Export Bureau name change reflects cybersecurity role

April 26, 2002 (Computerworld)

The U.S. Department of Commerce has renamed the Bureau of Export Administration as the Bureau of Industry and Security to reflect the agency's broader role in national cybersecurity and critical infrastructure protection.

"The new name better reflects the breadth of the bureau's activities in the spheres of national, homeland, economic and cybersecurity," Commerce Undersecretary Kenneth I. Juster, who heads the bureau, said in a statement last week. "The Bureau of Industry and Security serves the public in many ways where industry and national security intersect, including not just export licensing and enforcement, but also defense trade advocacy and critical infrastructure protection."

Administering export controls on dual-use technologies -- technologies and systems that are designed for military or national security purposes but are also used in the private sector -- remains a core responsibility of the agency. However, the bureau will also coordinate all of the department's homeland security activities, lead the federal government's outreach to the private sector regarding critical infrastructure protection and cybersecurity, and assist U.S. industry in complying with the Chemical Weapons Convention and other international arms agreements.

The bureau, which includes the Critical Infrastructure Assurance Office (CIAO), is based in Washington and has 10 field offices nationwide. The new name doesn't include any changes to the way in which the CIAO operates or coordinates with other federal agencies.