A cyber-attack is the attempt by an intruder to gain unauthorized access and use assets for purposes of electronically altering data and stealing information or resources such as money. The attack on federal financial institutions is a crime that has the potential to cripple the nation if swift measures are not taken. Significantly, it has not been ascertained why the cyber criminals attacked the banks today. The attack has caused significant damage which includes gaining control of the hundreds of thousands of personal accounts which has led to the loss of an unknown amount of money. The administrations of these institutions have unfortunately not ascertained who the perpetrators are. However, as experienced in the past, most cyber-attacks on financial institutions are state sponsored. The implication of this attack is the possibility of solvency due to spillover of these attacks on other financial institutions. This fact implies that the attack could be an act of war demanding swift measures within the confines of the executive powers.
First action
As president, the first action is to declare national emergency in accordance with the second subchapter of 50 USC CH. 34: National emergencies. This action is necessary as an undetermined damage has spread across notable federal institutions and this problem has the potential of crippling the country financial and compromising the nation’s intelligence ( Gaskew, 2019). The declaration will help prove more power to the president without relying on institutions such as the congress which rely on slow processes. This declaration involves the executive under the president to ensure stringent decisions are not impeded by other institutions as it is the president’s mandate to make important decisions in times of eminent war.
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Freezing financial institutions
The second action is to temporarily and with immediate effect stop all transactions and operations in affected banks. This move is important to ensure there is no movement of money which creates an opportunity to stop further damage and detect the already existing damage ( Pastrick, 2019 ). It is a significant move as it will ensure suspicious activities are easily noticeable. This measure will be implemented by the federal bank system by the orders of the president.
Institutional takeover by the FBI
It is important to ensure that a special cybercrimes team from the Bureau of investigations be deployed to take charge of these institutions. In essence, this move will ensure that investigations into the perpetrators and their motive begin. Additionally, this action is important as intelligence is required before deciding on whether it is necessary to treat the issue as an act of war (Raphelson , 2017 ). The investigation will help determine measures to take to nub the perpetrators, charge them and recover the lost money. This operation will involve coordinated operations by the FBI as the lead team and CIA who will work together with officials from the financial institutions.
Conclusion
Essentially, declaration of national emergency is necessary in this case due to the urgency of the matter. This move is due to the limitations of the executive powers by the constitution. For instance, the president has no power under the constitution to freeze bank accounts without a decision from the court. The congress makes important decisions such as creation of laws and regulation of powers of the executive. In this case, there is need for legislations that will ensure a lasting solution for cybercrime. However, the president has no power to make laws.
References
Gaskew, B. (2019). Reader's Guide to Understanding the US Cyber Enforcement Architecture and Budget . Third Way..
Pastrick, M. J. (2019). Reality Check: The Need to Repair the Broken System of Delegating Legislative Power under the National Emergencies Act. Cardozo L. Rev. De-Novo , 20.
Raphelson, S. (2017, August 18). Fathers of our country: How US Presidents exercised moral leadership in crisis. NPR. https://www.npr.org/2017/08/18/544523278/fathers-of-our-country-how-u-s-presidents-exercised-moral-leadership-in-crisis .
