THE CYBERSECURITY THREAT LANDSCAPE
Cybersecurity Strategy, Law, and Policy
Group Assignment
CMIT 495: Current Trends and Projects in Computer Networks and Security
National Security Strategy and Cybersecurity
The National Security Strategy (NSS) is a report formulated by the president to send to
congress that outlines the executive branch’s national security vision to the legislative branch
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THE CYBERSECURITY THREAT LANDSCAPE
[ CITATION Natnd \l 1033 ]. The NSS was set forth by the Goldwater-Nichols Department of
Defense Reorganization Act of 1986 and is to be a yearly report that covers the United States’
international interests, commitments, objectives and policies. [ CITATION Natnd \l 1033 ]. The
foreign policy laid out in the report should propose short-term and long-term uses of any
element the United States can employee to ensure national security against foreign government
and is presented in both a public and confidential form [ CITATION 50Und \l 1033 ]. Despite the
requirement that the NSS is released annually, along with the next fiscal year’s budget, since
George W. Bush there has been one released for each presidential term [ CITATION Nat20 \l
1033 ].
The
National Strategy to Secure Cyberspace
(NSSC) outlines a strategy that the United
States government, companies and individuals can follow to help secure America’s cyberspace.
The document was released by the Bush’s administration in February of 2003 and focuses solely
on cyber security challenges [ CITATION CIS03 \l 1033 ]. The three strategic objectives outlined
are: (1) Prevent cyber-attack on critical infrastructures; (2) Reduce national vulnerability to such
attacks; and, (3) Minimize damage and recovery time after cyber-attacks take place [ CITATION
Mic04 \l 1033 ]. The report divides the responsibilities for cybersecurity and outlines the steps
that the current administration will make to fulfil the governments responsibilities. Instead of
providing mandates, the report presents recommended steps that corporations, businesses and
individuals can follow help create a secure Cyberspace.
Trump’s National Security Strategy does have inadequacies when addressing
cybersecurity. The report only briefly addresses the changing landscape of United States
infrastructure and the threat of a cyber era can pose from attacks. China’s attempt to steal
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THE CYBERSECURITY THREAT LANDSCAPE
United States companies’ intellectual property is mentioned only in passing. Action points to
address America’s next steps and priorities are vague and typically reveal no concrete plan, only
broad avenues to be explored. Cybersecurity is a vast subject that cannot be adequately
covered in an NSS because of the document’s generality.
The
National Strategy to Secure Cyberspace
was the Bush administration responding to a
relatively new threat and provided the nation a glance at how the government was reacting
along with providing educational material, but those responsibilities are now handled by the
Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA). CISA was formed in 2018 as a
standalone federal agency. Its mission is to “Lead the National effort to understand and manage
