Department of Homeland Security: Cybercrime and Risk Management

Identify the three major factors that will arise as the DHS progresses in asserting itself as an effective federal department focused on protecting the United States from all hazards. What other issues may the DHS need to address in the future?

As DHS progresses, it will need to address its leadership and coordination of the HSE. In providing guidance and organizing activities among its stakeholders, DHS has made significant progress. Nevertheless, further action needs to be taken by DHS to establish productive partnerships and improve information sharing and processing, which has hindered its ability to effectively execute its missions. For example, in areas related to sharing information on cyber-based threats to critical infrastructure, DHS and its government partners have not met the standards of those in the private sector.

DHS has improved its leadership capabilities and aims to further improve the department's performance management. However, these roles have not always been successfully implemented or incorporated by DHS. Because DHS had to turn 22 agencies into one agency, GAO classified the restructuring of DHS as high risk in 2003. DHS has shown a strong commitment to leadership and has started implementing a plan to tackle its management challenges. Such difficulties, however, have led to planning delays, cost increases, and performance issues in a number of programs aimed at providing significant mission capabilities, such as a system for detecting nuclear materials in vehicles and port containers. DHS has also faced challenges in the implementation of certain technologies that meet regulatory requirements. However, DHS does not have enough adequately qualified personnel in various management areas, such as acquisition management; and has not yet established an integrated financial management system, impacting its ability to have quick access to reliable data for informed decision making.

Forming a new Federal Department when continuing to administer legislatively mandated and department-initiated programs and respond to threats has been, and is, a major challenge facing DHS. DHS's strategies and investments have been affected by major threats. It is understandable that these threats must be handled as they arise, for that is the very nature of risk analysis and threat assessment. Yet, DHS’s inadequate policy and program preparation and minimal analysis of appropriate strategies and investment decisions have led to projects that do not meet strategic needs.

How does the federal government address incidents of cybercrime and cyberterrorism within an overarching cybersecurity and critical infrastructure plan?

The government has several ways to address cybercrimes and cyberterrorism, but the DHS has a cybersecurity initiative that is handled by the Division of Risk Management and operations are controlled by the Cybersecurity and Communication Office. One way of addressing cyber threats is through the National Cyber Incident Response Plan. This connects interagency, state and local governments, international partners and states, and the private sector to "synchronize response activities." The plan is based on and based on the National Response Framework.

The DHS has the National Cyber Security and Communications Integration Center (NCCIC) and "NCCIC analyzes information on cybersecurity and communication, shares timely and actionable information, and coordinates efforts to respond, mitigate and recover." They operate 24/7 and help police the cyber world to help minimize and prevent cyber-attacks on the nation, government, and critical infrastructure. The fact that they are affiliated with the private sector and corporations show that they can successfully exploit their partners and the resources they carry to the picture. We can use their expertise to draw on data through which the private sector has already developed to extend it across the country and to international partners and policymakers through partnering with the private sector. The NCCIC has three branches, including the U.S. Computer Emergency Readiness Team (US-CERT), the Cyber Emergency Response Team of Industrial Control Systems (ICS-CERT), and the National Communications Coordinating Center (NCC).

The CIA, the NSA, the State Department, the National Science Foundation, and the Department of Commerce also have internal security divisions across the country. All these agencies gather their own data, and it's exchanged with the DHS, which in effect picks it all together, works on the threat, and sends the information back to everyone. It helps the DHS to achieve an enormous advantage by having strong security data from across the country and around the world. The DHS is the central hub in which all digital information flows in and then exits, allowing both participants to access the same information at the same time that can deter cyberattacks or mitigate their effect.

The fact that the DHS and the other departments have established lasting relationships with the private sector enhances their willingness to be a step ahead of a wide range of cyber intrusions and threats. The companies I have dealt with have very responsible security teams trying to get ahead of a cyber-attack and since most firms use the same software, systems, and equipment, they will detect a cyber threat and communicate it to other firms in the private and public sector and to the government.

Identify and describe the various programs, organizations, and volunteer groups in which private citizens may participate regarding homeland security.

For decades in the United States, voluntary work has been an important part of life, particularly during and after national disasters and attacks. The DHS has been trying to capitalize on this factor and use it strategically to reduce the money or personnel that the agency has to include. We will incorporate other volunteer groups to support first responders to create a successful response and recovery team while minimizing the need to deploy a majority of DHS personnel to the area. 

The Citizen Corps is one of the most effective volunteer programs the DHS offers. "The Citizen Corps ' goal is to harness the power of each person through awareness, learning, and voluntary service to make neighborhoods healthier, stronger, and more prepared to respond to the threats of terrorism, crime, public health, and disasters of all sorts." DHS recognized that they did not have all the staff and resources to respond to every event and the Citizen Corps. There are more than 1,200 Citizen Corps Councils throughout the country as of 2014. We also have the Community Emergency Response Team (CERT), which has more than 2,500 members across the country ready to assist in crisis response. Local fire districts, police departments, or emergency management agencies administer most of the CERT programs.

The Medical Reserve Corps Program consists of local volunteers who are still studying medicine or who have left the medical field and can help in providing medical and health services when appropriate. These assist with any need for public health such as "immunizations, vaccinations, training about health and nutrition, and serving in health centers and hospitals." There are more than 980 teams of more than 197,000 volunteers.

