The terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, fundamentally challenged two key aspects of U.S. national security thinking. First, it altered the relationship between the private sector and the federal government by squarely thrusting the private sector into a new and unprecedented national security role. Second, it challenged long-standing priorities regarding the treatment of national security information, increasing the importance of sharing information and making it more widely available at the expense of traditional limitations on access to and dissemination of classified and other sensitive information.

This chapter addresses the confluence of these challenges – information sharing by the federal government with the private sector to enhance national and homeland security. It provides a brief history of public–private information sharing efforts before 9/11, describes reforms and initiatives since 9/11, and assesses problems and prospects for improved information sharing in the future.

THE NEW NATIONAL SECURITY ROLE OF THE PRIVATE SECTOR

The use of commercial aircraft as missiles against the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, and subsequent Al Qaeda statements declaring its intention to “fill [American] hearts with terror and target [America's] economic lifeline,” made it clear that private sector facilities – including transportation, energy, water, chemicals, telecommunications, computers, and the food supply – are attractive terrorist targets. More than 85 percent of the hundreds of thousands of critical infrastructure facilities in the United States are owned by the private sector.