Overview[]
The Department of Homeland Security established the Critical Infrastructure Partnership Advisory Council (CIPAC) to facilitate effective coordination between federal infrastructure protection programs with the infrastructure protection activities of the private sector and of state, local, territorial and tribal governments.
The CIPAC is a partnership between government and critical infrastructure/key resources (CI/KR) owners and operators and provides a forum in which they can engage in a broad spectrum of activities to support and coordinate critical infrastructure protection, including: planning, coordination, security program implementation, operational activities related to critical infrastructure protection security measures, and information sharing about threats, vulnerabilities, protective measures, recommended practices, and lessons learned.
The CIPAC was created under Section 201 of the Homeland Security Act of 2002.
CIPAC employs a special exemption, pursuant to section 871 of the Homeland Security Act of 2002 to the Federal Advisory Committee Act, which protects from public disclosure certain Sector Coordinating Council (SCC) and Government Coordinating Council (GCC) discussions containing sensitive critical infrastructure information. This exemption facilitates regular, ongoing, and multi-directional communications and coordination within CIPAC.