The Next President and Congress Must Win the Cyber War on Terror
This article makes an interesting point in that the War on Terror isn’t over, but that it has shifted to a new battle field, cyber space. They go on to say that action must be taken to defend ourselves on this new front. Just like we recruited top soldiers and personnel for previous conflicts, we have to do the same here if we’re going to stay competitive, and come out on top.
This article discusses some of the history of cyber defense, leading up to the new face of the War on Terror. From there, they suggest a way forward for organizations like the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), the FBI, and police at the state and local level, highlighting the fact that communication and awareness is often times the deciding factor in defeating a cyber attack.
Reflection:
My experience with the War on Terror was as a soldier in Afghanistan. With the troop withdrawal, I was left wondering where the fight would take place next. The answer is that, in addition to continuing attacks in the real world, the battlefield has shifted to include cyberspace. With this shift has come a shift in policies as well, to help combat it. Congress has implemented the Cybersecurity Information Sharing Act of 2015, the National Cybersecurity Protection Advancement Act and the Protecting Cyber Networks Act. These are just a few bills that were sanctioned in support of cyber security. Furthermore, Congress launched an incentive for private-sector companies to increase participation in the war on cyber terrorism. This is a classic political realist approach, only taking action when the threat presents itself, and then bringing as much might to bear as possible. Unfortunately, they’re going to have to call in some experts, because this is a specialized battlefield, and not something just anyone can defend against, which means they might have to liberalize their thinking a bit (in terms of globalization perspectives) if they want to continue to safeguard our national interests.