Is United States Active Enough in Countering These Threats?

IsUnited States Active Enough in Countering These Threats?

IsUnited States Active Enough in Countering These Threats?

Thegrowth of cyberspace has been experienced over the past years, andthis has outpaced the optimistic forecasts of the early developers ofthe Internet. Unfortunately, the growth has brought in severalchallenges including cyber-crimes targeted on individuals andterrorist cyber-attacks on entities. The two forms of threats havebeen rated as among the major detriments in any nation that isfocused on technological advancements. On top of that, theintroduction and expansion of cyberspace have brought in a series ofimperatives and a new sequence of threats to the safety of a nationalsystem or non-state firms (Dalla &amp Geeta, 2013). Consequently,the government of the United States has set out measures that aremeant to mitigate these threats. In this case, it is evident thatmuch has to be done in setting out safety actions intended to protectthe United States’ cyberspace, which is under the risk ofcyber-crimes directed against people or terrorist cyber-attacks onnational entities. Surprisingly, it should be noted that the currentactions do not seem to be commensurate with the talks meant tosafeguard the cyberspace.

Researchhas revealed that both cyber-crimes on individuals and terroristcyber-attacks on institutions have significant and detrimentaleffects on the United States. In fact, cyber-terrorism has been notedas one that keeps on advancing every day with terrorists becomingprogressively computer savvy. Recently, there was an attempted attackon the electoral system in the United States. Therefore, that provesthe fact that attackers are using their ability to inflict isolatedand brief interruptions on the country’s infrastructure (Bieda &ampHalawi, 2015). The national institutions have suffered significantlyfrom cyber-terrorism especially when terrorists simultaneously attachusing bombs and launch cyber-attacks on the entities’ communicationsystems. Indeed, that magnifies the impact of their activity. Mostimportantly, combating cyber-terrorism has emerged as a highlypoliticized aspect in the United States, but has also proved to beeconomically advantageous. The facts are a clear indication that muchneeds to be done to develop advanced ways of dealing withcyber-terrorism.

Furthermore,cyber-crimes directed against individuals have been quoted as harmfulto the United States. The illegal activity has been quoted to costapproximately $100 billion each year (Bieda &amp Halawi, 2015).Additionally, cybercrimes against people are mostly linked to attackson businesses since they involve fraud on consumers or workers’personal information. Cybercriminals strive to rob money from banks,insurance firms, and other forms of identity theft, which bring hugelosses on the nation’s economy. The misconducts occur throughcyber-stalking, hacking, e-mail spoofing, and carding among otherapproaches. In fact, almost 90% of all terrorist attacks directed atcyberspace is proliferated through interactive platforms includingsocial media (Dalla &amp Geeta, 2013). The fact is a clearindication that it is the daily activities performed by theseindividuals that expose them to cyber-attacks.

Asa matter of fact, various reports on cybercrime show that the UnitedStates has not done enough to completely solve the issue ofcyber-attack/crimes on its cyberspace. In fact, despite the manystudies and suggestions, continuous planning, and heightenedexpenditure on programs to protect the cyberspace, there has beenpetite progress. The most prominent hindrance to the efforts ofprotecting data in the United States is that cyber-security has beenpoliticized and has not been regarded as a priority (Bieda &ampHalawi, 2015). Research has further indicated that the attacks on theInternet are progressive in nature and hackers are targeting on theentire industry in the United States including contractors of thefederal and state authorities and the critical infrastructure.Therefore, there is a need to combine efforts from variousstakeholders in protecting the cyberspace.

Allin all, cybercrimes against individuals and terrorist cyber-attackson national institutions are two major threats in the United States.Indeed, each of the two has led to substantial and adverse impacts onthe economy of the United States. The techniques used incyber-terrorism seem to be advancing each time that there is anattack meaning that great watch is required to secure the cyberspace.Despite these facts, it is clear that the United States is not doingenough to resolve the issues affecting the Internet, which caneventually lead to massive losses.

References

Bieda,D., &amp Halawi, L. (2015). Cyberspace: A venue forterrorism.&nbspIssuesin Information Systems,&nbsp16(3).

Dalla,E. H., &amp Geeta, M. S. (2013). Cybercrime: A threat to persons,property, government and societies.&nbspInternationalJournal of Advanced Research in Computer Science and SoftwareEngineering,&nbsp3(5),997-1002.