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The Four Sectors


At the Institute for Homeland Security, it is our goal to support infrastructure and resilience in the state of Texas, and one of the many ways we strive to reach that goal is by offering next-level research. 

It is our understanding that homeland security can be broken down into four sectors -

The Transportation Sector is one of the largest and most cross-dependent sector of all the four sectors, having a lot of overlap. The sector includes many areas, such as aviation, maritime, freight, and more. It is cross-dependent with the energy, chemical, and even healthcare services, to a degree. Having such a wide scope, the transportation sector affects every individual on daily basis in some way. Whether someone takes the bus, orders something online, or takes a road trip, that person is affected by the transportation sector. The four government agencies that oversee this sector are the Department of Homeland Security, Transportation Security Administration, United States Coast Guard, and the Department of Transportation.

The Energy Sector has a smaller scope than the transportation sector, but is equally important. The sector's three main tasks include overseeing the production, management, and disbursement of energy from three main sources - electricity, natural gas, and oil. Much like the transportation sector, it is both privately and publicly owned. The main two government agencies overseeing the sector include the Department of Energy and the Department of Homeland Security. However, the center of the energy sector is run by three agencies - ESCC (Electricity Subsector Coordinating Council), Oil and Natural Gas SCC, and Energy GCC (Government Coordinating Council).

The Chemical Sector has three main tasks - manufacturing, storing, and transporting chemicals. Because many products that are sold use different chemicals in their production, the chemical sector is incredibly important to the American economy and national security as a whole. The sector is both privately and publicly owned, but due to the nature of many chemicals, public and private cooperation is of the upmost importance to ensure the safety of not only the customers, but those employed within the chemical sector as well. While the Department of Homeland Security is largely involved with this sector, the Office of Infrastructure Protection takes its place majority of the time, and the Chemical GCC and Chemical SCC are also involved in the security of this sector.

The Healthcare and Public Health sector is focused on ensuring the security and strength of the American Healthcare system. The sector has a wide scope, working with agencies, organizations, and businesses, privately and publicly owned. Most individuals have taken part in this sector by visiting the hospital, attending regular physician's checkups, or picking up prescriptions from a local pharmacy. The government agencies that oversee the industry include the Department of Health and Human Services and the Department of Defense, which has a GCC and SCC, much like the other sectors.



Technical Papers


The Institute for Homeland Security has a library of research papers, known as technical papers, that are available to the public. You can find them right here, however, in order to get access to the full technical papers, you must become a member of our website. Not signed up? It's simple and free!