The Neighborhood Watch Program is another popular program filled with local neighborhood volunteers who want to see their surrounding area safe and help reduce crime by putting their watchful eyes on the streets. "Neighborhood Watch's roots can actually be traced back to the days of Colonial settlements when night watchmen patrolled the streets."

Create two qualitative systems for floods—one that measures consequence and another that measures likelihood.

A statistical model will be based on the intrinsic value of a region to measure the effect of floods. Whereas rural areas may benefit from floods in the long term, in the context of advantageous soil deposits on farmland, in the short-term negative, crop and building loss, urban areas will not see flood benefits. Another aspect would be an area's cultural meaning. Buildings, property, or cultural artifacts that struggle to sacrifice or restore the intrinsic value to society would have a larger impact on the community. The last thing would be the network or community’s recoverability. An additional database arising from a flood will devastate a region that is not prone to flooding or an area of low economic assets that could not recover.

A statistical flood model calculating the risk of floods in a region should take several things into account. The first and foremost is the connection to a natural or manmade flooding outlet such as a reservoir or water body. It would appear to be more likely to flood coastal areas and river basins. The second is in and near places of altitude. Until higher parts, a region lower in level to the flood source will flood. Thirdly, residential and land use. Areas formerly swamps would be vulnerable to floods as well as an existing wetland area could drain into areas of excessive flooding from inappropriate land development. Fourth is the possible atmosphere, dryer regions would have small flooding hazards on a daily basis but could have heavy storms with divine rain and the like.

How is the media an effective risk communicator? In what ways are they poor at communicating disaster information?

We found that the press could be the nation's best threat communicator. Their ability to reach the public through tv commercials, magazines, online sources, and social media makes them the first way to get the message out. You can get information to the majority of the nation by using the media and social media, and they can also use the same press to see what is happening within the country. "The digital world has been fundamentally and irreversibly changed by the internet and social media." While mainstream newspaper and magazine media use is diminishing, social media use has grown every year as networks expand and telephones become more accessible to the population.

Through social media like Facebook, Twitter, Youtube, Linkedin, a variety of online blogs, and photo sharing sites, one of the best ways to get news to the masses. This allows the public to update the area or nation on a disaster or attack that is developing rapidly. Most news organizations will use social media to gather and push up-to-date information about what's going on in the rush to keep ahead of the social media flood.

Use social media to report and watch news comes with a major disadvantage and that is every user is essentially an amateur news reporter. Many "reporting" posted may not be entirely true or important to the accident along with the amateur media. The news outlets will put out this "fake news" in hopes of getting more viewers as they collect more information in a bid to get better ratings.

Another problem with using the press to communicate information about emergencies is the fact that news outlets do not know about the policies and precautions that may be in effect for that particular event by the responding municipality or government agency. All too often the media raises concerns or addresses problems that may improve public security. Incorrect news reporting will hamper location-based local or federal government trying to quiet down the public and prevent mass hysteria.

References

• Bullock, J. A., Haddow, G. D., & Coppola, D. P. (2016). Introduction to homeland security: Principles of all-hazards risk management (5th ed.). Waltham, MA: Elsevier.
• Inserra, D. (2016). Top Four Homeland Security Priorities for the Next Administration. Retrieved 14 December 2019, from http://www.heritage.org/homeland-security/report/top-four-homeland-security-priorities-the-next-administration National Cybersecurity and Communications Integration Center | CISA. (2019). Retrieved 15 December 2019, from https://www.us-cert.gov/nccic
• National Infrastructure Protection Plan. (2006). Retrieved 14 December 2019, from https://www.dhs.gov/xlibrary/assets/NIPP_Plan_noApps.pdf
• Madia, M. (2006). Terrorism Information Sharing Initiative Faces Several Hurdles. Retrieved 14 December 2019, from https://www.foreffectivegov.org/node/3115
• Marthoz, J. (2017). Terrorism and the Media. Retrieved 15 December 2019, from http://unesdoc.unesco.org/Ulis/cgi-bin/ulis.pl?catno=247074&gp=1&ll=1
• Report on Cybersecurity and Critical Infrastructure in the Americas. (2015). Retrieved 14 December 2019, from https://www.trendmicro.com/cloud-content/us/pdfs/security-intelligence/reports/critical-infrastructures-west-hemisphere.pdf
• Rose, D. P. (2016). Assailing IC ITE: Exposing the Limitations on Combinational Information Designations. Retrieved 14 December 2019, from http://smallwarsjournal.com/jrnl/art/assailing-ic-ite-exposing-the-limitations-on-combinational-information-designations
• Testimony Before the Subcommittee on Oversight of Government Management, the Federal Workforce, and the District of Columbia, Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs. (2007). Retrieved 14 December 2019, from https://www.gao.gov/assets/120/116631.pdf
• Vojinović, Zoran; Golub, Daria; Weesakul, Sutat; Keerakamolchai, Weeraya; Hirunsalee, Sianee; Meesuk, Vorawit; Sanchez-Torres, Arlex; and Kumara, Sisira. (2014). "Merging Quantitative And Qualitative Analyses For Flood Risk Assessment At Heritage Sites, The Case Of Ayutthaya, Thailand" CUNY Academic Works. http://academicworks.cuny.edu/cc_conf_hic/395