DHS: Everyone Has a Role to Play in Cybersecurity

(Susanne Posel)

 The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has announced that October is National Cyber Security Awareness Month (NCSAM).

NCSAM is “an opportunity to engage public and private sector stakeholders – especially the general public – to create a safe, secure, and resilient cyber environment. Everyone has to play a role in cybersecurity.”

DHS, through NCSAM, wants to raise “cybersecurity awareness across the nation and to working across all levels of government, the private sector, and internationally to protect against and respond to cyber incidents.”

The American public is encouraged to participate in NCSAM by:

• Attending an official DHS event
• Educating themselves on “how your government, law enforcement, business, school, or organization can take action during NCSAM”
• Educating public school students K – 12 on “internet safety and security”
• Spreading “tips, news and resources” provided by DHS on social media sites

The groups DHS intends to target are:

• Students K-12 and undergraduates
• Parents and Educators
• Young Professionals
• Senior citizens
• Government
• Industry
• Small business owners
• Law enforcement

DHS has begun an initiative to purvey propaganda onto American citizens called Stop.Think.Connect. (STC). The STC have teamed with Microsoft to create public service announcements (PSAs) that convince average Americans on how to perceive the inflated threat hackers have on the US government’s cybersecurity.

Some of the founders of the STC initiative are:

• AT&T
• Costco
• Experian
• Facebook
• Google
• Intel
• McAfee, Inc.
• Microsoft
• Paypal
• Symantec
• Verisign
• Visa
• Walmart
• Yahoo!

To combat this nameless, faceless threat, the DHS is setting the foundation for a “cyber reserve” of IT experts that will be employed as needed during a cyber-attack.

Jane Holl Lute, DHS Deputy Secretary, wants to create the cyber reserve from retired government employees working in the private sector for intelligence technology corporations. Those chosen would conduct forensic investigations and be “intelligence liaisons” to the DHS.

In 2012, President Obama signed a secret policy directive that gives the military complete control over the internet should the US come under a cyberattack.

Being called Presidential Policy Directive 20, the alleged document (being classified) is a guideline that explains how specific federal agencies will be empowered by the Obama administration to intercept online “breaches of security” – including hacking and other digital attacks.

This document assures that the US government is taking the offensive and proactive approach to digital security where network defense is recognized as operations designed to ensure defense of national security.

Whether it means shutting down main servers or local computers that have been identified as targets, a complete shutdown of internet access (although it requires cybersecurity legislation) would not be out of the realm of possibility.

The military’s role in cybersecurity with regard to digital attacks will be to ensure US digital information, data, and privacy be protected. This new responsibility with be worked in conjunction with law enforcement network defenses that are being used to para-militarizing the web using cyber units.

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