Cyber Security And Terrorism : Terrorism

The Cybersecurity Act of 2012 and its revised version S.3414 addressed several cyber security needs, which have been often overlooked or opposed. The nation stands vulnerable to cyber-attacks, as everyday technology is revamped and upgraded, while laws to protect the nation creep slowly through Congress. Many politicians have argued that these bills have imposed too much regulation on the cyber world and therefor oppose it (CITATION NEEDED). Congress needs to pass laws and regulations if they wish to help protect the nation from the growing threat of cyber-attacks, which can easily cripple the United States from across the globe. The Quadrennial Homeland Security Review Report reveals that the threat of cybercrime is a growing concern.

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

CNN states “the CIA thinks cyber attacks have the second greatest potential for national destruction behind only a nuclear attack”(Goldman 2011). This statement explains how big of a security threat to the United States cyber threats really are. There are hackers will hack important databases and collect important/confidential information exclusive to the United States government. Firewalls cannot even protect computers at this point. ISIS’s physical attacks have been largely mitigated but their ability to commit cyber warfare is troubling for the United States. CNN also warns that “Though nations are unlikely to attack our systems for fear of response from the United States, terrorists wouldn't hesitate. That's a worry, since our government is woefully unprepared for such an event” (Goldman 2011). Overall, cyber threats are a huge security threat to the United States and the country as a whole is unbelievably unprepared for that.

Cyberterrorism is a critical threat and is the most definitive characteristic of the U.S. contemporary security environment. For years, the American people have been victimized by cyber-attacks by having their personal information, emails, credit card, and banking information stolen by an invisible enemy named cyberterrorism. These types of attacks seem insignificant however; they are small examples of the vulnerabilities that our cyber world is experiencing. Our vulnerabilities are leaving our public officials in significant danger from cyber-attacks, as they are vulnerable to such things as the release of personal information and home addresses.

Tomorrow’s terrorist may be able to do more damage with a keyboard than with a bomb (National Research Council1). The United States Department of States defined terrorism as: “…premeditated, politically motivated violence perpetrated against non-combatant targets by sub-national groups or clandestine agents.” Terrorism not only occurs on the real life today but also on the internet. As the technology rapidly developed, there is an increase in the usage of internet, the threat comes along the way. Due to the occurrence of internet terrorism-generating fears to the public, the term “Cyberterrorism” was coined by Barry Collin in the 1980’s (Cyberterrorism Defined). The definition of cyberterrorism differs from various legal systems and government

Although we have many government agencies that have cyber crime assets, there are several think tanks actively taking a role to not only identify policy changes but are also constructing contingency plans that utilize a variety of diplomatic, economic and regulatory solutions to thwart these attacks. (Knake, 2017). Unfortunately, it seems we do not have a cohesive national plan in place to unilaterally solve this issue. The government must mandate that cyber attack contingencies must be put in place since it poses a national risk to its citizens. Ultimately, it seems that regulators will most likely be used as the catalyst for change and to set a standard. Afterwards, I can forsee federal legislation enacted to ensure power grids are operated to a "Cyber Safety" standard, somewhat like the Highway Safety Act of 1966 did with seat belts in the auto

Without a doubt, cybersecurity is one of the biggest threats the DHS faces. As technology evolves, this threat will continue to grow. What is the department doing about it? A cyber-attack could cause serious damage to our critical infrastructure if it was done properly. This is something that must be protected! The first step is to protect our federal networks and critical infrastructure. “The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) works with each federal civilian department and agency to promote the adoption of common policies and best practices that are risk-based and able to effectively respond to the pace of ever-changing threats. As systems are protected, alerts can be issued at machine speed when events are detected

homeland and U.S. vital interests from disruptive or destructive cyber attacks of significant consequence. (INSA 2011,17)

There is a new threat to the world, cyberspace. New technologies are being developed daily that threaten secure organizations. Attackers are able to take advantage of any vulnerability that they can find no matter the geological location. This threat poses risks to the economy, militaries, and governments around the world. The U.S. is at the forefront of the defense of cyber security, but with the endless number of cyber terrorists, the U.S. defense is not enough. Nations need to come together to provide a standard for cyber security that is able to be enforced throughout the world. The many different organizations provide many avenues of approach for various attackers to take advantage of the vulnerabilities in cyber defense. The only way to prevent these attacks is for the U.S. and its international partners to develop a strategy for global cyber security. Actions are currently being taken by many of the U.S. 's allies, yet there is still much work to be done. The enforcement of cyber security standards must take place in all government organizations, and similar standards should be followed by civilian corporations. This new cyber-warfare must be regulated and controlled just like any other battlespace.

