Introduction
Cyber space is becoming increasingly dangerous for the United States and the world over. It represents one of the most critical national security, public safety and economic concern. The very technology that empowers United States in innovation and development also presents an opportunity for those who want to disrupt and destroy. Computing and information technology is critical for military superiority, but also poses a challenge as unclassified government networks are under constant probing and intrusion. The daily lives of Americans are dependent on power and the electric grid, but terrorist could use cyber vulnerabilities to cause massive damages. Internet and e-commerce have simplified transactions, but have been used by fraudsters to inflict financial losses spanning hundreds of millions of dollars. The threats faced in the cyberspace range from individual attackers to criminal groups, terrorist affiliations, and advanced nation states. According to a study conducted by Norton in 2011 about the cost of cybercrime, it's estimated that $114 billion is lost annually by businesses and individuals and when combined with the value of time victims loss due to cybercrime, the figure goes beyond $300 billion. In order to defend against these threats, a strategic national plan is required to safeguard networks and computing infrastructure and increase their resilience to attacks. The digital infrastructure is a national resource that is of immense priority.
Thesis statement
Safeguarding the digital infrastructure require cooperative strategies between government and private sector to develop solutions that deter, prevent, detect, defend against, and help to quickly recover from cyber intrusions and attacks in order to preserve the liberties and privacy of American citizens.
While attempting to gain great milestones in the fight against cybercrime, White House laid down two strategies. First involve investing in people and technology. To achieve significant results, the government indicated its will to form partnerships with private sector in order to develop secure technology that provides better protection and resilience to critical government and industry systems and networks. Since cyber crime is evolving, there is need to continuously invest in cutting-edge technologies and innovations that provides better security. In regards to people, a national campaign that creates cyber security awareness and digital literacy kicked off in 2010. The campaign spread across the spectrum, from boardrooms to classrooms.
Second, the US government deemed necessary to forge strategic partnerships with domestic players and international allies to fight against cyber crime. The advance involved development of acceptable conduct in cyberspace in form of laws concerning cyberspace, data transfer and preservation, privacy and protection, and approaches for network defense and responses to cyber attacks. Through collaboration with all government levels, private sector and citizens, nationally and internationally, a unified approach was anticipated to investigate cyber intrusion and ensure organized approach to future cyber incidents.
The US governments objectives to fighting cyber crime has not improved much. With the shutdown of Cybersecurity Act of 2012, it essentially blocks any chance of implementing effective cyber security laws in the country. The failure of the Cybersecurity Act of 2012 is attributed to industry opposition. Following that move, the White House has moved to implement cybersecurity protection via executive order. President Obama maintained in his first term in office that cybersecurity was a key priority. However, after unsuccessful promoting the passage of the Act by senate, and even threatening to veto the Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act, it still remains a challenging task. The executive order tilted Critical Infrastructure Cyber Security aims to strengthen the government’s protection of critical infrastructure in partnership with the private sector. Computing and information technology is critical for military superiority, but also poses a challenge as unclassified government networks are under constant probing and intrusion. The daily lives of Americans are dependent on power and the electric grid, but terrorist could use cyber vulnerabilities to cause massive damages. According to the Department of Homeland Security, its provisions include;
- Sharing of threat reports among federal agencies and relevant companies
- Participation of companies outside the Defense Industrial Base in Enhanced Cybersecurity Services
- Development of a voluntary program to help companies in the implementation of risk reduction framework
- Development of Cyber-risk reduction framework spearheaded by the National Institute of Standards and Technology
- Current review of cybersecurity regulations
Inclusion of privacy and civil liberties safeguards in companies orders security cybersecurity activities based on Fair Information Practice Principles.
Together with the Presidential Policy Directive on Critical Infrastructure Security and Resilience, intended to improve coordination between government and industry on security critical infrastructure, the legislations are used to manage cybersecurity. The Presidential Policy Directive on Critical Infrastructure Security and Resilience calls for research and innovative plans to aid the government in the management of cybercrime. This act empowers the government to identify situational awareness capabilities that outlines the implications of cyber incident as well as management of other information-sharing priorities. Through collaboration with all government levels, private sector and citizens, nationally and internationally, a unified approach was anticipated to investigate the cyber intrusion and ensure organized approach to future cyber incidents.
The Cybersecurity and American Cyber Competitiveness Act of 2013 is the new law aimed at enhancing cyber security. The bill if passed will oversee the establishment of an information sharing mechanism, public-private risk assessment, and critical infrastructure attack response system and privacy protection. Also, a re-introduced Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act is similar to CISPA version of 2012 and enjoys immense support from industry players. Among others, the policy will authorize the government to compel private companies to provide classified cyber threat information. Also, it will empower companies and businesses to share information about each other on a voluntary basis as well as protect from liability companies that share threat information.
The slow passage of cyber security acts and policies to counter the dynamic cybercrime is attributed to industry groups and civil society groups. Industry groups such as the U.S. Chamber of Commerce are against the passage of cyber security proposals due to concerns that they would introduce unfair regulatory burdens or costs on firms. There is also the issue of liability protection for firms handing information that are privacy protected to government or other agencies. These concerns impede the benefits that could be derived from implementation of cybercrime acts.
Conclusion
Cybersecurity is proving to be a major crime in the US. Alongside terrorism cybercrime is the major threat facing the U.S today. Hackers are stealing important information from Fortune 500 firms apart from breaking into government networks. This calls for a proactive approach to control cybercrime. The lack of consensus among industry players and legislators in the management of cybercrime is a worrying trend. The acts need to be passed to help manage the cyber space. Innovative research and programs need to be carried out to ensure pragmatic solutions to the dynamic cyber threats.
References
Congress, 1. (2011-2013). Cybersecurity Act 2012. govtrack.us.
House, W. (2010). National Security Strategy.
Kramer, F. S. (2012). Cyberpower and national security. Springer.
US, N. (2012, August 25). Cyber Attacks Againts US Military Computers Increase Sharply. Voice of America.
