Laws Influencing Information Security and Privacy in the Federal Government – CISA

Laws Influencing Information Security and Privacy in the Federal Government – CISA

The federal government is characterized by a complex terrain in terms of information security and privacy. Various rules and regulations play a significant role in shaping the actions as well as policies of federal agencies. This paper’s objective is to conduct an in-depth analysis of the legal framework affecting information security and privacy, with particular reference to a specific federal agency. It will explore the organizational structure, legal mandates, compliance laws, intellectual property rights, cyber risks, and forensic investigations to assess how this affects the agency’s activities and its risk management strategies based on legal requirements. This examination looks into one federal agency, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), with a focus on the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) (CISA, 2023). Following the September 11th terrorist attacks in 2001, DHS was created to protect the US from terrorism, secure borders, enforce immigration laws, and improve disaster resilience. Under the cabinet departments, it is a part of the executive branch and is responsible for managing several agencies, including the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA). DHS covers national security, border control, disaster response, and most information security and privacy issues in government institutions.

Organization Description

The Cybersecurity & Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), is part of Homeland Security (DHS) and plays a key role in the US federal government. It reports directly to the homeland secretary. The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Act of 2018 established the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) to address rising cyber threats. It protects US critical infrastructure from cyberattacks and natural calamities. CISA’s mandate includes coordinating cybersecurity activities, improving infrastructure resilience, sharing information, and helping government and private sector organizations better their cyber security. CISA contributes to the fight against current risks and partners with others to create an infrastructure that is more secure and resilient for tomorrow. CISA is the operational lead in federal cyber-security while at the same time being the national coordinator for critical infrastructure security and resilience. It exists as an institution for cooperation and partnerships. The agency’s main mission is to lead the nation in identifying, assessing, prioritizing, and managing cyber and physical risks. Its vision is to create a secure and resilient critical infrastructure for the American people.

The Homeland Security Secretary oversees CISA in the Administrative Branch of the federal government (Whitley et al., 2015). This shows its relevance and establishes it as the central organization coordinating cyber security efforts across government agencies and vital infrastructure sectors. CISA has multiple departments working on cyber security and infrastructure protection, making its organizational structure complex. The divisions include Cyber Security, National Risk Management Center, Emergency Communications, and Infrastructure Security. Each section helps the agency achieve its objective and protect America’s critical infrastructure from hackers.

CISA has jurisdiction and legal influence over many entities, not just government agencies. This comprises federal, state, local, tribal, and territorial governments, vital infrastructure owners and operators, non-profits, and academia. The Homeland Security Act of 2002 (6 USC 101 et seq.) requires CISA to produce cybersecurity and critical infrastructure protection policies, guidelines, standards, and best practices. It also manages incident response, risk assessments, technical help, and training to improve cyber resilience across industries.

Furthermore, CISA regulation is shaped by legislation and executive directives that promote national cyber security and protect key infrastructures. The Cybersecurity Enhancement Act of 2014 emphasizes public-private partnerships in cybersecurity research and workforce education. In 2013, Executive Order 13636, Improving Critical Infrastructure Cybersecurity, required all federal agencies to work with industry stakeholders to develop voluntary cybersecurity standards and information-sharing channels (Force, 2013).

Compliance Laws

The 2014 Federal Information Security Modernization Act (FISMA) ensures efficient cyber security regulation, complementing CISA’s shift from policymaking to regulation (Grama, 2020). FISMA requires agencies to implement a program to ensure information security through frequent reporting and evaluation against recommendations. CISA also evaluates or tests controls over significant IT assets, particularly high-value, high-risk systems like those exposed online, as part of FISMA oversight.

CISA also connects the intelligence community with government agencies to provide threat intelligence needed to counter cybercrimes. The 2015 Cybersecurity Information Sharing Act (CISA) encourages private sector and federal government sharing of cyber threat indicators and defensive measures through CISA’s National Cybersecurity and Communications Integration Center (Tran, 2016). This improves cyber threat detection, prevention, and response by enabling quick and actionable information sharing.

The 2014 Federal Information Security Modernization Act improves federal agency information security. FISMA improved government cybersecurity by replacing its 2002 predecessor. To safeguard sensitive data and systems, agencies must establish and maintain an efficient information security program. It aims to establish a federal agency cybersecurity risk management framework. Risk evaluations, security regulations, and controls safeguard their IT systems. FISMA and other regulations need constant monitoring by agencies. FISMA also recognizes the importance of coordination between government agencies like DHS and OMB in managing cyber security. Thus, OMB guides policy while DHS development processes manage the entire process.

Legal Cases Based on FISMA

FISMA cases emphasize legal compliance and non-compliance penalties. Some significant cases involve the Government Accountability Office (GAO) audits, which often identify weaknesses and deficiencies in agency implementation of FISMA. These assessments hold government agencies accountable for cyber security and urge changes.

