How Can the Private Sector Assist the Department of Homeland Security

Accomplish Their Missions?

Dustin Belle
Homeland Security Studies 305: Private Sector Homeland Security
Professor Snyder
April 22, 2015

Introduction
The Department of Homeland Security has established five missions
that will guide its operations from 2014 to 2018, in which the private sector
has the ability to play a unique role in support of the departments
operations. The private sector can influence or support the Department of
Homeland Securitys five missions in a variety of ways, most of which are
strictly voluntary. The five Homeland Security missions that the private
sector can influence are: Prevent Terrorism and Enhance Security, Secure
and Manage our Borders, Enforce and Administer our Immigration Laws,
Safeguard and Secure Cyberspace and, Strengthen National Preparedness
and Resilience (DHS 2014, 14).
Prevent Terrorism and Enhance Security
The 2014 Quadrennial Homeland Security Review makes it clear that
the Department of Homeland Securitys first mission is of immense
importance by stating that Preventing terrorist attacks on the Nation is and
should remain the cornerstone of homeland security (DHS 2014, 6). This is
a very broad mission that relies upon the other four missions to truly be
successful. In this first mission the private sector can play an immense role.
Private sector entities are located throughout the entire United States
in every city, small and large. This fact illustrates the massive potential that
the private sector has as an intelligence gathering tool. With relatively low

cost and time spent, private sector companies regardless of industry or size
can teach their employees basic signs of suspicious activity to look for and
how to report what they have seen via telephone or internet. Programs such
as If You See Something, Say Something and the Nationwide Suspicious
Activity Reporting Initiative can offer tools for everyday citizens and private
sector workers to pass important observations along that can possibly
prevent terrorist attacks before they occur (DHS 2014, 6).
Programs such as Business Partners Against Terrorism can provide a
forum for businesses to communicate with local government and law
enforcement, to identify key infrastructure at the local level, and coordinate
disaster response plans (BPAT 2011, Video). Rather than trying to motivate a
company on the national level, some small and medium businesses may take
a more personal interest in the local communities where their employees and
families live. By increasing local terrorism prevention in communities across
the nation the overall country is more secure. The Homeland Security Grant
Program can assist governments at all levels with the financial costs
associated with establishing and expanding these types of public and private
partnerships (U.S. Library of Congress 2007, 2).
Secure and Manage our Borders
The second mission of the Department of Homeland Security is to
secure and manage Americas borders. According to the U.S. Customs and

Border Protection, an agency within the Department of Homeland Security,

the United States has approximately 102,514 miles of land and sea borders
(CBP 2013, How long is the U.S. border with Canada and Mexico?). This
immense amount of territory must be patrolled and monitored for illegal
incursions. Additionally, hundreds of entry points on land and sea must be
staffed to facilitate the legal entry of goods such as the 22.5 million cargo
containers and the 500 million people that travel into the nation each year.
The private sector is responsible for moving a majority of cargo that enters
through these points of entry. This places them in a unique position to assist
the Department of Homeland Security.
Private sector entities that transport people and goods can increase
national security by maintaining security of their transportation systems,
screening crew members and shipping containers, and sharing information
regarding suspicious activities that can assist the U.S. Coast Guard, U.S.
Customs and Border Protection, U.S. Border Patrol, and U.S. Immigration
and Customs Enforcement in their efforts to carry out the Department of
Homeland Securitys second mission.
Enforce and Administer our Immigration Laws
The enforcement and administration of immigration laws is the
Department of Homeland Securitys third mission. This mission is tied closely
to the departments second mission of securing national borders. Where the

second Department of Homeland Security mission largely effects private

sector entities that facilitate transportation of goods and people, the third
mission can be supported by private sector members nationwide. Private
sector partners hold a unique position in regards to this mission as they
provide the overwhelming majority of employment. By running in depth
background checks on applicants attempting to obtain employment private
companies can deny illegal immigrants the opportunity to secure an income.
Beyond simply denying illegal immigrants employment, companies can
forward any information to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement
regarding those applicants found to not be lawfully residing in the U.S. This
information can be used by law enforcement to track down and deport
immigrants illegally residing in the United States.
Safeguard and Secure Cyberspace
The fourth mission of the Department of Homeland Security is to
safeguard and secure cyberspace. This is a new and rapidly increasing field
of security that no element of the U.S. government has encountered to the
degree in which the Department of Homeland Security is charged with. The
private sector had several ways in which they can support this mission.
Much of the research and development in cyber communications
originates from within the private sector such as firewall development,
software programming, and hardware production. Companies can ally

