National Infrastructure Coordinating Center

Overview
The National Infrastructure Coordinating Center (NICC), which operates on a 24/7 basis, is a watch/operations center that maintains ongoing operational and situational awareness of the U.S.’s CIKR sectors. As a CIKR-focused element of the NOC, the NICC provides a centralized mechanism and process for information sharing and coordination among the government, SCCs, GCCs, ISACs, and other industry partners.

The NICC receives situational, operational, and incident information from the CIKR sectors in accordance with the information-sharing protocols established in the NRF. The NICC also disseminates products originated by HITRAC that contain all-hazards warning, threat, risk, and CIKR protection information:


 * Alerts and Warnings: The NICC disseminates threat-related and other all-hazards information products to an extensive customer base of private sector partners.
 * Suspicious Activity and Potential Threat Reporting: The NICC receives and processes reports from the private sector on suspicious activities or potential threats to the U.S.’s CIKR. The NICC documents the information provided, compiles additional details surrounding the suspicious activity or potential threat, and forwards the report to DHS sector specialists, the NOC, HITRAC, and the FBI.
 * Incidents and Events: When an incident or event occurs, the NICC coordinates with DHS sector specialists, industry partners, and other established information-sharing mechanisms to communicate pertinent information. As needed, the NICC generates reports detailing the incident, as well as the sector impacts (or potential impacts), and disseminates them to the NOC.
 * National Response Planning and Execution: The NICC supports the NRF by facilitating information sharing among the SCCs, GCCs, ISACs, and other partners during CIKR mitigation, response, and recovery activities.