Technology keeps on advancing as a result of the development of the technology. Cyber threats have become a great challenge across the globe, and hence, there is a need for security mitigation techniques to be realized to fight the threats and ensure that digital content and devices remain safe. Cyber security assures that networks, information systems, and computers are free from unauthorized access. Cyber security involves protecting and preventing information resources and computer networks. The Department of Homeland Security ensures that cyber security in the nation and other government sectors is well investigated. This paper will discuss the background of cyber security and that of the Homeland Department. Additionally, the paper will give details on the events that led to the realization of cyber security and the Homeland Department of Cyber Security.
Cyber Security background
The malicious cyber-attack activity has evolved from nuisance defacement to theft of intellectual property, infrastructure attack, and ransomware attack, among other attacking tools that influence the undermining of the public trust in the foundation of democracy in the United States (Jayakumar, 2020). In the United States, Information regarding the state and the data regarding the citizens, bank services, and medical system, among other sectors, have been digitized. The availability of resources responsible for hacking and commercial spyware has become popular and accessible in the internet era and can potentially harm the U.S. The cyber security risks that the nation can face are deprival of information availability, confidentiality, and integrity. The most common cyber security events experienced in the U.S. are data breaches and cyber-attacks. Cyber security threats became popular in the 2000s when a massive card data leak occurred. In 2013 and 2014 Yahoo assault took place and greatly impacted information. In 2011, hackers accessed Sony’s PlayStation and captured information about PlayStation users.
Impact of Cyber Security
Cybersecurity has an important role in national security, which can be evident in various ways. For instance, It protects data stored by the government in the government big data databases. Moreover, the information system reduces the chances of data loss and incomplete data. According to Duggineni (2023), data that is sensitive and held by the government has to be protected against unauthorized access. Cyber security impacts the state economy where cybercrime can be carried out and cause huge financial losses to the nation, whereby through cyber security, the country’s economy can be maintained Duggineni, (2023). Sensitive information about the government must be protected, and the security of the government computer network and information system must be safeguarded to prevent the exposure of confidential information.
Threats that lead to the development of Cyber security
According to( Alwarafy et al,2020 ), an increase in cyber threats brings about the need for cyber security. Some of the common cyber threats include the following: Social engineering highly depends on the interactivity of human beings on social media, whereby the attacker shares links on the social media platforms to capture sensitive information from the target social media users. A distributed denial-of-service attack (DDoS) is multiple systems that disrupt traffic of the target system, including organizational websites and network resources. In botnet technology, it can attack more thousand devices. Man-in-the-middle attacks interrupt communication between two parties; encryption can prevent this model. A malware attack is a model of cyber attack where the attack uses software to attach spyware to capture information. The information captured can be used to cause malicious damage to the owner of the information, including exposure to confidential information. Furthermore, the information can be used to cause financial loss.
Background of the Homeland Department and events that led to its formation
Department of Homeland Security was established in 2002, which consists of 22 different departments of the federation and agency, which unifies and integrates the cabinet agency. Cyber security to the chemical. The department aimed to ensure that the nation remained secure from attacks ranging from threats. The department has several responsibilities in counterterrorism, cyber security, border protection, detection of chemical attacks, the protection of national leaders, and disaster response in the country (Chung & Kim, 2019). With the increased cases of cyber-attack events in the United States, the Department of Cyber Security has been formed to fight the increased threat of attack. The cyber security department ensures that cybercrimes are detected and mitigated within the nation. They investigate and manage the entire possible attempt of cyber-attack and develop mitigation measures by introducing monitoring and detection tools. Additionally, the Homeland Department of Cyber Security ensures that all government secret information remains accessed by authorized users through a system defense mechanism. The Department of Homeland plays a significant role in ensuring that cyber security is strengthened through investigating malicious cyber activity and developing advanced cyber security in the democracy of the United States.
Counterterrorism in the United States
Terrorism deals with actions that individual and criminal groups organize to cause unlawful acts that deprive the peace and democracy of the citizens of the United States. Moreover, it can destroy infrastructures and resources that intend to intimidate the population and influence the government’s policies by affecting its conduct on mass destruction. In this regard, terrorism can occur in all departments, and they must respond when it occurs. The main effort during the response to terrorism is to ensure that they focus on preventing the impact of terrorism. During the response to the attack, they carry out the threat assessment to identify the appropriate actions to be carried out, which is done by the National Counter-terrorist Centre team and the FBI (Robillard, 2021). In the next stage response team has to define the target team of the terrorist to understand the specific people who are in danger so that they can be protected. Terrorist response agency has developed strategies that help them to successfully counterattack hackers through technology and expertise in the field of cyber security.
In conclusion, the major threat to digital resources is cyber-attacks since they cause harm to the resources stored in the computer systems and networks that support communication. The government and public sector are both in danger of Cyber-attacks; therefore, correct measures should be implemented to ensure their resources are secure. An increase in the number of cyber threats and attacks has led to the development of cyber security and mitigation measures. The most important way of ensuring cyber security is the introduction of firewalls and password systems on computers and networks. The Department of Homeland can implement cyber security technologies to ensure that the United States information and infrastructure remain safe and protected against any threats that are likely to occur. The need for a terrorism response team with the knowledge of handling cyber security attacks must be considered, as a team of highly experienced experts can counterattack the terrorist.
Reference
Alwarafy, A., Al-Thelaya, K. A., Abdallah, M., Schneider, J., & Hamdi, M. (2020). A survey on security and privacy issues in edge-computing-assisted internet of things. IEEE Internet of Things Journal, 8(6), 4004-4022. https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/abstract/document/9163078/
Chung, C. S., & Kim, S. B. (2019). A comparative study of digital government policies, focusing on E-government acts in Korea and the United States. Electronics, 8(11), 1362. https://digikogu.taltech.ee/et/Download/3d5f2eb9-29c3-4013-bd5e-c9d57a431d79/HeterogeenneriikUSAfderaalseteagentuuridepl.pdf
Duggineni, S. (2023). Impact of Controls on Data Integrity and Information Systems. Science and Technology, 13(2), 29–35. https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Sasidhar-Duggineni/publication/372193665_Impact_of_Controls_on_Data_Integrity_and_Information_Systems/links/64a8d256b9ed6874a5046bc3/Impact-of-Controls-on-Data-Integrity-and-Information-Systems.pdf
Jayakumar, S. (2020). Cyber Attacks by Terrorists and Other Malevolent Actors: Prevention and Preparedness With Three Case Studies on Estonia, Singapore, and the United States. Handbook of Terrorism Prevention and Preparedness. https://www.icct.nl/sites/default/files/2023-01/Chapter-29-Handbook-.pdf
Robillard, M. (2021). 10. National counterterrorism responses: United States of America. Global Jihadist Terrorism Terrorist Groups, Zones of Armed Conflict and National Counterterrorism Strategies, 212. https://pure.tudelft.nl/ws/files/96692927/Global_Jihadist_Terrorism.pdf#page=221
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