Other significant cases entail data breaches by the federal agency, which is another FISMA concern. FISMA lawsuits and penalties can occur from data breaches, unauthorized access, and mishandling of sensitive data. For instance, the 2015 Office of Personnel Management (OPM) data breach revealed personal information on millions of US federal employees and job seekers, triggering an investigation into OPM’s FISMA compliance and calls for better government-wide cyber security (Lin, 2018).

Critique of FISMA

While FISMA aims towards information security within the government, it has overly involved stakeholders who have criticized it. This law is criticized for prioritizing compliance above risk-based cybersecurity. FISMA’s documentation and reporting procedures promote a check-box culture that prioritizes compliance over risk management and security, critics argue. Opponents believe FISMA’s prescriptive nature and outdated security standards may not satisfy new cybersecurity needs. The regulation may not be enough to address dynamic, complex cyber dangers facing government organizations utilizing static safety precautions in periodic evaluations. It is hard to establish if these implementations have affected any agency because there are no defined standards for their effectiveness. Additionally, Federal organizations may lack resources and time to comply with FISMA’s annual reporting, certification, and accreditation requirements. This administrative burden may hinder proactive and risk-based cybersecurity.

Agency Involvement and Critique

CISA, the official US cybersecurity coordination agency, is concerned about FISMA compliance’s influence on federal information security. CISA advice and best practices help federal agencies implement FISMA. Alongside the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), DHS, and other stakeholders, it creates or amends FISMA-compliant cybersecurity policies, standards, and guidance. CISA pushes federal agency cyber improvements, not just oversees them. CISA assesses cyber risk and offers information to help agencies find security weaknesses. CISA uses its cyber security risk management knowledge to support flexible operationalization of security systems that can quickly respond to changing threats.

Intellectual Property Rights and Trade Secret Protection

Federal agencies must follow IP rights, trade secrets, and security and privacy compliance laws. United States federal agencies like CISA can buy trademarks, patents, and other IPs from the US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). While government agencies are immune from some intellectual property rules, they can patent operational breakthroughs and technologies. Marks can identify agency logos, names, and slogans from competitors.

Since it leads cybersecurity innovation and infrastructure protection, CISA may have IP rights for its technical solutions, protocols, or procedures. Patents and trademarks safeguard CISA’s cyber security role against outside infringement. However, protecting intellectual property rights is costly and demanding, requiring agency administrators to navigate legal, administrative, and third-party issues. Trade secrets and formal IP rights are essential for federal agencies like CISA. A security protocol, threat intelligence, and other trade secrets give an agency an economic edge over competitors. Trade secrets must be protected by access controls and confidentiality agreements.

Trade secrets cannot be read without private keys; hence, CISA encrypts them. Employees can be educated to manage different sorts of data, and only authorized individuals can access sensitive data. Thus, third parties cannot access data without consent. This protects CISA’s secrets from outsiders.

Criminal and Tort Risks

Despite its security and law enforcement duties, CISA bears criminal and tort threats. Major criminal or tort risks for CISA include data breaches, civil rights violations, contractual disputes, and tort liability.

Data Breaches

CISA gathers vital cybersecurity, infrastructure, and incident response data. Poor internal or external cyber defense could lead to data breaches that expose sensitive information to unauthorized parties. CISA and other industry parties may face legal and regulatory consequences for this infringement. Data collection, analysis, and distribution by CISA may breach privacy rights. Thus, abusing personal data or breaking privacy rules during illicit monitoring may be criminal and punishable. Thus, the Privacy Act 1974 and Electronic Communications Privacy Act must be followed to preserve privacy and rights.

Civil Rights Violations

CISA’s law enforcement and security must protect constitutional rights. CISA agents will act against anyone with due process, equal protection, and no arbitrary searches and seizures. Using excessive force or racial profiling may make CISA liable for civil rights violations. Respecting civil liberties, diversity and inclusion training, and accountability structures help prevent rights violations.

Contractual disputes

CISA uses vendor, contractor, and service provider contracts to execute its purpose. CISA may face costly lawsuits for contract breaches such as payment concerns or non-compliance. This entails selecting providers using a well-developed contract administration system and implementing resolution mechanisms in agreements to reduce contractual risks.

Tort Liability

CISA may be liable for negligent conduct that harms people or property. The corporation should ensure this coverage is extensive as required by industry norms and follow best practices within an enterprise to limit liability risks for intentional misconduct during decision-making.

Cybersecurity Incident and Forensic Investigation

Forensic analysis is needed to detect cyber attackers, assess damage, and restore federal institutions like CISA. For instance, CISA. The SolarWinds cyberattack late in 2021 featured CISA and attracted media attention. A nation-state actor used SolarWinds software supply chain vulnerabilities to infiltrate federal agencies and private companies in this intricate attack (Alkhadra et al., 2021). After the SolarWinds hack, CISA provided technical help and conducted forensics investigations to assess the attack’s breadth and impact. By detecting compromise indications, cybersecurity organizations, foreign partners, and federal departments analyzed malware and devised mitigation techniques. CISA’s Forensic Analysts prepare accurate investigation reports using the NIST Cybersecurity Framework for Forensics Investigations (NIST SP 800-86). The SolarWinds event showed how cyber dangers change and how forensic investigations can combat them. Application of best practices can help critical infrastructure government organizations handle cybercrimes.

