The Federal Computer Incident Response Center (FedCIRC) was the central government, non-law enforcement focal point for dealing with computer-related incidents affecting federal civilian agencies. Originally established in 1996 by the National Institute of Standards and Technology, the center was administered by the General Services Administration starting October 1998. Effective March 1, 2003, FedCIRC officially became part of the Department of Homeland Security's Information Analysis and Infrastructure Protection Directorate (IAIP).