IN A 2009 SPEECH, then U.S. President Barack Obama said that America’s digital infrastructure is a “strategic national asset.”¹ He urged a broad plan to protect the security and privacy of federal information systems, stating that the nation’s digital infrastructure must be better protected. Both the federal government and private organizations have a role to play.

This chapter reviews how the federal government protects its information systems. These systems hold personal data about U.S. residents, conduct the business of running the country, hold sensitive security data, and are used for the nation’s defense. This chapter reviews the security and privacy laws that protect these systems.