Katko Outlines Key Homeland Security Trends

WASHINGTON, DC – In a recent conversation with the Wilson Center’s Jane Harman, Rep. John Katko (R-NY), Ranking Member of the House Committee on Homeland Security, outlined key trends in the homeland security space and how the threat landscape has changed since the creation of the Department of Homeland Security following the attacks on 9/11.

Throughout the conversation, Katko highlighted his vision and priorities to advance the homeland security mission and emphasized why it is critical to take a bipartisan approach.

Key Homeland Security Trends

Geographic advantages are fading: “We are losing our strategic geographic advantage because of cyber actors. The homeland has never been more vulnerable to foreign incursions in our history. People don’t have to travel here to make incursions.”

Global interconnectedness is creating new threat vectors: “Our global interconnectedness has created new and potentially catastrophic domestic resilience vulnerabilities. Economic security and homeland security are completely linked due to the critical role that supply chain resilience plays in our homeland security mission.”

Data is becoming the homeland security currency of this century: “I don’t think we fully appreciate or know how to value data we generate and export from a security standpoint. We are generating unbelievable amounts of data and I don’t think we always understand what that means and what the implications are.”

Transitioning from discrete shocks to persistent threats: “Our entire homeland security model is predicated on a single, abrupt incident and preventing it from happening. Today, we have a multi-faceted threat landscape, and we’ve got to adjust. Exchanging information in a timely and effective manner and acting upon it is critically important.”

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