The Government Facilities Sector includes general-use federal, state, county and local office buildings, as well as special-use military installations, embassies, courthouses, and laboratories. Many government facilities are open to the public for business activities, commercial transactions, or recreational activities, while others that are not open to the public contain sensitive information, materials, processes, and equipment.
The National Monuments and Icons sub-sector was consolidated within the Government Facilities Sector in 2013. New Jersey has 58 national historic landmarks and four national historic areas.
In addition to physical structures, the sector includes cyber elements that contribute to the protection of key assets, as well as individuals who perform essential functions or possess tactical, operational, or strategic knowledge.
All government organizations that collect, transmit, or store citizens’ personally identifiable information, financial records, or medical data are vulnerable to profit-motivated theft and cyber espionage. In addition to the damages imposed on citizens, large-scale data breaches can cost millions of dollars, including victim notification, identity theft protection, litigation, forensic analysis, and remediation. Public sector organizations are also targets of opportunity for hacktivists or malicious hackers acting on behalf or in support of terrorist groups who conduct website defacements and distributed denial of service attacks.
The court system, in particular, faces a moderate threat from anti-government groups like sovereign citizens and white supremacists. New Jersey’s federal, state, and county courts have not been attacked to date, though the courts still remain attractive targets to domestic terrorists; twelve attacks and plots targeted US courts in 2006-2015.
According to the National Center for State Courts, most violent acts at courts are “case-related” involving a past, present, or future court matter. There have been no known attempts to target one of New Jersey’s national historic landmarks or icons in the last ten years.
The New Jersey Cybersecurity and Communications Integration Cell (NJCCIC) offers resources for government partners.
Through the US Computer Emergency Readiness Team, the US Department of Homeland Security offers training and resources for government cybersecurity personnel on its Continuous Diagnostics and Mitigation (CDM) Program.
The CDM Program provides a phased approach to protecting government information systems. The goal of the program is to completely scan and assess a network’s security within a 72-hour window, increasing the overall cybersecurity levels at federal, state, and local government agencies.
The Federal Protective Service (FPS) is responsible for protecting Federal facilities, and is the lead agency for the Government Facilities Sector. Suspicious activity witnessed at a Federal building can be reported directly to the FPS by phone.
- What terrorist groups are actively plotting to attack the Government Facilities Sector?
- What methods are terrorist groups using to gain access to and compromise data in the Government Facilities Sector?
- What methods are criminal hackers using to gain access to and compromise data in the Government Facilities Sector?
For more information, please contact NJOHSP's Preparedness Bureau at firstname.lastname@example.org.