# Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT) Program

**Agency:** Homeland Security  
**Account:** Research and Development  
**Source document:** United States Secret Service · p. 5  
**Vintage:** President's Budget PB2027  
**Canonical URL:** https://hitchintel.com/budget/homeland-security/computer-emergency-response-team-cert-program  

> **Trust:** parsed from the agency Congressional Justification. Approximate, **not summable**, verify at the cited page.

## Funding ($M)

| Fiscal year | Basis | Amount |
| --- | --- | --- |
| FY2025 | enacted | 0.3 |
| FY2026 | CR annualized | 0.3 |
| FY2027 | request | 0.3 |

The prior-year column is a CR annualized figure, not an enacted appropriation.


## Homeland Security discretionary budget authority (OMB PBDB — authoritative)

FY2027 $91.40B, FY2026 $88.60B. This is the agency total, not a sum of the parsed lines.


## What this funds

The Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT) program funds the development of technologies and techniques in support of U.S. Secret Service's cyber investigations and protective operations. The funding will support the development of computer forensic tools, support for cyber investigations, and research and development for unique cyber-related issues and training. Problem: Cyber criminals are rapidly weaponizing emerging technologies, leaving existing investigative methods obsolete. The U.S. Secret Service must evolve alongside technological advancements adopted by criminal enterprises. Solution: The CERT program allows the U.S. Secret Service to continue to leverage the Carnegie Mellon University-Software Engineering Institute (CMU-SEI) to develop technologies and techniques to enhance the U.S. Secret Service's protective operations. Justification: The Budget provides $0.3M for this project. The U.S. Secret Service's CERT liaison program is conducted with CMU-SEI, a Federally Funded Research and Development Center (FFRDC), which allows the U.S. Government to realize significant cost savings by leveraging participating Federal agencies' resources to accomplish shared objectives. The CERT liaison program represents the U.S. Secret Service's long-standing commitment to develop mission-critical systems, cyber investigative applications, malware analysis, and applications that identify, assess, and mitigate threats to the Nation's financial system, critical infrastructure, and persons and facilities protected by the U.S. Secret Service. Impact: CERT will continue to support the Electronic Crimes Special Agent Program, (ECSAP) as well as the Network Intrusion Program, (NITRO) with cyber-threats, cyber intrusions, software, and research on the latest technology to ensure that the U.S. Secret Service will continue to be at the forefront of cybercrime fighting technologies. CERT will enhance the Service's efforts to develop computer forensic gap area tools, development of unique investigative and forensic techniques in support of USSS cyber mission. Examples include researching critical system vulnerabilities, writing software and scripts for U.S. Secret Service cyber agents, and continuing research on best practices for forensic analysis on the continuing evolution of the "Internet of Things" (IoT) devices as well as forensics on cellular devices. USSS - R&D - 10 Research and Development Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT) Program The funding will support software and computer engineers to conduct cyber-related research to assist agents and investigators in the field. Agents regularly contact CERT/SEI for assistance with digital evidence and investigations. CERT's engineers directly assist with either research or by writing software or scripts. The funding would also be utilized to provide cyber training to agents assigned to the ECSAP and NITRO. Training enhances the ability of U.S. Secret Service to maintain the latest tools, knowledge, and case assistance in the fast-evolving field of digital forensics and digital investigations.


**Where it sits:** Civilian / Non-Defense › Homeland Security › United States Secret Service › Research and Development › Research and Development


*HitchAI is an independent intelligence service, not affiliated with the U.S. government. Civilian line dollars are parsed from agency Congressional Justifications and are approximate.*