The White House
Office of the Press Secretary
For Immediate Release
July 26, 2016
Presidential Policy Directive --
United States Cyber Incident
Coordination
July 26, 2016
PRESIDENTIAL POLICY DIRECTIVE/PPD-41
SUBJECT: United States Cyber Incident Coordination
The advent of networked technology has spurred innovation, cultivated
knowledge, encouraged free expression, and increased the Nation’s
economic prosperity. However, the same infrastructure that enables these
benefits is vulnerable to malicious activity, malfunction, human error, and
acts of nature, placing the Nation and its people at risk. Cyber incidents are
a fact of contemporary life, and significant cyber incidents are occurring with
increasing frequency, impacting public and private infrastructure located in
the United States and abroad.
United States preparedness efforts have positioned the Nation to manage a
broad range of threats and hazards effectively. Every day, Federal law
enforcement and those agencies responsible for network defense in the
United States manage, respond to, and investigate cyber incidents in order
to ensure the security of our information and communications infrastructure.
The private sector and government agencies have a shared vital interest in
protecting the Nation from malicious cyber activity and managing cyber
incidents and their consequences. The nature of cyberspace requires
individuals, organizations, and the government to all play roles in incident
response. Furthermore, effective incident response efforts will help support
an open, interoperable, secure, and reliable information and communications
infrastructure that promotes trade and commerce, strengthens international
security, fosters free expression, and reinforces the privacy and security of
our citizens.
While the vast majority of cyber incidents can be handled through existing
policies, certain cyber incidents that have significant impacts on an entity,
