Cyber Safety Review Board

DHS Establishes New Review Board for Cybersecurity Incidents

The Department of Homeland Security has established a review board tasked with assessing select cybersecurity incidents.

In consultation with the attorney general, DHS created the Cyber Safety Review Board in accordance with President Joe Biden’s May 2021 executive order on modernizing the federal government’s cybersecurity.

The CSRB is tasked with developing recommendations on how the government can improve cybersecurity and its ability to respond to incidents, DHS said in a notice on the Federal Register.

The DHS secretary, a role currently filled by Alejandro Mayorkas, will pass on the review board’s recommendations to the president through the national security adviser.

DHS added that the CSRB’s advice will be made publicly available with the exception of information that must be redacted in accordance with applicable law.

The DHS secretary may extend the life of the review board every two years unless otherwise directed by the president.

DHS announced that Robert Silvers, the undersecretary for strategy, policy and plans, will serve as the first official chair of the CSRB under a two-year term.

Silvers will work with the director of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency in appointing more than 20 members to the board.

The CSRB will be made up of representatives from the departments of Defense and Justice, DHS, National Security Agency and the FBI, according to the Federal Register notice.

The government will also appoint members from the private sector, including individuals from appropriate cybersecurity and software companies.