Question 1
The role of the Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) is not only geared towards the southern borders but also has the responsibility to take care of the seaports. They handle issues of drug trafficking, human trafficking, weapon trafficking, and their primary mandate is to deal with the issue of illegal immigration of people in the country. There is an overdependence of the CBP by the United States to help them deal with terrorism. Besides terrorism, they also deal with the importation and exportation of goods in and out of the country. Studies indicate that in a single day, the Customs and Border Patrol are in a position to oversee nearly 1 million individuals who travel through the United States' borders (CBP, n.p). After the 9/11 attacks, most people have opted to use air as a means of transport. Such is because the Travel Security Administration (TSA) took charge of increasing their security in all airports. The CBP website indicates that over 300 sections of entry in the country take part in the screening of incoming immigrants. The units also screen the United States citizens moving out of the country, mails, and any cargo that has an international destination.
Customs and Border Patrol does not conduct the operations alone as they are assisted by state and local agencies that take part in the law enforcement practices. Immediately after the 9/11 attack, there was the creation of the Homeland Security Act of 2002. The act's main aim was to reconstruct and bring changes to the security measures that will prevent possible attacks like 9/11 from taking place in the future (Department of Homeland Security, 2019). The primary challenge that most of the security enforcement agencies were facing is a lack of information sharing. An effective and efficient flow of information between the security agencies would have been essential in preventing the 9/11 attacks. The hijacking of commercial airliners is one of the preventable 9/11 attacks through a flow of information. Effective communication means that the coordination between the agencies is high, and breaching the protocol by any attackers will be hard. In the 21-st century, technological advancement is a critical consideration in any security agency. As technology advances, security agencies can place intelligence on specific individuals in a single place so that everyone can see them. Thus, the CBP is not responsible for only screening people but also screening the cargo packages and the shipping containers.
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Before the containers heading to the United States get inbound, the CBP needs to have conducted a screening procedure. Statistics show that Customs Border Patrol screen nearly 11 million boxes before they arrive in the United States in on financial year (CBP, n.p). Most of the goods that are imported in the U.S. are through the seaports. CBP needs to conduct the screening of the goods without interrupting the flow of business operations. Their screening actions should not cause a delay in the clearance of the goods. If there is an interruption of the flow of goods, most businesses will have adverse implications. The main challenge will be on finances, which will be costly. Some of the goods are perishable, and a delay in the delivery time means they will go wrong, and business will suffer loss, and they cannot sell the commodities for consumption in the country. All the respective stakeholders need to be included in the importation and exportation process to ensure a smooth operation flow. The screening of the containers by the Customs Border Patrol does not take place only once. A lot of screening is done before the goods get into the country.
Some screening takes place before the containers embark and are loaded at the various international ports. The CBP will have to work with other agents at the international level in ensuring the process is a success. Their main counterpart is the Department of Homeland security, whose prominent role is to ensure there are no security threats in the goods' distribution process while utilizing the seaports. Since the creation of the Homeland Security Act of 2002, the United States has been at the forefront in ensuring they address the defense structures (Department of Homeland Security, 2019). A change in their defense structure is to improve their response capabilities and prevent any 9/11 attack from taking place at the moment and in the future. Agencies have managed to establish a way to share information, and the various targets they all have fundamental interests. The CBP takes charge of monitoring counterfeit products from getting into the country. Counterfeit products are a threat as they put a financial budget on the product's original brand name. Illegal migration is equally and critical responsibility of the Customs Border Patrol, but it is not the only responsibility they have to absorb. They can control unlawful immigration if they work in conjunction with other states and federal agencies to provide them with the needed assistance in times of need.
Question 2
Maritime take part in protecting the seaports and the waterways through which the United States import and export their goods. The Maritime Transportation Security Act of 2002 plays a considerable role in enhancing the trade's protection between the United States and other countries, mainly through their water bodies. The main reason for creating the act was to prevent terror attacks that might occur in the future and are posted in 9/11 (Maritime Transportation Security Act of 2002, 2016). There is the implementation of a better security strategy on the waterways, which consists of severe traffic in importing international goods. The approach focuses on diminishing any imminent terror attacks that would otherwise be planned by the United States' enemies and are hiding within their shadows. There are several ways through which terror attacks can occur. However, the episodes are rampant through international water bodies where individuals can quickly access a country.
In the Continental United States (CONUS), two primary teams are utilized. The groups include the rapid response team for the coast guard and the maritime security and safety teams (MSST). The units can undergo a deployment wither on water, air, or land to curb any security threat within the country's borders. After the 9/11 attacks, the United States took a bold step in forming the individuals' MSST team. Each of the country's ports has the responsibility of ensuring there are security elements that are effective and efficient in the establishment of security protocols stipulates by the Maritime Transportation Act of 2002. The act aims to provide enough security in all the international ports (Maritime Transportation Security Act of 2002, 2016). The CBA personnel will have the ability to screen and inspect the various containers moving in and out of the country through the ports.
After carrying out a few assessments, security protocols were established in various port sections to identify a possible weakness. The weakness is supposed to be placed in either the passengers, the cargo, protections systems, communication systems, and the transport infrastructure. Most of the ports are under private ownership. The agent's and organizations' role are to intervene by conducting an assessment to improve the seaports' security. The evaluation ensures there is less disruption of the business. There are high levels of protection of both the goods being imported or exported and the people working in the ports. The act's primary goal is to have an extension of security measures to prevent and minimize threats. Therefore, several layers of the security elements in the ports and the extension included the coast guards of the United States.