Assessment of Legal System Impact

Federal government agencies like CISA cannot operate safely and securely due to compliance standards, IT rules, criminal laws, tort laws, and forensic investigations. Risk consultant for information security and privacy. Thus, it is critical to examine how the law undermines CISA’s purpose for cyber infrastructure protection. Legal requirements, liability duties, and lawsuit options increase CISA’s cybersecurity. FISMA regulates IT security risks and incident response to strengthen CISA cybersecurity. IT and cyber security laws recommend safeguarding federal information systems and sharing threat intelligence through commercial partnerships to increase resilience. Criminal laws and torts deter cybercrime and penalize bad actors while protecting victims. Federal agencies like CISA have legal concerns. Legal compliance demands administrative costs, resource limits, and constant monitoring and disclosure, reducing proactive data protection. Cyberspace rules must also adapt to swiftly changing cyber dangers. Federal authorities struggle with costly, time-consuming, and technological forensic investigations to identify and mitigate cyber incidents. Court admissibility may also depend on the chain of custody, evidence requirements, and privacy rights during the forensic inquiry.

References

Alkhadra, R., Abuzaid, J., AlShammari, M., & Mohammad, N. (2021, July). Solar winds hack: In-depth analysis and countermeasures. In 2021 12th International Conference on Computing Communication and Networking Technologies (ICCCNT) (pp. 1-7). IEEE.

CISA. (2023). America’s Cyber Defense Agency. https://www.cisa.gov/about

Force, I. T. (2013). Executive Order 13636: Improving Critical Infrastructure Cybersecurity.

Grama, J. L. (2020). Legal and Privacy Issues in Information Security. Jones & Bartlett Learning.

Lin, Z. (2018). “Success Is Invisible, But Failure Is Public”: Examining The US Office Of Personnel Management Data Records Breach (Doctoral dissertation).

Tran, J. L. (2016). Navigating the Cybersecurity Act of 2015. Chap. L. Rev., 19, 483.

Whitley, J., Webber, J., & Roberts, S. (2015). Homeland security. Dev. Admin. L. & Reg. Prac., 303.

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Select one American financial institution that frames your research. Describe the organization, its business(es), its scope, and any additional descriptive information that will inform your reader about your subject matter.

Describe and define at least one of the laws focused on compliance within the financial sector that came up during our course. Research the law itself, any legal cases that were based on that law, and the critique of the law that you found through your research. Of course, if your selected financial institution was involved in such litigation, or has published their critique, include that information too.

In addition to compliance laws that directly target financial institutions, countless other laws apply to them. Use the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office’s website to discover whether your selected institution has been awarded intellectual property rights for its trademarks, patents, or IP. Describe whether and how it protects its trade secrets. Describe for your reader some of the most prominent criminal or tort risks that your entity faces; or perhaps has been involved in.
In addition to risks in the realms of criminal or tort law, every organization faces the potential risk of enduring a cyber-attack or other incident that must be followed by a forensics investigation. Keeping the focus on your organization and the financial sector, research and discuss an incident or case in which such an institution was compelled to go through the forensic investigation process. There are no sectors exempt from those incidents or cases, regrettably, so be diligent and you will find one to discuss.

Conclude the Portfolio with your overall assessment of whether the legal system—from compliance mandates to IT, criminal, and tort laws, to forensic investigations—benefits, hurts, or otherwise affects the organization. Assume the role of information security and privacy risk, consultant in this section.

2. Laws Influencing Information Security and Privacy in the Education Sector
Select one American academic institution that frames your research. Describe the school, its place in academia, its student body and curricular expanse, and any additional descriptive information that will inform your reader about your subject matter. Describe and define at least one of the laws focused on compliance within the education sector that came up during our course. Research the law itself, any legal cases that were based on that law, and the critique of the law that you found through your research. Of course, if you’re selected
institution was involved in such litigation, or has published their critique, include that information too.

In addition to compliance laws that directly target educational institutions, countless other laws apply to them. Use the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office’s website to discover whether your selected institution has been awarded intellectual property rights for their trademarks, patents, or ISOL 633 Portfolio Assignment 3
IP. Describe whether and how it protects its trade secrets. Describe for your reader some of the
most prominent criminal or tort risks that your entity faces; or perhaps has been involved in.

In addition to risks in the realms of criminal or tort law, every organization faces the potential risk of enduring a cyber-attack or other incident that must be followed by a forensics investigation. Keeping the focus on your organization and the educational sector, research and discuss an incident or case in which such an institution was compelled to go through the forensic investigation process. There are no sectors exempt from those incidents or cases, regrettably, so be diligent and you will find one to discuss.

Conclude the Portfolio with your overall assessment of whether the legal system—from compliance mandates to IT, criminal, and tort laws, to forensic investigations—benefits, hurts, or otherwise affects the institution. Assume the role of information security and privacy risk consultant in this section.