Threat of Cyber Operations to Democracy and National Security Essay (Critical Writing)

Introduction

The nature of warfare has changed significantly since the end of the Second World War. While there have been several military conflicts during this period, the major powers have not declared all-out wars on each other. This used to be common in the first half of the 20^th century (Bahgat 2018). After 1945, covert operations became the preferred mode of exerting influence (Muñoz et al. 2018). The United States, the Soviet Union, and their allies secretly sponsored belligerents who in-turn pledged to facilitate the political effects intended by powerful nations (Acton 2018). The advent of the Internet and related technology has prompted these and other countries to alter their modus operandi yet again. Cyber warfare is a lot cheaper and safer than armed combats (Fuller 2019). The United States is increasingly concerned by the fact that adversaries such as China, Iran, and Russia have a more effective means of actualizing their motives than it has ever been the case before.

Cyber Operations Threatening the Stability of the United States

Democracy is the cornerstone of the American society without which the country would lose its identity. Among its most important characteristics include the recognition of individual’s dignity, respect for equality, faith in the rule of the majority, and respect for the rights of the minority (Muñoz et al. 2018). Moreover, the necessity to compromise is widely accepted, and this is why there are several omnibus bills will bi-partisan support. Another element not found among the US’ adversaries is insistence on individual freedoms (Fuller 2019). The fact that these values are treasured anywhere in the world threatens the stability of such totalitarian regimes as China, Iran, and Russia. This is why the exploit the capability that is facilitated by the Internet to unduly influence American elections (Banks and Evan 2016). The most significant intrusion in recent history was in 2016 (Acton 2018). Nonetheless, it is believed that they interfere with voting machines in every election cycle.

Apart from ruining democracy within the US, cyber-attacks have also been used to undermine American foreign relations. When Wikileaks published details of what was alleged to have been America’s spying on countries around the world, cooperation with such allies as Brazil and Germany was negatively impacted (Fuller 2019). These materials had been acquired through hacking, and the parties which disseminated them did not understand how and why the data was being gathered (Muñoz et al. 2018). Even if the entire information was positive, other nations would still be hesitant to share sensitive materials with the American government officials. In essence, overt leakers like Wikileaks, Edward Snowden, and Chelsea Manning undermine the American status in the world (Banks and Evan 2016). It is not usually apparent who commissions such attacks on the US systems, but it has been alleged that Wikileaks has worked in close coordination with Russia. China and Iran may also be coordinating their activities with saboteurs in America.

Cyber-attacks by China, Russia, and Iran undermine the US national security. First, it demands for a complete analysis of the system to determine to what extent it was intruded, and the kind of damage that was done (Fuller 2019). These activities as well as the efforts to repair the destruction done cost a significant amount of money, and they are time consuming (Muñoz et al. 2018). Resources are redirected to repair rather than on research and development of the systems which would keep Americans safe and improve their quality of life (Banks and Evan 2016). This calls for the government and other parties involved to routinely conduct penetration testing in order to uncover any vulnerabilities.

Effectiveness of Penetration Testing in Countering Cyber-Related Threats

Penetration testing is the practice of examining computer systems for vulnerabilities. It is common with business organizations, but it is unclear if government agencies engage in this process on a regular basis. The idea behind this process is to imagine the loopholes which an attacker would exploit in their endeavor to undermine the American society (Bahgat 2018). It can either be done manually, or software applications may be developed in a bid to observe their effect on the functionality of the American government’s computing resources (Acton 2018). The vulnerabilities identified are then addressed before a foreign adversary takes advantage of them.

There are various testing methods, and the most appropriate choice depends on a couple of factors. These include the availability of resources, time, and the personnel (Muñoz et al. 2018). An agency can undertake external or internal testing, or even blind testing. Other options include double-blind, and targeted penetration testing. External testing is usually the most preferable as it targets the kinds of resources which are publicly available (Bahgat 2018). That means an adversary based in a foreign jurisdiction can stage a successful attack (Acton 2018). If the circumstances allow, several kinds of approaches ought to be used in order to ensure that every potential weakness is addressed.

Conclusion

It is possible that US adversaries have opted to utilize cyber operations due to their cost effectiveness and the significant impact they have. There have been a couple of successful operations by countries such as Russia and Iran, and this is a matter of serious concern to the US (Bahgat 2018; Banks and Evan 2016). American national security is being undermined, and so is the country’s foreign relations (Fuller 2019). Through penetration testing, the United States can mitigate Internet-based attacks of all kinds.

References

Acton, James M. 2018. “Escalation through Entanglement: How the Vulnerability of Command-and-Control Systems Raises the Risks of an Inadvertent Nuclear War.” International Security 43 (1): 56–99.

Bahgat, Gawdat. 2018. “The Brewing War between Iran and Israel: Strategic Implications.” Middle East Policy 25 (3): 67–79.

Banks, William C., and Evan J. Criddle. 2016. “Customary Constraints on the Use of Force: Article 51 with an American Accent.” Leiden Journal of International Law 29 (1): 67–93.

Fuller, Christopher J. 2019. “The Roots of the United States’ Cyber (In)Security.” Diplomatic History 43 (1): 157–85.

He, Meilin, Laura Devine, and Jun Zhuang. 2018. “Perspectives on Cybersecurity Information Sharing among Multiple Stakeholders Using a Decision‐Theoretic Approach.” Risk Analysis: An International Journal 38 (2): 215–25.

Muñoz, Fernando Román, Esteban Alejandro Armas Vega and Luis Javier García Villalba. 2018. “Analyzing the Traffic of Penetration Testing Tools with an IDS.” Journal of Supercomputing 74 (12): 6454–6469.