ITSCC, ITGCC to coordinate their activities more closely

Two information technology groups — the Information Technology Sector Coordinating Council (ITSCC) and the Information Technology Government Coordinating Council (ITGCC) — are going to coordinate their activities more closely so as to advance the causes and issues important to their membership..

The ITSCC was established in January 2006 for the purposes of bringing together companies, associations, and other key IT sector participants on a regular basis to coordinate strategic activities and communicate broad sector member views associated with infrastructure protection, response, and recovery that are broadly relevant to the IT Sector. The ITSCC currently has forty-one organizations and companies as members. The latest to join: Arxan, Business Software Alliance, EDS, General Atomics, Neustar, Northrup Grumman, and StrongAuth. The ITSCC’s primary goal is the implementation and further refinement of the IT Sector-Specific Plan (SSP). The SSP is part of the overall requirements from HSPD-7 designed to ensure the protection of the U.S. critical infrastructure, including IT. The ITSCC has set up working groups devoted to looking at topics within the SSP, including research and development, critical functions, risk assessment and management, and cross-sector coordination.

The ITGCC comprises representatives from several government departments and agencies, including State, Commerce, Justice, Homeland Security, Defense, Treasury, as well as representatives from the National Association of State Chief Information Officers and the National Institute of Standards and Technology.