Overview[]
The National Infrastructure Protection Center (NIPC) was established by Presidential Decision Directive 63 (PDD 63} as “a national focal point” for gathering information on threats and facilitating the federal government’s response to computer-based incidents. It evolved from the FBI's Computer Investigations and Infrastructure Threat Assessment Center.
Specifically, the directive assigned NIPC the responsibility for providing comprehensive analyses on threats, vulnerabilities, and attacks; issuing timely warnings on threats and attacks; facilitating and coordinating the government’s response to computer-based incidents; providing law enforcement investigation and response, monitoring reconstitution of minimum required capabilities after an infrastructure attack; and promoting outreach and information sharing.
This responsibility required obtaining and analyzing intelligence, law enforcement, and other information to identify patterns that may signal that an attack is under way or imminent.
The NIPC was later absorbed into the DHS’s Information Analysis and Infrastructure Protection Directorate.