Critical National Infrastructures And National Security

The issue of strong cybersecurity efforts in the United States has been especially topical in 2017, and on the rise over the last few years. The Equifax breach and the breaching of the Democratic Party during the 2016 Presidential Election are recent examples that are bringing up the conversation of cybersecurity and make citizens curious of whether or not the United States government has plans in place to deter these events from happening. People are already worried about the damages these attacks can cause with consequences such as stolen information or monetary loss of close to five billion dollars in 2017 alone (cybersecurityventures.com). Although there are already solid plans in place to raise cybersecurity efforts in the United

5.p21 Access control threats cannot be 100% eliminated because new ones are constantly being devised.

The Internet, as we all know, has rapidly spread around since its commercialization in the 1990s. It is evident that cybersecurity attacks are not going anywhere, and that government will continue to remain a target. In addition, the Internet of Things (IoT) growth will lead to more devices being connected to the networks. Therefore, with technology moving forward and hackers being more motivated as ever, the government finds itself struggling to keep up with effective cybersecurity measures and with filling up the designated positions in the Cybersecurity department.

On March 31, 2016, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) started a nationwide campaign to warn against the dangers faced by the U.S. utilities against the cyberattacks. According to DHS, there were an estimated 331 hacks or physical attacks against the U.S. power grid from 2011 to 2014. As of February 2016, they are occurring at a rate of once every 4 days. “A major cyberattack on the U.S. electric grid could cause over $1 trillion in economic damage, estimates ThreatTrackSecurity.com.” (MacDonald, 2016, pg. 2).

This paper is to recommend that the Department of Homeland Security’s National Cybersecurity Protection System be fully implemented into all civilian and government systems without predetermined search criteria, or “signatures”.

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has recognized 16 critical infrastructure sectors whose assets, systems, and networks are considered vital to the United States and if these sectors were incapacitated in any form, this would be detrimental to security, the economy, public and safety. These sectors are identified as the following (Department of Homeland Security, n.d.):

Critical infrastructure is actively what moves the United States forward as a world dominating force. Critical infrastructure is also the life-blood that maintains the nation’s way of life. Each one of these organizations gives strength to the country’s wealth, health and security. We use them every day in our lives, it is the bridges we cross when we go to work, and it is the planes, trains, and automobiles that move the citizens throughout the nation. It is these types of critical infrastructure that keep our homes lit at night, the water we bathe in and drink, and it provides a multitude of communication structures that help us stay in touch with our loved ones.

In Western power grid attack, APT was well organized. They used both active and passive reconnaissance methods to gather information. We have found the traces of attackers IP in the network logs provided by Intelligence services. This tells us that attackers had used Active Reconnaissance to get network

Presidential Policy Directive 21 (PPD-21): Critical Infrastructure Security and Resilience outlines the 16 most critical infrastructures within the United States of America. The 16 critical infrastructures are the Chemical Sector, Commercial Facilities Sector, Communications Sector, Critical Manufacturing Sector, Dams Sector, Defense Industrial Base Sector, Emergency Services Sector, Energy Sector, Financial Services Sector, Food and Agriculture Sector, Government Facilities Sector, Healthcare Sector, Information Technology Sector, Nuclear Sector, Transportation System Sector, and Water and Wastewater Sector. The research paper will briefly cover the 16 critical infrastructures within PPD-21 and then delve into the Energy Sector. The intent

1. Offer your opinion as to the two critical infrastructure sectors you feel are currently most at risk. Provide reasoning as to why you hold this position and what role the private sector can play in decreasing this risk.

APTs try to find out these Zero-day vulnerabilities and keep it secret to attack the target. Microsoft release patches first Tuesday of every month, APTs go after these systems where it's not updated after the patch release from Microsoft. For example, APT's used socially engineered emails to take advantage of a zero-day vulnerability in Adobe Flash in March 2011. They were able to find information associated with RSA’s SecurID token devices then later they used this records to target contractors such as Lockheed Martin and L-3

After 9/11, the United States really focused on terrorism, despite the incidents that occurred in the Oklahoma City bombing and the World Trade Center bombing, the magnitude of the terrorist attack of 9/11 impact to all citizens and let see to United States government the vulnerability of the security of the nation, and take extreme controls for the defense and security of the country, in order to mitigate the threats and terrorist attacks. (www.dhs.gov/)

Advanced Research Corporation (ARC) has grown quickly in the last five years. During that time, ARC has seen a large expansion in its data and communications network. Because of its success, ARC has seen cyber-attacks on its network with attempts to steal its

Cyber-attacks are common in the defense industry, but in January 2010, a sophisticated, advanced persistent threat hacked into the commercial sector forever changing the face of cyber security. Dubbed “Operation Aurora” by McAfee, the attack targeted specific high profile corporations to obtain valuable intellectual property. Google, Yahoo, Juniper Networks and Adobe Systems were also among the victims of this highly coordinated cyber heist. By manipulating computer codes the attackers were able to exploit the Microsoft Internet Explorer vulnerabilities to gain access and obtain valuable sensitive information from over thirty high profile companies. Operation Aurora proves that the world is entering into a high-risk era where

The branches of the military, for a couple generations, have always been the Army, Navy, Air force, Marine Corps, and the Coast Guard; however, in an ever evolving digital world, the notion that outer space would be the next military front is being rapidly replaced by the idea that cyber space will be the next arms race. The United States has been defending attacks on their infrastructure day after day, night after night, when one hacker on one side of the world sleeps, another takes their place to attempt to compromise the US government. The motives may range from a political ‘hacktivist’ trying to prove a point, to an economic spy, trying to gain a competitive edge on its more upstart rivals, to an attempt to control the United States