themselves with Department of Homeland Security personnel to develop

software that is more resilient to unauthorized intrusion or resistant to the
spread of viruses. Companies such as Microsoft, Apple, and Google are
responsible for production of many devices that link users worldwide to the
internet. These companies that provide both table top and hand held
communications devices can assist in the Department of Homeland
Securitys efforts in securing cyber space by contracting cost effective
equipment that can help the agency succeed in its fourth mission. Internet
service providers around the globe provide networks through which massive
amounts of information flow daily. Reporting criminal activity to the
Department of Homeland Security can assist them in locating and preventing
cyber criminals from carrying out their attacks. Many financial and
governmental systems rely on these communication networks for daily
operations. This increasing degree of interconnectivity provides many
benefits but also opens up the potential for malicious viruses, identity theft,
and information leaks that can negatively impact government operational
security. The private sector can increase the nations overall cyber security
by safeguarding their own networks from unauthorized access, particularly
when it regards classified or sensitive governmental information. Through
information sharing programs the private sector, the U.S. government, and
international partners have the capability to share real time cyber threat

intelligence that can prevent or deter attacks. In the future this ability
should continue to grow as the worlds interconnectivity increases.
Strengthen National Preparedness and Resilience
The final mission of the Department of Homeland Security is to
strengthen national preparedness and resilience. This mission takes on the
challenge of preparing the nation against man-made and natural disasters.
Disaster response, emergency recovery, and mitigating the impacts of these
disasters are some of the main focuses of this mission. The private sector is
in a position across the country to assist federal, state, and local government
agencies with these efforts.
Internally businesses can continue to develop business continuity plans
to ensure that the vital goods and services they provide continue in the
event of a disaster or quickly recover during the aftermath. Externally
businesses can choose to participate in the National Infrastructure Protection
Plan according to the sector of critical infrastructure in which they fall (NIPP
2013, 11). This helps to give them guidelines and standards by which they
can prepare to secure their operations and, in turn, prepare to help their
communities in the event of a disaster. Many retailers have vast amounts of
food and water or building materials that can be useful in the event of a
disaster as well as the transportation infrastructure needed to quickly move
these items to disaster impact areas. In the future a greater participation in

the National Infrastructure Protection Plan by the private sector can greatly
improve the Department of Homeland Securitys efforts in accomplishing its
fifth mission.
Conclusion
The Department of Homeland Security relies upon the private sector
within the United States to accomplish or assist in its five primary missions.
Each of these five missions can benefit greatly from an increased
participation from the private sector. Although the Department of Homeland
Security and their partnership with the private sector is still relatively young,
over the next few years there is great room for growth as their collaboration
matures. Private sector companies can assist the Department of Homeland
Security in a number of ways ranging from cost effective cyber
communications contracts to increased screening of personnel that facilitate
the transport of goods into the United States. Together the Department of
Homeland Security and the private sector have the ability to make our
nation a more safe and secure country that ensures the survival of the
American way of life.

References

N.A. Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office: BPAT - Business Partners Against
Terrorism. Video. Palm Beach County Sheriffs Office. 2011.
Youtube.com.

U.S. Department of Homeland Security. 2013. National Infrastructure

Protection Plan. Washington D.C.: Government Printing Office.

U.S. Department of Homeland Security. 2014. The 2014 Quadrennial

Homeland Security Review Report. Washington D.C.: Government
Printing Office.

U.S. Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service. 2007. The

Department of Homeland Securitys Risk Assessment Methodology:
Evolution, Issues, and Options for Congress, by Todd Masse, Siobhan
ONeil and John Rollins. CRS Report RL33858. Washington, DC: Office
of Congressional Information and Publishing, February 2, 2007.
/access/content/group/security-and-global-studies-. (Accessed April
09, 2015).