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Cyber Security Controls as a Public Good Essay

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Society today is plagued with crime that is difficult to combat, constantly changing, and has no borders; this type of crime is called cybercrime. The United States of America is attacked on a daily basis by cyber criminals both foreign and domestic. The crimes committed involve fraud, identity theft, theft of proprietary trade secrets, and even theft of national secrets. The 2009 Internet Crime Report indicates there were 336,655 received cybercrime complaints in 2009 and a total monetary loss of $559.7 million (“2009 Internet Crime Report,” 2009). Cybercrime affects everyone; therefore, individuals, corporations, and government entities are responsible for safeguarding information against these attacks. Clearly, a unified front must …show more content…

Mandating cyber security controls; although for the public good, will most likely be resisted as well. In March of 2010, The Affordable Care Act was passed by Congress and signed into law by President Barack Obama. The law was passed and put in place health insurance reforms that hold insurance companies accountable, lower health care costs, and guarantee more choice involving health care (“Understanding the Affordable Care Act,” 2010). The law was considered to be for the public good; however, it was immediately met with resistance. Shortly after the law was passed, attorneys general in 14 states filed suit on grounds that the law was unconstitutional (Kranish, 2010). Mandating cyber security controls will be met with similar resistance unless the government can provide strong justification for the action. Direct and aggressive cyber security attacks against the United States of America from a foreign country, provides a strong case for the justification of mandating cyber security controls. Recent government reports and news releases implicate foreign countries in targeting government entities, individuals, and corporations with hopes of compromising important information. One example of a country specifically targeting the United States’ information pool is the People’s Republic of China. The 2009 Report to Congress

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