Obama Administration's Policy Views on Cybersecurity

The most recents detections of how cyber warfare is inevitably coming was the accusations of Russia hacking the the Democratic National Committee and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s email’s releasing damaging evidence against them which ultimately lead to Donald Trump being named the President of The United States (Diamond, 2016). The effects of cyber warfare have leaked over in to televise series, forming shows such as CSI cyber, and the gaming world, Call Of Duty Infinite Warfare. Neglect regarding cyber security can: undermine the reputation of both the government and elected officials; force unacceptable expenditures associated with the cost of cleaning up after security breaches; cripple governments' abilities to respond to a wide variety of homeland security emergency situations or recover from natural or man-made threats; and disable elected officials' ability to govern (Lohrmann, 2010). Classified information such as overseas operators and attacks, missile locations, response plans and weaknesses, and much more cripples America’s ability to defend itself from enemies both foreign and domestic. To combat cyber terrorism is the Cybersecurity Information Sharing Act, or CISA. In an article titled “Why Cybersecurity Information Sharing Is A Positive Step for Online Security” it is discussed that under CISA, the Department of Homeland security will have more responsibility for domestic cybersecurity. CISA’s fundamental purpose is to better enable cybersecurity information to be shared between the private and public sectors (2016). The sharing of threat information between public and private sectors can give the the United States a head start by allowing them to share information rapidly and more often to combat enemy threats while still providing safety for privacy and civil

Both of these presidents, former and current, have opinions on what America should be moving towards, to better the country. These presidents have both done their fair share for this country already, though Trump has only been in office for a year, while Obama has been in office for a full term, then was re elected for another. They both, though, like all things, have many similarities and differences, these things are likely affected by their party, and mindset, along with their personality. For instance, Obama is apart of the Democratic party, while Trump is apart of the Republican party, making their outlook on America and things like taxes and abortion, different. Differences

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.

H.R. 1731, the National Cybersecurity Protection Advancement (NCPA) Act, is bipartisan bill passed unanimously by the Committee on Homeland Security. This pro-privacy, pro-security bill ensures the sharing of cyber threats is transparent and timely. It strengthens the NCCIC’s role as the lead civilian interface for cyber threat information sharing by: Providing liability protections for the voluntary sharing of cyber threat indicators and defensive measures with the NCCIC or private-to-private. Granting liability protections for private companies to conduct network awareness of their own information systems. Allowing companies to operate defensive measures and conduct network awareness on information systems they own or operate. The NCPA Act also ensures personal information

In order to understand the true problems with these plans in place, we must first discuss what these practices are. In early 2016, former President Obama created a Cybersecurity National Action Plan or CNAP, for short. The issue of cybersecurity is a very big one in the United States and President Obama knows and understands the true importance of this issue. The CNAP discusses some of the most important concerns over this topic and does the best it can to combat it with the best of its ability. This plan includes things such as establishing a commission on enhancing national cybersecurity using experts from outside the government, a proposal of a $3.1 billion dollar Information Technology Modernization Fund to help modernize and replace old information about this subject in the government, and invest close to $19 billion dollars for cybersecurity (The President’s National Cybersecurity Plan: What You Need to Know).

Barack Obama and George W. Bush have to be the most controversial presidents in history so far. They have a lot in common but also have many differences. Barack Obama is a Democrat while George W. Bush is a Republican, but the biggest differences between the two are the background which they came from; Bush came from money while Obama lived in middle class and was raised by his grandmother. Bush was a first lieutenant in the air force and when he finished that he returned home to take over his father’s oil company. (Federal Register, Miller Center, PBS Presidential Biographies, the Roper Center, Ontheissues)

An executive order issued by President George W. Bush on October 16, 2001 established the President’s Critical Infrastructure Protection Board. The Board was created with the goals of coordinating “cooperation with and protection of private sector critical infrastructure, state and local governments critical infrastructure, and supporting programs in corporate and academic organization; protection of federal departments and agencies critical infrastructure; and related national security programs” (The White House).

