M2D2: U.S. Federal Government Organization and Response to Cyber Threats U.S. President Barack Obama meets with former National Security Adviser Tom Donilon (2R) and former IBM CEO Sam Palmisano (2L),

M2D2: U.S. Federal Government Organization and Response to Cyber Threats

U.S. President Barack Obama meets with former National Security Adviser Tom Donilon (2R) and former IBM CEO Sam Palmisano (2L), who are being appointed as the Chair and Vice Chair respectively of the Commission on Enhancing National Cybersecurity in the Oval Office of the White House, in Washington, DC, February 17, 2016. Also present during this meeting are Commerce Secretary Penny Pritzker (L) and Secretary of Homeland Security Jeh Johnson (R).

Module 2

The U.S. response to cybersecurity threats has been criticized as disjointed and lacking leadership.  At present the responsibility is divided between multiple executive departments with different authorities.  Newmeyer (2012) argued for greater budgetary control and a powerful cyberczar.  The GAO report (Wilshusen & Barkakati, 2013) also points to lack of clear responsibilities in the U.S. government regarding cyber threats and responses. Dunn-Cavelty (2014) pointed to the risks of securitization. The public demands something be done but what?

The module learning outcomes addressed in this activity are:

·        Explain the roles and responsibilities of the various U.S. executive branch departments in developing and executing national cybersecurity policy; (CO #3)

·        Describe cyber threats to U.S. national security including critical infrastructure, espionage, economic disruption, and criminal activity. (CO #3)

Question

After completing the assigned readings for the module, please respond to the following question in your initial post:

·        Current U.S. Federal Government policy divides cybersecurity responsibilities among multiple departments including Homeland Security, Defense, and Justice.  Some authors have criticized this as ineffective and cyber threats continue to increase.  Describe how you would organize the government response and include your reasoning for changes or maintenance of the status quo.  Please cite course materials and/or outside scholarly research to support your conclusions.

As always be mindful of plagiarism.  The Excelsior Library Writing Help (Links to an external site.) and Online Writing Lab (OWL) (Links to an external site.) are available for assistance.

Use the EC Library resources for research assistance and to properly cite your work:

·        Military Leadership Research Guide (Links to an external site.)

·        National Security Research Guide (Links to an external site.)

·        Plagiarism & Copyright (Links to an external site.)

·        Excelsior Library Writing Help (Links to an external site.)

·        APA Citation Help (Links to an external site.)

·        Excelsior College Online Writing Lab (OWL)