...Discuss the emergence of the Ebola pandemic as a threat to national security INTRODUCTION National security is the protection or the safety of a country’s secrets and its citizens. The term national security encompasses within it economic security, monetary security, energy security, environmental security, military security, political security and security of energy and natural resources. Ebola virus disease (EVD), formerly known as Ebola haemorrhagic fever, is a severe, often fatal illness in humans. The virus is transmitted to people from wild animals and spreads in the human population through human-to-human transmission. There are currently no licensed Ebola vaccines. As times progress threats to national security are constantly increasing with threats such as climate change, transnational crime, espionage, cyber terrorism and bio-terrorism. This paper is going to look at Ebola as a threat to national security. Weaponization Ebola's exponential spread has rekindled fears that terrorists may seek to turn the virus into a powerful weapon of mass destruction. Ebola virus is classified as a biosafety level 4 agent, as well as a Category A bioterrorism agent by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention. It has the potential to be weaponized for use in biological warfare, National security and infectious disease experts agree the obstacles to a large-scale assault with Ebola are formidable. For starters, a bioterrorist would have to obtain the virus and be able to...
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...Greatest Threat to U.S. National Security Cassandra Black INTL 443 Foreign Intelligence Organizations Instructor: Robert Bier July 25, 2014 INTRODUCTION The United States is considered the most powerful country in the world, so naturally, there are many other countries that are always threatening the country’s natural security. In this paper, we are going to look at three countries that have valid resources in intelligence to be a major threat to the United States. China is a huge threat based on the country’s intelligence resources in HUMINT, SIGINT, and cyber capabilities. Iran’s HUMINT and MASINT intelligence collection methods are highly capable of being a number one contender against the United States. Lastly, Russia has a deep history in HUMINT intelligence with successful espionage and ELINT capabilities that no other European country has used before. These three countries are highly skilled and capable to be a major threat to the world. So which country’s intelligence capabilities is the number one threat? CHINA, IRAN, or RUSSIA? China, Iran and Russia are three countries that are equally capable to be a threat to U.S. national security. As stated above, each country is highly skilled in their respective intelligence collection method. The Chinese Spy Agency is an extremely effective organization that is comprised of twelve different bureaus of intelligence collection. Each bureau collects intelligence from HUMINT, SIGINT, cyber, and so on. China’s HUMINT...
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...Terrorism as a true threat to national security in the United States Terrorism as a true threat to national security in the United States Terrorism is a true threat to national security. It brings human distress and goes beyond the direct suffering by causing fear in the population as a result of its cruel and unsystematic nature. It can be defined as the use of violence by a group or an individual to create tremendous worry and panic within a target population. The group undertakes the violent actions with the aim of compelling the target population into agreeing with their demands. It does this by targeting symbolic buildings and/or places (Ervine, 2010). It is extremely difficult to argue that terrorism is not a threat to the state and that the US has overly focused on it. The threat is true and has become more evident due to the increasing attacks that have claimed a lot of lives. It is covered extensively in the media and every US citizen lives with fear. It is a threat to innocent residents conducting their daily routines as the terrorist activities are aimed at them and not necessarily at the government (Wilson, 2010). Terrorism influences and is influenced by the political arena. It is linked to the government and has a wider scope of effects that reach beyond the targeted individuals. It mainly depends on the fear of the state’s general public and tries to achieve precise goals such as the freedom of political prisoners. A small group of individuals can...
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...563 7/4/2016 Danielle Kelley The analysis of national tactic The United States following the 9/11 attacks notice that more required for the public safety and the guarding of the United States to prevent tragic situations as such from happening again. For that reason, new concepts created to help in the efforts. The national plan, for counterterrorism also the national security tactic, will help the government also; law enforcement agencies protect society also the well-being of the United States. To make sure that the enemies of the state will ever get away with conduct like that again. In this paper, it will be discussed the reviews of a national approach, for counterterrorism also the national security tactic like comparing the National Security approach and National tactic for Counterterrorism regarding scope and direction. Also, assess various strategies used to address terrorist threats. The Analyze the development and progression of homeland security from 9/11 until now, including the role of executive orders. By explaining the reviews, it will help show how much of an assist these two strategies are to the United States, in their mission to secure the nation and its people. Compare the National Security Strategy also Counterterrorism When using these methods, many people can see that they have different tactics within their strategy. However, many people do not understand that there some similarities in them also like for instance the...
