Homeland Security- Assessing the Homeland Security Enterprise Problem

Homeland Security- Assessing the Homeland Security Enterprise Problem

Cybersecurity threats have been prevalent in the United States. A report presented before the House Homeland Security Committee on 22^nd September 2021 indicated that Homeland Security is investigating over 100 different types of ransomware. The report also indicated that the agency receives a lot of tips from its National Threat Operations Centre, many of which prompt the agency to take immediate action (Wray, 2021). This indicates that cybersecurity threat is a significant issue that could affect Homeland Security operations, especially if the data stored in their databases gets into the wrong hands. At the end of 2015, the Cybersecurity Act of 2015 was approved by the United States Congress to protect the country from cyberattacks promptly and responsibly through a structure promoting the exchange of information between the government and the private sector about computer threats. Under the Act, information relating to a threat found on a system may be shared with the aim of mitigating risks or preventing attacks that may affect other agencies, companies, or users. The government is, therefore, able to coordinate defensive actions and intelligence by gathering information, conducting security checks, and considering various protective measures. Although the Act has been effective in preventing cyberattacks, agencies such as Homeland Security continue to face frequent cyberattacks because of the many enemies that focus on frustrating the agency’s efforts in fighting crime. Alexander (2004) argues that the rise of dark web hackers who can attack a system without revealing their location and identity makes it hard for Homeland Security to deal with cybersecurity threats, thus considering a wide range of approaches that can be used.

Homeland Security needs to form formal cooperation and global incident response mechanisms. This can play a significant role in addressing global cyberattacks because the agency has enemies across the world, and global organizations such as terrorist groups may attack the agency’s database from many parts of the world. There is also a need to partner with international IT organizations and stakeholders in the ICT industry to ensure that proper incident management capabilities are developed. It is also important to establish public-private partnerships and crisis management structures to respond to new threats, particularly those targeting the information stored in the Homeland Security database. The agency should also collaborate with the government to develop resilient information infrastructure managed by a workforce with the highest level of expertise. In most cases, cyberattacks occur because the attackers outsmart the agency’s IT personnel hence the need to hire the best (Sharikov, 2019). The agency may consider hackers who have managed to hack its system before and use their expertise to eliminate vulnerabilities that could cause future attacks. Homeland Security also needs to request more resources from the government to develop a strong IT system that can detect attacks before they occur and eliminate them.

It is evident that dealing with the cybersecurity threat issue at Homeland Security requires government intervention and a partnership between the private and public sectors. Homeland Security, however, needs to consider setting internal policies that regulate the behavior of its staff to avoid internal cybersecurity threats. For instance, every employee in the IT sector needs to be vetted and closely monitored to ensure that they do not willingly create vulnerabilities that make it easier for cyber attackers to access the system. The agency should also regularly update its IT systems to eliminate any vulnerabilities that could go unnoticed.

References

Alexander, D. (2004). Information technology challenges facing the strategic leaders of Homeland Security in the 21st century. https://doi.org/10.21236/ada423331

Sharikov, P. (2019). Cyberthreats and Euro-Atlantic security. Threats to Euro-Atlantic Security, 51-68. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-19730-8_4

Wray, C. (2021, September 22). Worldwide threats to the homeland: 20 years after 9/11. Federal Bureau of Investigation. https://www.fbi.gov/news/testimony/worldwide-threats-to-the-homeland-20-years-after-911-wray-092221

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For this assignment, complete the following:

Develop a problem statement and background paper for an issue that affects multiple agencies or jurisdictions in the homeland security (HLS) enterprise.

Homeland Security- Assessing the Homeland Security Enterprise Problem

The issue should be consistent with the topics evaluated in the Quadrennial Homeland Security Review (QHSR).
Consider policy, strategy, and statute implications.
This problem statement will be used to develop a stakeholder analysis.