New Jersey Office of Homeland Security and Preparedness

Director: Jared Maples

Chief of Staff: Patrick Rigby, Director of Communications

Division of Intelligence: Laurie Doran, Director

Division of Cybersecurity: Michael Geraghty, Director

Division of Policy and Planning: Eric Tysarczyk, Director

Division of Administration: Randall Richardson, Director

NJOHSP's Communications team ensures the Office is able to effectively and strategically message to constituents while remaining the State's most reliable source on counterterrorism, resiliency, and cybersecurity issues. The team continues to enhance the visibility and credibility of the Office, increasing outreach efforts through social media, an updated website, and enhancing event participation through new initiatives. NJOHSP connects with numerous public and private sector organizations, collaborates with state and local partners, and provides the general public – including the faith-based community – with unclassified intelligence using new digital media tools.

Provides tailored information to New Jersey's law enforcement, public, and private-sector partners in an effort to address a variety of hazards through soft-target outreach programs, engages regularly with the intelligence community to share information that meets state and national-level intelligence priorities, and manages suspicious activity reports (SARs) while working collaboratively with law enforcement agencies statewide to gather, process, and share SARs in an accurate and timely manner.

Provides timely, relevant, accurate, and insightful analysis regarding any threat posed by foreign and domestic terrorist organizations, groups, or individuals to the State of New Jersey and the region.

Detects and deters terrorist activity and other potential threats using intelligence and law enforcement strategies.

Develops and administers training and exercises for homeland security partners and stakeholders.

Strengthens the security and resiliency of New Jersey, its critical infrastructure, and its institutions by managing risks through collaborative and integrated efforts of the whole community.

Leads New Jersey's coordination and planning for the deployment of the First Responder Network Authority's (FirstNet) Nationwide Public Safety Broadband Network (NPSBN).

In 2016, the responsibility for cybersecurity strategy and oversight for the Executive Branch transitioned from the NJ Office of Information Technology (NJOIT) to NJOHSP. In 2017, NJOHSP's Division of Cybersecurity and the New Jersey Cybersecurity and Communications Integration Cell (NJCCIC) were organized into one overarching cybersecurity function to take advantage of the synergies in their respective programs of work, as well as to more effectively allocate and utilize resources. The NJCCIC is the first American state-level information sharing and analysis organization in the United States that exchanges cyber threat intelligence and conducts incident response for governments, businesses, and citizens in New Jersey. Located at NJ's Regional Operations and Intelligence Center (ROIC), and acting in a cyber fusion center capacity the NJCCIC is composed of staff from NJOHSP, the NJ Office of Information Technology, and the NJ State Police.

Responsible for fusing technical and nontechnical sources to analyze New Jersey's local cyber threat landscape and reduce the State's virtual vulnerabilities. In addition to cyber tips, alerts, and mitigation techniques, the Bureau produces critical infrastructure sector-specific threat assessments provides threat briefings and information security training sessions.

Responsible for managing all aspects of information security engineering and daily operations of the State's enterprise cybersecurity systems that allow the NJCCIC to detect and defend against cyberattacks targeting State government networks.

Responsible for assessing and managing the cybersecurity risk posture of the Executive Branch of the State government through the NJCCIC's proactive risk management services including vulnerability scanning, penetration tests, risk assessments, and security audits. The Bureau is responsible for the development and maintenance of the State's Information Security Policies and Standards that establish the required behaviors and controls intended to protect the State's information technology resources, secure personal information, and safeguard the privacy of individuals.

Responsible for the NJCCIC's outreach efforts by providing relevant and timely threat intelligence, alerts, and best practices to New Jersey's citizens, businesses, government and nonprofit organizations, and academic institutions. Additionally, the Bureau coordinates and conduct cybersecurity trainings and briefings and provide all NJCCIC member services.

Ensures that state and federal financial resources are protected and distributed in a fiscally responsible manner, while providing optimal services to government and private-sector partners.

Responsible for the management and administration of federal and state homeland security grant funding. Grant funding enables New Jersey to enhance its capabilities to prevent, protect, mitigate, respond, and recover from acts of terrorism and other catastrophic events.

Responsible for maximizing organizational and individual potential while facilitating a work-life balance accomplished through recruitment of top talent, workforce training and development, retention of high-performing workforce and ensuring compliance with state and federal employment laws. The Bureau houses the facilities management function for the Office.