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...of the accessibility of information and data via the today’s Web has brought along the concern and need for cyber security. With these issues of cyber security has also come the need to protect national informational assets from hackers and such who utilize the Web as a means to attack information that can aid in cyber terrorism. Information professionals are now looking to measures of protection that will ensure private citizens are not put into danger by the threat of cyber espionage. This also has extended to the protection of critical infrastructure within the United States and abroad. Critical Infrastructure Protection With the ever evolving presence of cyber-attacks that threaten to put citizens’ privacy and Internet security at risk, the government has had to intervene in order to take measures to protect its’ citizens due to the alarming fact that cyber-attacks are replacing other modes of attacks by terrorists. The Department of Homeland Security, created in 2002, was developed to carry out broad missions such as preventing terrorist attacks within the United States. This was mainly in response to the terrorist attacks that occurred on U.S. soil on September 11, 2001. Since then the DHS has taken on the mission of developing security that extends to information security and developing plans to implement critical infrastructure. The Homeland Security Act of 2002 extends the mission of this department even further. According to Caldwell (2014), “the DHS is to, among...
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...Case Study 2: Information Security and the National Infrastructure Tamika C. McCray Professor Darrel Nerove SEC 310 – Homeland Security July 19, 2012 In reading the article, I gather that our country’s natural resources might be at very real danger due to cyber threats. I am once again surprised that there is no effective plan in place for protecting these very important resources. In any company that has something to lose, there should be appropriate security measures taken in accessing their company information. Along with those passwords, a level of security needs to be given to each individual with a password. Learning of the different security possibilities to protect our resources should be at the top of voter’s lists along with job security and a few other things this coming election. If we are easily hacked with simple things, more individual than world-wide, we should take heed when a security breech on a national level will affect millions. All possible threats should be taken seriously as with everything being wireless these days, there is more of a chance for hackers to find a way to get through the cracks. The fact that these industries rely heavily on information technology to conduct everyday service alone is a very real reason to be concerned. Being that there might be thousands of miles between employees, branches and facilities that operate in these areas, there is a great emphasis on telecommuting. When dealing with any type of outpost employment...
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...RESPONSE PROFILE Table of Contents INTRODUCTION 3 PROFILE 3 CYBER ATTACKS 4 REDUCING THE IMPACTS OF CYBER THREATS 6 COUNTER MEASURES TO THREATS 8 LAW 10 INTERNATIONAL SCOPE 11 CONCLUSION 12 References 13 INTRODUCTION With the rapid growth of technology in the past few decades have brought forward major aspects that actually helped the mankind in many ways. The birth of technology is a prolific boon to the mankind. Technology has made our world a better and safe place bringing forward unknown facts and also helping with many new ways to take up unidentified, difficult tasks at ease and complete it within seconds (Alston, 1987). Technology has totally changed the whole scenario of our world, starting from business to science every field; every sector has been boosted with the rapid change in technology in the past few decades. The era of this technology can be termed as the technological revolution that has potentially brought forward major prospects for the mankind. But, this evolution of this technology has also brought forward major drawbacks and curse. In one word we understand technology means computers, cell phones, Information technology (IT) etc. All along with this one major thing that technology has brought along with it is cyber crime and cyber-attacks. These cyber attacks are very dangerous in terms of information technology. These cyber-attacks cause huge damages which cannot be described in words. These damages are so prolific and potentially...
