Information Technology’s Role in Homeland Security Research Paper

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Established in 2003 by the Federal Government, the Healthcare and Public Health (HPH) Sector has remained a key player in promoting the country’s security. To promote public health, safety, and national security, the HPH Sector has established meaningful partnerships that bring together professional groups and associations, operations, private sector owners, and government representatives. This report informs the CEO of the targeted organization within the communications critical infrastructure sector about its role in securing the homeland and the major challenges facing the private sector.

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Collaboration with the Government Sector

The targeted company operates within the information and technology industry. The organization provides Internet and communication services to millions of users across the United States. This means that the organization is part of the country’s communications critical infrastructure sector. Christensen and Peterson (2017) indicate that critical infrastructure sectors are areas whose systems, networks, and assets are crucial to the United States’ national security, public health, and economic development. Within the past two decades, this company has collaborated with the government and other agencies to improve the sector’s performance and protect the country’s economic interests.

The organization shares information with various federal agencies, companies, and government representatives. The company has also been keen to support various initiatives to develop tools and models for dealing with threats and potential attacks. These initiatives have led to the creation and implementation of powerful incident response systems (IRSs). Therefore, partnerships are crucial since they streamline how information and ideas are shared to identify potential sources of threat and mitigate them before they get out of hand. The nature of interconnection among different sectors explains why efficient partnerships can potentially support the goals of the HPS Sector (Thadani, 2014). Partnerships also result in comprehensive guidelines and reporting mechanisms that can empower different end-users. The approach is, therefore, capable of enhancing engagement throughout the communications sector.

Using the major guidelines produced by different partners within the sector, the organization has been keen to embrace the concept of continuity of operations planning. This is used as a roadmap for implementing, monitoring, and managing various continuity programs. The company has a competent team whose role is to monitor various essential functions (EFs) crucial to its performance and the success of the nation (Thadani, 2014). As a player in the private sector, the organization collaborates with stakeholders within the critical infrastructure sector to ensure that every EF is resumed immediately after any form of attack or disruption. The normalization of EFs is something crucial to the nation’s internal security.

Challenges: Potential Areas for Improvement

The conducted study has revealed that the targeted organization has attempted to implement powerful processes and collaborate with different players within the communications sector. This approach has supported the objectives and goals of the HPH Sector (“Healthcare and public health,” 2016). Unfortunately, the problems of cybercrime and digital terrorism continue to pose numerous threats to the Sector (Mamandi & Yari, 2014). The government has also been keen to implement powerful initiatives supported by the major federal agencies such as the FBI and the Secret Service. The efforts undertaken by these agencies have not addressed the problem of cyber insecurity efficiently (Dilek, Cakir, & Aydin, 2015). It is agreeable that the implementation of efficient continuity of operations programs have supported the security goals of the sector. However, the biggest challenge facing this critical infrastructure sector arises from cyber insecurity. It would be appropriate for the key players in the sector to implement meaningful partnerships that can link different security organs and companies. This key area for improvement will improve how response systems are designed, implemented, and improved to deal with cybercrime.

The second area to consider is the nature of relations existing between the major companies in this critical infrastructure sector. Since corporations aim to maximize profits, the issue of information sharing has not been taken lightly by different organizational leaders. This problem is informed by the company’s desire to remain competitive and successful than their business rivals. That being the case, critical information related to homeland security or cybercrime should be shared efficiently by these companies (Ajayi, 2016). This objective can be realized using powerful procedures and mechanisms that are informed by law. The ultimate goal should be to focus on the continuity of operations and security of their critical infrastructure or assets.

It is also agreeable that the HPH Sector’s Homeland Security Information Network was expanded to support the information sharing needs of different players in the Communications Sector. This strategy ensures that hundreds of documents are available to end-users to enhance awareness (Christensen & Peterson, 2017). Although this effort has improved the way different organizations and agencies within the homeland security network operate, there is a need to implement appropriate mechanisms to monitor a wide range of threats to their assets, such as physical and terrorist attacks.

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The level of collaboration should also be expanded to include more agencies, critical infrastructure sectors, private organizations. Finally, every organization within this sector should develop a powerful model for improving the level of security. The model can be supported using appropriate decision support systems (DSSs) and backup systems (Irons & Lallie, 2014). These efforts will ensure that various operations are continued after any form of attack (“Healthcare and public health,” 2016). These improvements will support the role of different private organizations in securing the homeland.

Implications

Public-private interaction is a powerful approach that is believed to improve the efforts aimed at securing the homeland. The model is relevant since it improves the level of information sharing. Additionally, the private sector accounts for over 80 percent of all critical infrastructures (Carr, 2016). That being the case, public-private integration remains a powerful strategy for identifying, preventing, and mitigating various threats to the country’s homeland security.

If this kind of interaction is not improved, the chances are high that the country’s critical infrastructures will be at risk of external and internal attacks. Additionally, the malpractice will result in a situation whereby different government agencies are unable to secure homeland efficiency since they lack adequate resources, information, and ideas. The failure to improve the interaction will ensure that different actors lack enough tools and concepts to secure the homeland (Carr, 2016). This is the case because many professionals within the private sector possess adequate ideas and knowhow that can be tapped to protect the country from any form of attack.

Conclusion

Going into the future, the level of private-public interaction should be improved to identify and tackle existing challenges. This strategy will create a coordinated system that can be used to track potential threats and deal with them before they strike. Evidence-based practices such as partnerships, information sharing, and continuity of operations should also be taken seriously if different stakeholders are to secure the homeland efficiently.

References

Ajayi, E. F. (2016). Challenges to enforcement of cyber crimes laws and policy. Journal of Internet and Information Systems, 6(1), 1-12. Web.

Carr, M. (2016). Public–private partnerships in national cyber-security strategies. International Affairs, 92(1), 43-62. Web.

Christensen, K. K., & Peterson, K. L. (2017). Public–private partnerships on cyber security: A practice of loyalty. International Affairs, 6(1), 1435-1452. Web.

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Dilek, S., Cakir, H., & Aydin, M. (2015). Applications of artificial intelligence techniques to combating cyber crimes: A review. International Journal of Artificial Intelligence & Applications, 6(1), 21-39. Web.

Healthcare and public health sector-specific plan. (2016). Web.

Irons, A., & Lallie, H. S. (2014). Digital forensics to intelligent forensics. Future Internet, 6, 584-596. Web.

Mamandi, K., & Yari, S. (2014). A global perspective on cybercrime. Humanities and Social Sciences, 2(2), 33-37. Web.

Thadani, K. B. (2014). Public private partnership in the health sector: Boon or bane. Procedia – Social and Behavioral Sciences, 157, 307-316. Web.

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IvyPanda. 2020. "Information Technology's Role in Homeland Security." September 2, 2020. https://ivypanda.com/essays/information-technologys-role-in-homeland-security/.

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