INTL 647 Cyber forum

INTL 647 Cyber forum

Do you think that the US will finalize a policy structure and authorities in the cyber arena? 

How will this impact the cyber intelligence arena?

Based off the readings this week, especially the one that talks about the Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act (CISPA), I believe that the US will have to finalize some form of policy structure and authority in the cyber arena.  In order to properly defend US computer networks against hacking and cyber-attacks both foreign and domestic, policies must be drafted, accepted, and enforced with regard to maintaining order and control in cyberspace for the sake of establishing the necessary protection the US networks need (Tweed 2013). 

The biggest issue with policies governing the cyber arena that are in place now, such as CISPA, are with the flow of information that is shared between the private sectors and the government agencies that deal with cyber-attacks and cyber defenses, whether foreign or domestic.  According to Caitlin Tweed’s article The Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act (CISPA): Another SOPA?, the base bill, H.R. 264, was designed to help improve the sharing of information about cybersecurity between the intelligence community and other cybersecurity entities and encouraging the sharing of information in order to improve defenses to potential attacks as well as the response time in the event of an attack. 

The impacts this has had on the cyber intelligence arena is huge.  The bill, H.R. 264, in its original form seemed to favor government agencies in the sense that they could use information it gained access to under the law and be able to remove certain content, block certain individuals’ access to certain sites, or even block their accounts entirely based on the information that was gained (Tweed 2013).  This sort of skepticism would have been counter-intuitive for what the bill was set out to do in the first place and would have put a lot of groups on the edge if they were subjected to this level of access and power to act that the government would potentially have over information gained under the current state of the law. 

The sharing of information with competing sectors who deal with cybersecurity threats  would be highly beneficial to the US cyberspace front because the collaboration between the private and government sectors would potentially be able to share Techniques, Tactics, and Procedures (TTPs) for certain and/or common situations to develop a common “crosstalk” that would possibly reduce the amount of time in response to cyber-attacks as well as beef up efforts needed to be on the offensive (INTL647 2016).  Even though the bill, the newly revised version of CISPA, doesn’t require private companies to share all of their customers’ information with the government, it should be highly encouraged so that in the event that anything happens, the two entities, private and governmental, will be able to say that everything is on the table and they both can assist with the prosecution of the cyber-attack itself, whether from an offensive or defensive posture. 

Reference:

INTL647 Week 8: Future Policy and Legislative Issues Lesson.  2016.  Accessed: July 27, 2016.  https://edge.apus.edu/portal/site/315328/page/197d2da7-dc27-4e17-a848-1062d5e9f3a5

Tweed, Caitlin. 2013. The Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act (CISPA): Another SOPA? National Security Law Brief. American University Washington College of Law. April 9, 2013. Accessed: July 27, 2016. http://www.nationalsecuritylawbrief.com/the-cyber-intelligence-sharing-and-protection-act-cispa-another-sopa/. 

Place an Order

Plagiarism Free!

Scroll to Top