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...The summary determines Critical Infrastructure Protection (CIP) is an important Cyber Security initiative that requires careful planning and coordination in protecting our infrastructure: 1. What is the Department of Homeland Security’s Mission, Operations, and Responsibilities? 2. What is the Critical Infrastructure Protection (CIP) initiatives are; what are protected, and the methods used to protect our assets? 3. What are the vulnerabilities IS professionals need to be concerned with when protecting the U.S.’s critical infrastructure? 4. Evaluate the effectiveness of IS professionals in regard to protecting the U.S.’s critical infrastructure. 5. Three methods to improve the protection of our critical infrastructure DHS’s Mission The Homeland Security Act of 2002 created the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) began operations in 2003 it assigned the department the following critical infrastructure protection responsibilities it’s goals and objectives are to prevent, to protect, to respond, and to recover, as well as to build in security, to ensure resilience, and to facilitate customs and exchange. DHS core mission consist of five homeland security missions “Prevent terrorism and enhancing security; Secure and manage our borders; Enforce and administer our immigration laws; Safeguard and secure cyberspace; Ensure resilience to disasters” (DHS.gov) Homeland security is a widely distributed and diverse refers to the collective efforts and shared responsibilities...
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...The two cases differ significantly in terms of the threat to national security and the repercussions of the accused actions. After reviewing the factors encompassing the Prouty and Montes cases information is handled with operational security in mind and uncertainty to accomplish the intent and goal of the counterintelligence (CI) objective.1 Further, to accomplish the CI objective, information is separated in two categories of credible intelligence, that has been analyzed thoroughly and information that is secondary information. For example, media, local news, or information provided for gain.2 Additionally, information from Prouty’s case steams from supporting documents, revealing that she was not a Hezbollah agent nor collaborated with Foreign Intelligence Services (FIS) or radical organizations.3...
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...People can now use the Internet to share information with each other. Internet can also be used as a communication tool and people sitting in places half way across the globe can communicate with each other with a click of a button. At the same time, the Internet can also be a dangerous place. People share information through their computers and this means that their computers are online in a cyber world. This means that the person’s computer is open to threats and risks from anyone who knows how to get inside the computer. People can use the Internet to steal someone else’s credit card numbers, and a lot of other personal information. In this paper, we shall examine how people can use the Internet to spread a new form of terrorism, cyber-terrorism. A person sitting at home using his personal computer can longer feel safe, even in the security of his/her own home, as information security has become one of the prime concerns of everybody, including the government. It is believed that a threat of cyber-terrorism is a very real threat and the government has taken some very cautious measures in order to repeal such an attack. The U.S policy makers have to come up with various ways in which they can...
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...E-SECURITY REVIEW 2008 Submission from Microsoft Australia Introduction Microsoft Australia welcomes the opportunity to participate through this Submission in the Whole-of Government Review of E-Security. A periodic review of the E-Security framework, in light of the quickly evolving threat landscape, is both timely and appropriate. Over the last thirty years there have been dramatic advances in information technology - the development of the microprocessor, the rise of the personal computer, the emergence of the Internet - which have revolutionised the way information is created, stored, shared, and used. Today, powerful, affordable and diverse devices, together with expanding broadband networks, create a powerful opportunity for connectivity for individuals and communities. Over the past two decades, rapid advances in software, IT services, and communications have enabled many traditionally separate and disparate infrastructures and business operations to become more connected. Through this connectivity virtually every aspect of society has experienced a transformation. Businesses and governments have been able to manage and streamline their operations. Individuals have been offered ready access to multiple sources of information thereby expanding knowledge and choice. Across every field of endeavour – commercial, social, scientific and philanthropic – the power of information has been increased and the transaction costs of engagement have been lowered. Our broad reliance...