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is Incharge of shielding our country’s crucial infrastructure from physical and cyber dangers. Of the varied kinds of infrastructure, cyberspace is crucial constituting the information regarding the government and business operations, crisis management and readiness information, and our crucial digital and process control systems. Safeguarding these critical resources and infrastructure is

Presidential Decision Directive (PDD) Number 63 was signed by President Clinton in 1998 establishing the Critical Infrastructure Protection (CIP). 1997’s exercise performed by the National Security Agency (NSA) revealed significant vulnerabilities among 36 of the government’s 40,000 networks. The weakness and potential harm to the national security was obvious. In 1997, CIP initiative issued its initial report “calling for a national effort to assure the security of the United States’ increasingly vulnerable and interconnected infrastructures” (Merkow, 2006). In the year of 2001 the world nations realized the strengthening power and opposing threat from the leading terrorist organizations. In the United States the events of September 11 had changed the society forever. The citizens were left felt vulnerable to the attacks and demanded a response from the federal government. The response came in the number of organizational and legislative measures to increase safety of the nation and its citizens. Among all the safety of the nation’s information infrastructure was identified by President George W. Bush among the top priorities to protect the citizens.

• Authored cyber defense and awareness, social engineering, and cover training content for the Executive Office of the President

Secretary Johnson, this memo is being addressed to you on the basis that the foreign policy issue that is threats to cyber security is of interest to the Department of Homeland Security. In brief explanation of the issue at hand, it can be concluded that the major foreign policy problem of cyber security threats has created and will continue to create imitate danger to the United States of America. The act of breaching the security sustained around private networks has become renowned as a type of terrorism, one that has rapidly evolved since the beginning of the 21st century and has gained even more strength with the increased use of computers. This threat has the potential to risk the exposure of the nation’s most valuable information including government documents, military plans that are considered top secret, and even the United States power grid. The convenience and the ease of use has made this threat greater as individuals conducting what has become known as cyber attacks can be thousands of miles away from the network they hack into. In order for this threat to be combated efficiently, a brief history based around the issue must be conducted as well as an examination of possible alternatives before concluding with the best proposed solution that will bring this threat under control and ultimately aim to eliminate it.

Cyber security is a major concern for every department, business, and citizen of the United States because technology impacts every aspect of our daily lives. The more we use technology the more complacent, we get with the information that is stored within our cyber networks. The more complacent, we get, the more vulnerable we become to cyber-attacks because we fail to update the mechanisms that safeguard our information. Breaches to security networks are detrimental to personal, economic, and national security information. Many countries, like Russia, China, Israel, France, and the United Kingdom, now have the abilities and technology to launch cyber-attacks on the United States. In the last five years there have been several attacks on cyber systems to gain access to information maintained by major businesses and the United States Government. Cyber-attacks cause serious harm to the United States’ economy, community, and the safety, so we need to build stronger cyber security mechanisms. Based on my theoretical analysis, I recommend the following:

The Federal Government needs to create information systems which are more effective shielded systems to protect their assets and resources at home. The foundation of any mandated cybersecurity strategies that secure our nation national security must incorporate worldwide or state local threats whether targeted toward the federal government or the private sector forces. The OPM breach highlighted the insufficient and inconsistence security approaches the federal government has already used in modernizing the existing cybersecurity policies. There is a requirement for the United States government to institute polices that would incorporate and implement new government cybersecurity structures and centralized the protection of their assets to avert future breaches (Source). Examining the inadequacies in the current national cybersecurity policies and regulations is disappointing as OPM choice to implement these mechanisms and the current authoritative propositions to cybersecurity must change immediately. It was reported that OPM only spent $2 million in 2015 to avert pernicious digital assaults, while the Department of Agriculture spent $39 million. The Department of Commerce, Department of Education, and Department of Labor likewise invested more money in cybersecurity resources than the Office of Personnel Management. The Small Business Administration devoted a similar amount into cybersecurity to recognizing, examining, and alleviate any cyber breaches as OPM, however

A lot of opinions and meanings has been given to the word “Cyberterrorism”. Some of these meanings and definitions varies. In this light, Gordon and Ford (2003) are concerned that when 10 people define cyberterrorism and nine of the given answers are different, and these 10 people represent different government agencies tasked with safeguarding national assets and infrastructure, then it becomes a critical issue.

Every state in the nation should have a comprehensive IT security policy due to the “growing array of state and non-state actors are compromising, stealing, changing, or destroying information and could cause critical disruptions to U.S. systems” ("Cyberspace policy RevIew", 2016). Because of “ the dual challenge of maintaining an environment that promotes efficiency, innovation, economic prosperity, and free trade while also promoting safety, security, civil liberties, and privacy rights” ("Cyberspace policy RevIew", 2016). It is the responsibility of state and the federal government “ to address strategic vulnerabilities in cyberspace and ensure that the United States and the world realize the full potential of the information technology revolution” ("Cyberspace policy RevIew", 2016).