The issue being debated about American National Security
Potential cyberattacks and complex hacking pose the greatest threat to the U.S. national security (Miroff, 2018). In this kind of attacks, nation-states target another country's computers, networks, or databases in their determination to cause damage, disruption, or steal data. Other potential actors can be terrorist and extremists groups, global criminal organizations, political groupings, companies, and hacktivists. This paper seeks to discuss in detail cyber threats and complex hacking attacks on government systems and networks, two competing solutions, the preferable solution, the role of respective levels of government and branches of the federal government.
Two Competing Solutions to this Problem
The Department of Defense (DOD) deployed a strategy to ward off risks against China and Russia. Whereas China is demeaning the U.S military capabilities to face enemies, Russia is using the cyberspace to influence the American population and challenge democracy. The DOD plans to use its existing capabilities to gather intelligence as well as prepare for potential conflicts, which includes building forces to conduct cyberspace operations, secure and defend the department of defense data, prepare for destructive attacks towards the U.S., and integrate cyber alliances into its overall plans (Department of Defense, 2018). For that reason, there is a need to enhance the DOD's budget and funding as well as the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) order to strengthen their operations and capabilities.
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The second approach is to create public awareness about cyberattacks and ways of detection and prevention. Almost the entire U.S population of approximately 325 million people has at least two digital devices at home while offices (private and government) run on modern technology; which imply that many are exposed to cyber threats. Potential attacks can be minimized if people are educated on ways of avoiding threats.
The Preferable Solution
The ideal strategy to support the DOD and DHS through increased funding. According to Statista (2018), the Federal Information Security Management Act (FISMA); a statute that was established to protect government information and sensitive data assets against natural and human threats, spent $13.1 billion or 16.3% of the total federal IT funding in 2015. The federal IT funding is expected to reach $45.8 billion by 2019, which indicates the seriousness of the issue. Adequate funds will support the DOD and DHS security strategies of securing government, boosting the security of critical infrastructure, as well as important technologies.
The Responsibilities of the Federal, State, and Local levels of Government
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) under the federal government has developed policies to protect government assets against potential. Congress has also played a positive role through the continuous funding towards cybersecurity initiatives (McGalliard, 2018). The state and local governments through their chief information officers should focus on increasing their funding towards cyber threats. The money should be used specifically to create awareness among the employees and the public about cybersecurity. Also, the funds should be invested in information security to improve the security of the network, computer, and database infrastructure in key government institutions (McGalliard, 2018).
The Responsibilities of the Judiciary, the Legislature, and the Executive
The judiciary, legislature, and executive can play significant roles in minimizing potential cyber threats to national security. The executive can propose new and more effective cybersecurity policy changes and strategies designed to safeguard the nation's cybersecurity. The legislature, on the other hand, can develop and strengthen laws for nation's cybersecurity. Lastly, the judiciary can implement the laws by prosecuting criminals and imposing fines on agencies that do not follow the laid down cybersecurity frameworks (National Conference of State Legislatures, n.d).
References
Department of Defense. (2018). Summary: Department of Defense Cyber Strategy. DoD . Retrieved from https://media.defense.gov/2018/Sep/18/2002041658/-1/-1/1/CYBER_STRATEGY_SUMMARY_FINAL.PDF
McGalliard, T. (2018, March 18). How Local Governments Can Prevent Cyberattacks. The New York Times . Retrieved from https://www.nytimes.com/2018/03/30/opinion/local-government-cyberattack.html
Miroff, N. (2018, September 5). Hacking, cyber-attacks now the biggest threat to the U.S., Trump's Homeland Security chief warns. The Washington Post. Retrieved from https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/hacking-cyberattacks-now-the-biggest-threat-to-us-trumps-homeland-security-chief-warns/2018/09/05/d0045800-b119-11e8-a20b-5f4f84429666_story.html
National Conference of State Legislatures. (n.d). Cybersecurity conversation guide: Executive branch, the legislative branch, and higher education. Retrieved from http://www.ncsl.org/documents/taskforces/NCSL_Cybersecurity_Conversation_Guide.pdf
Statista. (2018). The proposed budget of the U.S. government for cybersecurity in FY 2017 to 2019 (in billion U.S. dollars). The Statistics Portal. Retrieved from https://www.statista.com/statistics/675399/us-government-spending-cyber-security/
