Which DHS component leads civilian cyber defense, resilience, and infrastructure protection?

• A. FBI leads civilian cyber investigations with DHS support.
• B. NSA leads all civilian cybersecurity under DHS.
• C. COE leads information security across DHS.
• D. CISA leads civilian cyber defense, resilience, and infrastructure protection as a DHS component.

Answer: (D)

Who leads civilian cyber defense, resilience, and infrastructure protection within DHS? The answer is the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, a DHS component. CISA was established to coordinate and lead civilian cybersecurity efforts, protect critical infrastructure, and build resilience across federal, state, local, tribal, and private-sector partners. It focuses on risk reduction, incident response coordination, and information sharing for civilian networks. The other options don’t fit this DHS-wide leadership role: the FBI handles cyber investigations, the NSA is part of the intelligence community with a DoD alignment, and a Center of Excellence would provide specialized guidance rather than serve as the nationwide lead for civilian cyber defense and infrastructure protection.