The Current State Of 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

The purpose of this paper is to touch on the issue of Hacking. It will go into detail about the history, evolution, future and prevention of Hacking. In addition, this paper will discuss different types of hackers and their motivation behind hacking. This paper examines the major impact caused by malicious hackers and give modern examples of such attacks. To conclude, it will predict how hacking will be in the near future and give the precautionary measures Information Security professionals can take to mitigate the risk of being victimized.

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.

Cyber-attacks against Sony Pictures brought the vulnerabilities of poor cyber security policies to light. These attacks are nothing new but they appear to be getting more severe. According to James Clapper, the director of national intelligence, “Cyber threats to U.S. national and economic security are increasing in frequency, scale, sophistication, and

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

As technology advances across the globe, the potential for new types of threats arise. The DHS realized that since 1997, cyber-based attacks on federal systems have continued to increase at an alarming rate. This threatens our countries national security because cyber-based attacks are ever expanding and have continued to be one-step ahead of the DHS, until 2003.

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.

Target Corporation acknowledged a breach in their systems just as the 2013 holiday season was in full swing. The hacker have taken the information of nearly 40 million credit and debit cards from shoppers who shopped in its stores over the initial three weeks of the holiday season. This is the second biggest penetration of its kind announced by a United States retailer, of which Target is the third largest retailer. Apparently, the hackers worked quite speedily with the operation lasting from the day before Thanksgiving to Sunday December 15, 2013. These nineteen days are part of the large kickoff to the Christmas sales season. Target is said to be working with federal law enforcement and other experts to avert comparable future attacks. The company has not and does not seem to have an intention of revealing exactly how the system was compromised. It is known, however, that the company did not find the attack alone.

The United States is under attack. To be exact, the nation’s power grid is under attack in the form of cyber warfare. On May 21st, 2013 Congressmen Edward J. Markey and Henry A Waxman published a report that provided the findings from information that they had requested from over 150 utility companies (of which 60% responded). More than a dozen utilities reported “daily, constant, or frequent attempted cyber-attacks” (Markey & Waxman) with one utility reporting that they have about 10,000 attempted attacks per month!

On December 15, 2013, Target released a statement confirming that malware had been installed and that most of it eliminated. Accordingly, reports indicated that Fazio computer approved the proposal of project management and the intruders’ compromised agreement publicizing to the company reportedly, the report reads. Besides, media reports indicated victimization of Fazio for phishing email comprising the malware Target used for installing another malware on the system of target, together with Target’s Point of Sale (POS) system used in recording transactions of cards and all payments. Cybercrime or internet hacking, according to Computer Crime Research Center Aghatise E. Joseph, is an internet crime committed using a computer as a tool or a victim targeted. Notably, it is much challenging to categorize general internet crimes into distinct groups since most cybercrimes evolve on a daily basis.

Cybersecurity is a serious issue in the United States today. The threats are genuine and on-going. Despite the best intentions of those involved with previous cyber legislative efforts, even more laws and regulations need to be put in place. But until that happens, what is the only way to protect yourself from being hacked and your personal information stolen? Don’t use the Internet at all. While that is not going to happen there are a few ways that you can do to protect yourself. Do not ever click on grant permission on any text message or computer screens if you do not know where the information is coming from. While this might seem harmless it will grant the other computer that it is communicating with to have access to your computer

The use of cyber attacks is a preferred method for cyber terrorists as the advantages far outweigh the traditional methods that have been committed by recent organizations. If a cyber attack was conducted, it would be cheaper to execute than traditional methods, cyber attacks are more difficult to trace, the possibility of hiding the identity and location of the attacker is appealing. There is also the reward of knowing there is no physical barriers or checkpoints to cross, a cyber attack can be done remotely from any location in the world, cyber attacks can cripple multiple targets, thus greatly affecting a larger number of people (Elmusharaf,

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:

For the Payment Card Industry I have chosen Social Engineering, Sophisticated DDoS Attacks, and The Insecurity of Things (Bradley, 2015). due to the access of the ATMs and Credit Card Readers.