Conway (2014) identifies four factors that limit the potential of terrorist groups using cyberattacks and preferring cyberterrorism over traditional terrorism (using VBIEDs as a medium-level terrorist example):

Our critical infrastructure is vital to our nation’s operations and any disruption to services can have catastrophic outcomes to critical components of our country’s assets. The private sector owns approximately 90% of our critical infrastructure and dependencies between systems make it difficult to show critical cyber threats within the United States. Threats between state and non-state actors continue to exponentially destabilize security and privacy. Although attacks to date haven’t caused extensive overwhelming disruptions, the potential is substantial. Antagonistic nations or terrorists may use cyber-based tools to upset military operations, networks, or other critical operations. Policy maker’s decisions have influenced protection of critical infrastructure key resources and the overarching goal of the NIPP is to build a safer, more resilient and secure nation by mitigating the threats of deliberate attacks by adversaries that exploit our nation’s CIKRs. Understanding and building partnerships between government, private, and public sectors, sharing information about threats and other dangers shall build stewardship to CIKR protection programs.

In the previous five years, cybersecurity has turned into the most looked for after calling around the world. More than 90 percent of respondents to an overview directed by the Ponemon Institute (2011) detailed being a casualty to cyberattacks amid the most recent year, costing all things considered more than $2 million for each association. This number keeps on ascending as the two programmers and security devices progress. As indicated by PwC, roughly 33% of all U.S. organizations are as of now utilizing digital protection (Lindros and Tittel, 2016).

Cybersecurity is an aspect of security that has shaped the way we as a people think and live our everyday lives. For the past 10 years and even before then, this trend of cybersecurity has been a constant topic of both discussion and protection of our data and of our financial assets as well. There have been numerous attacks on companies and federal organizations from big name Fortune 500 companies such as Visa, Target, etc. to big name federal agencies such as National Security Agency (NSA), and Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) just to name a couple. This principle of cybersecurity will continue to be something that will always remain a factor in all that we do. According to Bradley (2016), “Unfortunately, we don’t really have a clear vision from any of the candidates of how they intend to address the cybersecurity landscape or cyber threats against the United States if elected”. In 2016, the presidential election has come into full swing, cybersecurity has been something that has come to the forefront of candidates’ campaigns and speeches, the constant question of how can we continue to protect ourselves from cyber espionage.

Cyber- Attack is an ongoing situation that comes forward to everyone and majority of the business. Such as private sectors and private associations. As noted in the White House Cyberspace Policy Review, an updated national strategy for securing cyberspace is needed. Research and development must be a full partner in that discussion. It is only through innovation creation that the U.S. can regain its position as a leader in cyberspace (Maughan, D). In a event the White House had a Cyber Attack then a lot of sensitive information would go into the wrong hands, but having the latest security and latest technology protecting the White House it would be nearly impossible to do.

The damage of a full-fledged cyber attack would be devastating, the destruction would be unparalleled to any other tragedy that has occurred America. Since technology is responsible for providing America with vital entities and resources, an unadulterated cyber attack would nearly fail the American economy; this is what is known as critical systems failure. Weapons of mass destruction and cyber attacks present imminent threats of critical systems failure. Although currently Americas’ critical infrastructures are coordinated by controlled systems, majority of these systems are indeed connected to the American cyberspace. This exposes one of America’s most vulnerable spot amidst cyber security. Another major vulnerable spot within the nations IT security would be the geographical physical location for each of Americas primary infrastructures, as well as their productivity. Due to the proximal locations, the major infrastructures could very well be infiltrated by one efficient CNA.