FBI Director Robert Mueller is expected to make a formal decision on the future of the National Infrastructure Protection Center (NIPC) as early as this week. The FBI is considering a move to restructure the NIPC, which was formed in 1998 to monitor the nation's computer systems controlling banking, water, power, telecommunications and government.
"What is under consideration is how the FBI can best coordinate its many cyber functions and how we can maximize our support to NIPC," Assistant FBI Director John Collingwood told The Associated Press.
The unit will not be dismantled due to its ties with the private sector. Senator Charles Grassley (R-Iowa), warned that some companies participating in privately-organized warning centers have indicated they will stop sharing details with the FBI about online threats should the unit be dismantled.
It is still uncertain how the FBI will communicate cyber-warnings to U.S. corporations under the proposed new plan.
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This month in Access Control
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