Dive Brief:

• The White House issued a presidential policy directive (PPD) on cyber incident coordination Tuesday.
• The purpose of the PPD is to "promote coordination between private sector and government agencies in protecting the Nation from malicious cyber activity," according to the directive.
• In the event of a cybersecurity incident or threat, the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the National Cyber Investigative Joint Task Force will take the response lead. 

Dive Insight:

The PPD outlines the federal government’s response to any cyber incident, whether it involves government or private sector entities.

Until now, the level to which the federal government could get involved in a major private sector cybersecurity incident was unclear. The PPD outlines the federal role and pledges that, in the case of a major private sector cybersecurity event, federal government responders will safeguard sensitive private sector information and abstain from interfering while remaining informed of the affected organization's response.

A "relevant sector-specific agency" will also work with the federal government to help it understand "potential business or operational impact of a cyber incident on private sector critical infrastructure."

Through the PPD, the White House also promised that the Department of Homeland Security and the Department of Justice will develop a fact sheet outlining how private individuals and organizations can work with federal agencies in response to a cyber incident.