DHS’s role in strengthening the security of the United States against cyber-threats
The anticipated cyber-attacks from China in the United States have become a significant concern. Sudden malicious attacks can weaken the nation’s critical infrastructure, and by 2020, there would be a rise in criminal activities. In case the electric grid of the country shuts down, it can have a severe impact on the communication channels. Firstly, the DOD or the Department of Defense would lose its ability to maintain its communication. Secondly, the anticipated attacks will hit the financial as well as commercial institutions operating in the U.S. The DHS can take active steps to assess the situation and prevent the risks.
A brief overview of the responsibilities of DHS
One of the government structures of the United States is the DHS. It can act as a threat actor and prevent cyber-related threats and accomplish various security missions. The structure has been established for the welfare of the U.S citizens. The different types of missions of the DHS include information sharing, protection of critical infrastructure, customs and immigration enforcement, the security of the transportation agency, and management of the federal emergency (Coldebella & White, 2010). Again, law enforcement is another functional area of the department. The DHS works in collaboration with federal agencies of the government. It is supposed to maintain agreements and work in collaboration with DOE and the NIST. The purpose is to ensure best practices in cybersecurity. Again, it also collaborates with the private sector and acts in accordance with the Cybersecurity Act 2015. It ensures that both the federal agencies and the private sector get informed about the probable incidents without delay.
Identified action areas
In order to handle the upcoming cyber-related threats, the president has already established the presidential order. It outlines the ways in which cyber-threats can be handled. The DHS has the responsibility of participating actively in the process and collaborating with the federal and private agencies. The areas of actions have been outlined below-
- Assessment of the evolving risks- Risks can be assessed by addressing the existing gaps in disaster preparedness. It would be possible to predict the upcoming or future risks as well. The department can focus on sector-specific agencies, including the General Services Administration and the Department of Defense (Hare, 2009).
- Ensuring the protection of the information systems of the federal government- The OMB or the Office of Management and Budget can help DHS in reducing organizational vulnerabilities and protecting the IS by continuing a close collaboration.
- Focusing on mitigating the cyber incidents- The coordinated attacks from China can directly affect the critical assets of the nation. Cyber incidents can be mitigated by focusing on the investigation (Von Solms & Van Niekerk, 2013). It would be vital to use both the DHS as well as the non-DHS resources for continuing the investigation process.
- Strengthening the reliability and security of ecosystems- In this case, the ecosystem refers to interdependent components of the infrastructure such as environment, people, and conditions and, most importantly, the norms. The expansion of cyber training programs would be effective as well.