records has been 
compromised;
    2. The Department has determined that as a result of the suspected 
or confirmed compromise there is a risk of harm to economic or property 
interests, identity theft or fraud, or harm to the security or 
integrity of this system or other systems or programs (whether 
maintained by DHS or another agency or entity) or harm to the 
individual that rely upon the compromised information; and
    3. The disclosure made to such agencies, entities, and persons is 
reasonably necessary to assist in connection with DHS's efforts to 
respond to the suspected or confirmed compromise and prevent, minimize, 
or remedy such harm.
    F. To contractors and their agents, grantees, experts, consultants, 
and others performing or working on a contract, service, grant, 
cooperative agreement, or other assignment for DHS, when necessary to 
accomplish an agency function related to this system of records. 
Individuals provided information under this routine use are subject to 
the same Privacy Act requirements and limitations on disclosure as are 
applicable to DHS officers and employees.
    G. To an appropriate Federal, State, tribal, local, international, 
or foreign law enforcement agency or other appropriate authority 
charged with investigating or prosecuting a violation or enforcing or 
implementing a law, rule, regulation, or order, where a record, either 
on its face or in conjunction with other information, indicates a 
violation or potential violation of law, which includes criminal, 
civil, or regulatory violations and such disclosure is proper and 
consistent with the official duties of the person making the 
disclosure.
    H. To appropriate Federal, State, local, tribal, or foreign 
governmental agencies or multilateral governmental organizations or 
critical infrastructure partners for the purpose of protecting the 
vital interests of a data subject or other persons, including to assist 
such agencies or organizations in preventing exposure to or 
transmission of a communicable or quarantinable disease or to combat 
other significant public health threats; appropriate notice will be 
provided of any identified health threat or risk.
    I. To a Federal, State, tribal, local or foreign government agency 
or organization, or international organization, lawfully engaged in 
collecting law enforcement intelligence information, whether civil or 
criminal, or charged with investigating, prosecuting, enforcing or 
implementing civil or criminal laws, related rules, regulations or 
orders, to enable these entities to carry out their law enforcement 
responsibilities, including the collection of law enforcement 
intelligence.
    J. To Federal and foreign government intelligence or 
counterterrorism agencies or state, local, tribal or territorial 
components, and critical infrastructure partners where DHS becomes 
aware of an indication of a threat or potential threat to national or 
international security.
    K. To Federal and foreign government intelligence or 
counterterrorism agencies or state, local, tribal or territorial 
components, and critical infrastructure partners where the information 
is or may be terrorism-related information and such use is to assist in 
anti-terrorism efforts.
    L. To an organization or individual in either the public or private 
sector, where there is a reason to believe that the recipient is or 
could become the target of a particular terrorist activity or 
conspiracy, to the extent the information is relevant to the protection 
of life or property.
    M. To the news media and the public, with the approval of the Chief 
Privacy Officer in consultation with counsel, when there exists a 
legitimate public interest in the disclosure of the information or when 
disclosure is necessary to preserve confidence in the integrity of DHS 
or is necessary to demonstrate the accountability of DHS' officers, 
employees, or individuals covered by the system, except to the extent 
it is determined that release of the specific information in the 
context of a particular case would constitute an unwarranted invasion 
of personal privacy.

Disclosure to consumer reporting agencies:
    None.

Policies and practices for storing, retrieving, accessing, retaining, 
and disposing of records in the system:
Storage:
    Records in this system are stored electronically or on paper in 
secure facilities in a locked drawer behind a locked door. The records 
are stored on magnetic disc, tape, digital media, and CD-ROM.

Retrievability:
    Much of the data within this system does not pertain to an 
individual; rather, the information pertains to locations, geographic 
areas, facilities, and other things or objects not related to 
individuals. However, some personal information is captured. Personal 
data may be retrieved by name, Social Security number and other 
identifiers listed under the Categories of Records Section.

Safeguards:
    Records in this system are safeguarded in accordance with 
applicable rules and policies, including all applicable DHS automated 
systems security and access policies. Strict controls have been imposed 
to minimize the risk of compromising the information that is being 
stored. Access to the computer system containing the records in this 
system is limited to those individuals who have a need to know the 
information for the performance of their official duties and who have 
appropriate clearances or permissions.

Retention and disposal:
    The NICC is working with the NPPD and DHS Records Officer to 
develop a NARA approved retention schedule.

[[Page 69697]]

System Manager and address:
    Director, National Infrastructure Coordinating Center, Department 
of Homeland Security, Washington, DC 20528.

Notification procedure:
    The Secretary of Homeland Security is proposing to exempt this 
system from the notification, access, and amendment procedures of the 
Privacy Act. However, DHS/NPPD will consider individual requests to 
determine whether or not information may be released. Individuals 
seeking notification of and access to any record contained in this 
system of records, or seeking to contest its content, may submit a 
request in writing to NPPD FOIA Officer, whose contact information can 
be found at http://www.dhs.gov/foia under ``contacts.''
    When seeking records about yourself from this system of records or 
any other Departmental system of records your request must conform with 
the Privacy Act regulations set forth in 6 CFR part 5. You must first 
verify your identity, meaning that you must provide your full name, 
current address and date and place of birth. You must sign your 
request, and your signature must either be notarized or submitted under 
28 U.S.C. 1746, a law that permits statements to be made under penalty 
of perjury as a substitute for notarization. While no specific form is 
required, you may obtain forms for this purpose from the Chief Privacy 
Officer and Chief Freedom of Information Act Officer, http://www.dhs.gov or 1-866-431-0486. In addition you should provide the 
following:
    <bullet> An explanation of why you believe the Department would 
have information on you;
    <bullet> Identify which component(s) of the Department you believe 
may have the information about you;
    <bullet> Specify when you believe the records would have been 
created;
    <bullet> Provide any other information that will help the FOIA 
staff determine which DHS component agency may have responsive records; 
and
    <bullet> If your request is seeking records pertaining to another 
living individual, you must include a statement from that individual 
certifying his/her agreement for you to access his/her records.
    Without this bulleted information the component(s) may not be able 
to conduct an effective search, and your request may be denied due to 
lack of specificity or lack of compliance with applicable regulations.

Record access procedures:
    See ``Notification procedure'' above.

Contesting record procedures:
    See ``Notification procedure'' above.

Record source categories:
    Information contained in this system is obtained from subject 
individuals, other Federal, State, local and tribal agencies and 
organizations, domestic and foreign media, including periodicals, 
newspapers, and broadcast transcripts, public and classified data 
systems, reporting individuals, intelligence source documents, 
investigative reports, and correspondence.

Exemptions claimed for the system:
    The Secretary of Homeland Security has exempted this system from 
the following provisions of the Privacy Act, subject to the limitation 
set forth in 5 U.S.C. 552a(c)(3); (d); (e)(1), (e)(4)(G), (e)(4)(H), 
(e)(4)(I); and (f) pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 552a(k)(1), (k)(2), and (k)(3).

    Dated: November 5, 2010.
Mary Ellen Callahan,
Chief Privacy Officer, Department of Homeland Security.
[FR Doc. 2010-28588 Filed 11-12-10; 8:45 am]
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