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...IA1 – EVALUATION OF THE GLOBAL IMPACT OF THE ESTONIA CYBER EVENT Sherquita Tucker CSEC655 Section 9041 Table of Contents 1. Introduction 3 2. Background and Global Impact 4 3. Vulnerabilities in Cybersecurity Policy and Practices 5 4. Advantages of Reducing Vulnerabilities for Future Attacks 8 5. Disadvantages of Reducing Vulnerabilities for Future Attacks 8 6. Advantages of Improving Security Practices or Policies 9 7. Disadvantages of Improving Security Practices or Policies 10 8. Summary and Conclusion 12 References 14 IA1 – Evaluation of the Global Impact of the Estonia Cyber Event 1. Introduction What if suddenly the safety systems of nuclear power plants unexpectedly malfunctioned, or suddenly floods of water was released atop a neighboring community due to a malfunctioning of the control systems of a major dam, or air traffic control systems of major airports was to suddenly render inoperable, or business transactions of stock exchanges or major banks stopped or vanished ? Even worse, what if it all occurred instantaneously? Would this be an idea behind a new movie thriller, or the realism of cyber war in the twenty-first century? The notation of the using computing and networking systems as an alternative method to the traditional terrorist attacks has always been a major concern. In the early 1990s, since the public debut of the Internet, not all consumers have used cyberspace with peaceful intent. This is particularly...
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...Niketan, Lodhi Road New Delhi – 110003 Discussion draft on National Cyber Security Policy “For secure computing environment and adequate trust & confidence in electronic transactions ” Your comments/feedback on this document are most welcome. Please send your valuable comments/feedback by 15 May 2011 to Dr Gulshan Rai, Director General, CERT-In, at the at the above address or on email id ‘grai@mit.gov.in’ Discussion draft Department Of Information Technology National Cyber Security Policy “For secure computing environment and adequate trust & confidence in electronic transactions ” Contents 1.0 Security of Cyber Space – Strategic perspective 1.1 IT as an engine for economic growth and prosperity 1.2 Security of cyber space - Need for action 1.3 Target audience 1.4 Securing cyber space – Key policy considerations 2.0 Cyber space – Nature of threat 2.1 Threat landscape 2.2 International cooperation 2.3 Securing cyber space – Scope of action 2.3.1 Cyber security and cyber defense 2.3.2 Cyber intelligence and cyber defense 2.4 Priorities for action 2.5 Partnership and collaborative efforts 3.0 Enabling processes 3.1 Security threat and vulnerability management 3.2 Security threat early warning and response 3.3 Security best practices - compliance and assurance 3.4 Security crisis management plan for countering cyber attacks and cyber terrorism 3.5 Security legal framework and law enforcement 3.6 Security information sharing and cooperation 4.0 Enabling technologies...
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... nutrition and increase in wealth, national security and religious tolerant, adequate and improved infrastructure among others abound. However, it is disheartening to note that what are experienced today are increase in crime rates, political and religious uprising, corruption and other social vices. The situation is further worsened by the level youth unemployment in the country. Looking closely at the scenario, it is obvious that the ‘youths’ are the ones mostly involved. This group (youths), is supposed to be looked upon as the engine room of development in any country. Japan, China, India, USA, Great Britain and other advanced countries in the world made technological breakthrough because of the involvement of the youths. However, the Nigerian youths are yet to be recognized and their impact is yet to be felt. It is in view of this that this paper is structured to explain the need for reintegrating the youth as a panacea for the security challenges in Nigeria. Operational Definition of Terms In order to make this article explicit, the following definitions of terms are given as used in the text. Youths – These are part of the population who are active and their ages fall range between 18 – 45 years. Reintegration – A process of educating, rehabilitating, accepting and engaging the youths to be productive and useful in a society. Panacea – Solution to problem to socio-economic challenges. National Security – Absence of threat to life, property, and socio-economic...
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...Guidelines for Secure Use of Social Media by Federal Departments and Agencies Information Security and Identity Management Committee (ISIMC) Network and Infrastructure Security Subcommittee (NISSC) Web 2.0 Security Working Group (W20SWG) Version 1.0 September 2009 This document is publicly releasable Intended Audience This document is intended as guidance for any federal agency that uses social media services to collaborate and communicate among employees, partners, other federal agencies, and the public. Note: The Federal CIO Council does not endorse the use or imply preference for any vendor commercial products or services mentioned in this document. Guidelines for Secure Use of Social Media by Federal Departments and Agencies Page 2 TABLE OF CONTENTS INTENDED AUDIENCE............................................................................................................................................2 REVISION HISTORY ................................................................................................................................................4 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ........................................................................................................................................5 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY .........................................................................................................................................6 RISKS ......................................................
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