American Government

Running head: CYBER THREATS IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA 1

Cyber Threats facing the United States of America

Ronnell Rivers

POLS210

4 Nov. 2018

AMU

CYBER THREATS IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA 2

Cyber Threats facing the United States of America

Current issue

Cyber threats are attempts to alter have unauthorized access to information systems and

damage infrastructure. This is a problem that has been an issue in the united states for a while

now that needs to be brought to an end. Cyber threats lead to individuals gaining unauthorized

access to valuable information and disabling of the infrastructure of the United States. Moreover,

it is not only the government that is being affected by cyber threats but also individual

organizations have also been affected greatly by the threats (O'Hanlon, 2017). Therefore, it is

evident that cyber threats that interfere with the networks are the biggest threats in the USA.

First possible solution

Due to the worsening vulnerabilities of the infrastructure and information systems in the

United States of America, it is very important for the US government to come up with solutions

to cyber threats. To begin with, the government needs to prioritize and invest in resilience for

nuclear strike systems. Since the threats are affecting almost every individual in the state, it is

worth investing a lot of money to bring the cyber threats to an end. The nuclear systems

established should match the threats that are facing the country, and they should be able to

protect the government and the citizens from any of the cyber threats and attacks that may arise

in the near future.

Second possible solution

Moreover, the US government can protect itself from cyber threats by identifying the

critical infrastructure and establishing a verge that will make it difficult for the terrorists and

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other individuals who are responsible for cyber-attacks to access the identified infrastructure. In

this case, the identification of the critical infrastructure is the first step that should be carried out

by the government. Identification is very important as it will keep the government informed of

the possibilities that may arise. Failure to identify critical infrastructure will make the

government to be caught off-guard by the cyber threats (Tal, 2018).

Preferred solution

From the above-stated solution, the most preferred is the first solution as it entails doing

the actual prevention of cyber threats. The second solution is not favorable enough as it is

possible for the government to identify critical infrastructure and fail to come up with the

required systems to protect the already identified critical infrastructure. Therefore, the best

solution is to come up with systems that will protect the nation from cyber threats.

Responsibilities of government

The three levels of government in the United States of America have a role to play in

ensuring that the cyber threats that are facing the nation are brought to an end. The local

government has a huge role to play in ending cyber threats. It is the duty of the local government

to create awareness for the need to maintain cybersecurity and convey warnings of cyber-attacks

that may arise. Also, the state governments have a role to play in ensuring that they formulate

plans of how to handle the cyber threats in the country implement the formulated plans.

Similarly, the federal government of the United States also has a huge role to play in

ensuring that the cyber threats in the nation are curbed. To begin with, it is the role of the federal

governments to ensure that they formulate laws that favor the reduction of cyber threats and

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implement those laws. Also, it is the duty of the federal government to train individuals who will

work as counter-terrorist agents. The trained individuals will be responsible for the formulation

of nuclear strike systems (Newman, 2018).

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References

Newman, L. H. (2018). The bleak state of federal government cyber security. Wired, 67.

O'Hanlon, M. E. (2017). Cyber threats and how the United States should Prepare. Brookings

Edu, 14.

Tal, J. (2018). America's critical infrastructure: Threats, vulnerabilities and solutions. Security

infowatch, 3.