Critical Releases in Homeland Security: November 13, 2013

"GPS [Global Positioning System] provides positioning, navigation, and timing data to users worldwide and is used extensively in many of the nation's 16 critical infrastructure sectors, such as communications and transportation. GPS is also a key component in many of the modern conveniences that people rely on or interact with daily. However, sectors' increasing dependency on GPS leaves them potentially vulnerable to disruptions. GAO [Government Accountability Office] was asked to review the effects of GPS disruptions on the nation's critical infrastructure. GAO examined (1) the extent to which DHS has assessed the risks and potential effects of GPS disruptions on critical infrastructure, (2) the extent to which DOT [Department of Transportation] and DHS have developed backup strategies to mitigate GPS disruptions, and (3) what strategies, if any, selected critical infrastructure sectors employ to mitigate GPS disruptions and any remaining challenges. GAO reviewed documents, compared them to relevant federal guidance, and interviewed representatives and experts from federal and state governments, industry, and academia. The focus of this review was on civilian GPS uses within four critical infrastructure sectors. DHS should ensure that its GPS risk assessment approach is consistent with DHS guidance; develop a plan to measure the effectiveness of mitigation efforts; and DOT and DHS should improve collaboration. DHS concurred with the latter two recommendations but did not concur with the first. GAO continues to believe that improving the risk assessment approach will capitalize on progress DHS has made and will improve future efforts."

"Since the early 1990s, unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) have operated on a limited basis in the National Airspace System (NAS). Until recently, UAS mainly supported public operations, such as military and border security operations. The list of potential uses is now rapidly expanding to encompass a broad range of other activities, including aerial photography, surveying land and crops, communications and broadcast, monitoring forest fires and environmental conditions, and protecting critical infrastructures. UAS provide new ways for commercial enterprises (civil operations) and public operators to enhance some of our nation's aviation operations through increased operational efficiency and decreased costs, while maintaining the safety of the NAS. […] The FAA created the Unmanned Aircraft Systems Integration Office to facilitate integration of UAS safely and efficiently into the NAS. Toward that goal, the FAA is collaborating with a broad spectrum of stakeholders, which includes manufacturers, commercial vendors, industry trade associations, technical standards organizations, academic institutions, research and development centers, governmental agencies, and other regulators. Ultimately, UAS must be integrated into the NAS without reducing existing capacity, decreasing safety, negatively impacting current operators, or increasing the risk to airspace users or persons and property on the ground any more than the integration of comparable new and novel technologies. Significant progress has been made toward UAS-NAS integration, with many challenges and opportunities ahead."