The role of the coast guards and the United States Navy has been inclined towards the interception of incoming vessels that might be approaching the mainland. During the interception, the ship needs to identify itself and state its business on the continent. The external layers have been vital in offering more time for diffusion and termination of any possible threat that might be in existence (Department of Homeland Security, 2014). They ensure that the stop takes place miles away from the mainland so that no individuals are harmed or goods worth millions of sums of money are destroyed. In general, there is a minimization of casualties along the coast. The National Maritime Security Transportation Security Plan stipulates that they will take charge of efficient coordination and practical actions that will deter and minimize damages in a transportation situation. Their mandate is more detailed on the step they will take in ensuring there is success in their implementation strategy.
Question 3
Global Maritime Transportation system (GMT) is a company that specifically deals with the international circulation of goods that people use in their daily operations. A country is not able to produce all the goods and services that will serve their needs. They may either have a competitive advantage or an absolute advantage. A country with a definite advantage means they can produce enough goods in numbers to sustain their people and export the remaining (Jones and Seghetti, 2015). A company with a competitive advantage means they can venture into the international market and sell their goods. Thus, there is a high demand for goods and services that the country cannot produce in abundance, and there is a need for exportation. The country with goods and services will also need to increase its production level to meet the consumer's demand. The increasing demand for exports and imports across the globe makes countries hasten security at the ports both in the home country and the international borders.
The security for transportation of the goods and screening needs to be in harmony with the demand and flow of the supply of goods and services. The main focus is to ensure there is no business due to the insecurity for the imports and exports. Most of the business import goods from the international market and GMT has the role of ensuring there is a smooth flow in the transportation of goods without any interruption from time hacks. The time hacks are more likely to occur, but GMT is responsible for making sure the occurrence is as minimal as possible (Secur, 2019). Most businesses are upholding technology in their future ventures to increase the effectiveness and efficiency of operations. GMT is not an exception. The company's future is in the direction of upholding electronic modes of operations and incorporating software to make the processes easy.
The containers can be fitted with sensors that will play the role of detecting radioactive materials. Also, the sensors can be used to see materials that are bioweapons or are of bio-contamination nature. More advancements on the ship radars and even have x-ray machines in the ships make the loading and off-loading process easy. X-rays will act as a secondary check in addition to the investigations that the importation and exportation materials will go through at the ports (Secur, 2019). The post side security also needs to shift from being manual to the automation of the services. The strategy will require the utilization of cybersecurity networks. There will be a transition to an online dispatch, making it easy to monitor materials' transportation from the loading point. The digital control and monitoring system will be less costly in the long run. The installation of the system software might be expensive at the start, but as the processes continue, the company will start realizing a reduction in the cost of its operations.
All the security networks should be integrated to be easily controlled from a tablet or any other mobile phone device. The food items' temperature will be regulating and have a door lock in place that will prevent access by unauthorized individuals. The entire control process will be easy, and there will be a simplification of the organization processes. Cybersecurity is not something new, but there has been a growing concern in the maritime in the United States agencies and even those operating in the private sector. The future is likely to go cyber, and there is a need to hasten physical and network security. The process is more likely to be cost-effective for most of the companies in maritime. There has been an increase in the reliability of cybersecurity over the years. Most companies depend on it as there is an increase in demand for imported goods and services. The attacks that will take place in the future are mainly going to be through hacks, and thus, the cybersecurity that the maritime organizations implement should be more sophisticated.
Cybersecurity may sound easy and convenient for most organizations but might be the target for most hackers. Unauthorized individuals will be able to gain access to the company's information. Their main motive might be to ruin the information, release the data to the public, or even lock out the authorized individuals. The scenario might be a challenge to the company, especially if an ex-employee is disgruntled and wants to harm other people working in the company. Ex-employees are the likely threats they have done on the company and have experience in navigating through the cybersecurity system. At the moment, most organizations fight off and keep a close eye on employees and other individuals who can navigate through the security system and infiltrate the national network. The security of the techniques that the company will be using should be the priority. The concern should be towards the physical security on the border and neglecting the systems they are using in managing the importation and exportation of goods.
References
Customs and Border Protection. (n.d.). CSI: Container Security Initiative. Retrieved from https://www.cbp.gov/border-security/ports-entry/cargo-security/csi/csi-brief . Accessed 10 November 2020.
Department of Homeland Security. (2014). U.S. Customs and Boarder Protection’s workload staffing model. Office of Inspector General. Pp. 1-24.
Department of Homeland Security. (2019). Small Vessel Security Strategy. Retrieved from https://www.dhs.gov/publication/small-vessel-security-strategy . Accessed 10 November 2020.
https://www.congress.gov/107/plaws/publ295/PLAW-107publ295.pdf
Jones, V., & Seghetti, L. (2015). U.S. Customs and Boarder Protection: Trade facilitation, enforcement, and security. Congressional Research Service . Pp. 1-43.
Maritime Transportation Security Act of 2002 (2016). PUBLIC LAW 107–295
Secur, T. (2019). Containerized cargo security at the U.S. – Mexico border: How supply chain vulnerabilities impact processing times at land ports of entry. Journal of Transportation Security, 12 (4).
